Presentation to the Contra Costa LAFCO Brentwood Agricultural Land - - PDF document

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Presentation to the Contra Costa LAFCO

Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust

October 8, 2014

Br Brentwood

• od A

Agri ricultur ural La Land nd Trust ust

Work rks w s with farm rmers a s and the co e comm mmunity so so t that f future re generations in the B e Bay Area ea have a l ve a loca cal so source ce o

• f fo

food.

Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust 1120 Second Street, Brentwood, CA 94513 • PH 925.634.6738 • FX 925.634.6748 www.brentwoodaglandtrust.org 12,000 acres

• f prime,

irrigated farmland East Contra Costa Agricultural Products: Sweet corn Peaches Cherries Apricots Apples Tomatoes Squash Green beans Asparagus Walnuts Wine Olive oil

Bay Area farmers and ranchers produce agricultural products with a farm gate value over $1.8 billion a year. Bay Area farmers feed the Bay Area, the nation and the world.

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Contra Costa County A unique opportunity to build a local food system

Mediterranean climate Year‐round growing season Extraordinarily fertile soils Ample, inexpensive Delta water (pre‐1914 water rights)

Cherries blooming at Frog Hollow Farm

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Contra Costa farmers have feed the Bay Area and the world since before the Gold Rush

John Marsh Historic House Harvesting Winter Wheat Contra Costa had over 50 wineries before Prohibition. Winehaven in Richmond was the largest winery in the world. There are still ancient vines from the 1890’s in Oakley.

Contra Costa County: California’s Napa before Prohibition

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4 Brentwood’s long history of u-pick orchards and roadside stands East Contra Costa Agriculture Today

12,000 acres of row crops, vineyards and orchards Over $92 million in farm gate value

$14 million sweet corn (3,500 acres producing 35,000 tons!) $7 million cannery tomatoes (1945 acres producing 90,000 ton) $6 million wine grapes (1950 acres producing 8,450 tons) $5 million cherries 413 acres producing 1270 tons) $18.7 million livestock (26,000 head

• f cattle)

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Brentwood California

From a farming community of 7,500 people in 1990 to a suburban city of 56,000 by 2005

Urban growth in East Contra Costa County 1984‐2004

Yellow areas represent prime farmland lost since 1984.

Source: California Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program

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6 We’ve lost more than a quarter of Contra Costa farmland in the past thirty years

16,000 acres of prime farmland lost since 1990 4,381 acres lost between 1997 and 2000!

How well are our existing tools to protect prime farmland working in Contra Costa County?

• Williamson Act
• Local land use – urban limit lines and

agricultural zoning

• Agricultural mitigation
• Conservation easements

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Williamson Act: Provides property tax benefits for farmers willing to agree to remain farming for ten years Most successful protecting rangeland without development pressure

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W I L D C A T C A N Y O N R E G P A R K S a n P a b l o KENNEDY GROVE REG PARK Golf Course O r i n d a V i l l a g e C L T I L D E N REGIONAL PARK R i d g e R i d ge S

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a g a H i l l s Walnut Creek Pine P i n e Canyon Ridge Golf Course Tice Valley Castle Hill Stone Valley Las Trampas Peak L A S TRAMPAS Rocky Ri dg e TRAMP AS LAS WILD ERNESS REGIONAL R I D G E San Ramon S A N R A M O N Danville Alamo Alamo Ridge Alamo Oaks Ridge Short Gree n Valley Diablo Cem Lime Clay ton Va lle y Ridge Golf Course Ridge U S N AVA L RE S E RVAT IO N Golf Course Clayton Mt Zion C a n y

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B Y R O N T R A C T Byron Byron Hot Springs Coney I sla nd Herdlyn O R W O O D T R A C T T R A C T P A L M V E A L E T R A C T T R A C T H O L L A N D Quimby Island T R A C T F R A N K S S T A T E R E C R E A T I O N A R E A T R A C T W E B B T R A C T B E T H E L Golf Course B e t h e l I s l a n d J e r se y Is l a n d Jersey Point I s l a n d B r a d f

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S u b s t a M D S P V A L L E Y San Ramon Village C A MP P ARKS MILIT ARY RESER V A TION Dougherty Hills S u b s t a t i

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f Golf Course Golf Course Golf Course 272 96 86 86 228 581 1 3 9 537 183 253 322 445 398 11 7 3 10 8 4 22 4 4 99 6 6 191 2 2 20 220 130 630 185 3 21 55 101 31 72 13 438 459 31 4 5 2 2 12 262 565 517 151 250 162 322 8 308 S A C R AMEN T O C O SOLANO C O SACRAMENTO CO CO ALAMEDA SAN FRANCISCO CO MARIN CO SONO CO MA SOLANO CO N U Q A O J S A N I C O A L A M E D A C O A L A M E D A C O

• 121°37'30"
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CONTRA COSTA COUNTY WILLIAMSON ACT FY 2008/2009

STATE OF CALIFORNIA Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor THE NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY John Laird, Secretary DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION Mark Nechodom, Director CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION DIVISION OF LAND RESOURCE PROTECTION CONSERVATION PROGRAM SUPPORT N T fo

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D D 8 S P em w M

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th th C g T C

Contra Costa Agricultural Core

11,500 acres of prime farmland ABAG Priority Conservation Area

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8 Contra Costa County Planning Urban limit line 2002 City of Brentwood Agricultural Enterprise Program

• Agricultural mitigation fee ($5,500 for each acre converted to

urban uses). Over $12 million in mitigation fees collected by the City.

• Transfer of development program.
• Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust is formed.

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BALT Chairman Tom Bloomfield in his new cherry

• rchard on Walnut

Boulevard

Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust

Established 2002

Dual mission:

• Permanently protect Contra Costa County’s prime farmland, and
• Work with farmers and the community to create a vibrant, sustainable

agricultural economy.

How does BALT permanently protect farmland?

What is a conservation easement?

• A voluntary agreement between a farmer and BALT to

keep the land for farming forever.

• Farmers agree to not subdivide or and develop their

farm.

• BALT’s agreements honors the wisdom of local farmers

who’ve been farming here for generations and allow agricultural enterprise.

• Value of easement based on an appraisal.

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Agricultural Conservation Easements in the Contra Costa Agricultural Core

• Easements on thirteen

Brentwood farms totaling over 1,000 acres

• Seeking funding for two

easements (blue and pink parcels)

What role can LAFCO play in protecting Contra Costa’s agricultural resources?

LAFCO is charged with guiding development away from prime agricultural lands and has the authority to impose conditions on approvals. Govt. Code.§ 56375 and 56377.

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How do other LAFCOs mitigate the loss of agricultural land?

LAFCOs have adopted agricultural mitigation policies that condition approvals on:

• Agricultural conservation easements
• In‐lieu fees
• Local jurisdictions adopting agricultural

mitigation policies

Examples: Yolo LAFCO (2006), Santa Clara LAFCO (2007), Stanislaus (2012), Ventura LAFCO, San Luis Obispo LAFCO and Napa LAFCO

A well‐timed funding opportunity

Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program: a new State Strategic Growth Council grant program funded with cap‐and‐trade auction revenues. $1 million in planning grants to cities, counties, local government and partners in 2015 to:

• Develop criteria for critical agricultural lands
• Build community consensus for farmland protection
• Develop a Sustainable Agricultural Land Strategy
• Develop conservation easement program
• Plan for critical agricultural infrastructure needs

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Recommendations

• Build a coalition of LAFCO, the County, BALT and other

partners to apply for a Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program grant in early 2015.

• Explore adoption of an agricultural mitigation policy by Contra

Costa LAFCO that requires that the applicant mitigate any loss

• f prime farmland.
• Work with CALAFCO to explore state law changes to the

Cortese‐Knox‐Hetzberg Act to strengthen LAFCO’s statutory authority to protect prime farmland.

Kathryn Lyddan brentwoodagtrust@sbcglobal.net (925) 818‐1511