BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 823
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 823 (Eggman) - As Amended: April 23, 2013
SUBJECT : California Farmland Protection Act
SUMMARY : As part of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) review process for a project that involves the conversion
of agricultural lands, requires the lead agency to (1) require
that all feasible mitigation of the identified significant
environmental impacts associated with the conversion be
completed by the project applicant and (2) consider the
permanent protection or replacement of agricultural land as
feasible mitigation for these impacts.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 (the
Williamson Act), preserves agricultural and open space lands
through property tax incentives and voluntary restrictive use
contracts. Private landowners voluntarily restrict their land
to agricultural and compatible open-space uses under minimum
10-year rolling term contracts with local governments. In
return, restricted parcels are assessed for property tax
purposes at a rate consistent with their actual use, rather
than potential market value. In August of 1998, the
Legislature enhanced the Williamson Act with the Farmland
Security Zone (FSZ) provisions. The FSZ provisions offer
landowners greater property tax reduction in return for a
minimum rolling contract term of 20 years.
2)Pursuant to the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government
Reorganization Act of 2000, defines "agricultural lands" as
land currently used for the purpose of producing an
agricultural commodity for commercial purposes, land left
fallow under a crop rotational program, or land enrolled in an
agricultural subsidy or set-aside program.
3)Pursuant to Agricultural Land Stewardship Program of 1995,
encourages voluntary, long-term private stewardship of
agricultural lands by offering landowners financial
incentives.
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4)Pursuant to the Planning and Zoning Law, requires the Governor
to prepare and maintain a comprehensive State Environmental
Goals and Policy Report that states, among other things,
planning priorities that include the protection of
environmental and agricultural resources by protecting,
preserving, and enhancing the state's most valuable natural
resources, including working landscapes such as farm, range,
and forest lands; natural lands such as wetlands, watersheds,
wildlife habitats, and other wildlands; recreation lands such
as parks, trails, greenbelts, and other open space; and
landscapes with locally unique features and areas identified
by the state as deserving special protection.
5)Pursuant to CEQA, requires lead agencies, before carrying out
or approving a proposed project, to prepare a negative
declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental
impact report for this action, unless the project is exempt
from CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory exemptions, as well
as categorical exemptions in the CEQA guidelines).
6)Pursuant to CEQA, requires the Natural Resources Agency, in
consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, to
develop an amendment to the CEQA guidelines' "Environmental
Checklist Form" to provide lead agencies an optional
methodology to ensure that significant effects on the
environment of agricultural land conversions are
quantitatively and consistently considered in the
environmental review process. The Environmental Checklist
Form is a sample checklist that a lead agency can complete to
satisfy legal requirements for initial studies when used in
conjunction with the sample "Environmental Information Form,"
which is a form completed by the project applicant.
7)Pursuant to CEQA, requires the lead agency to balance, as
applicable, the economic, legal, social, technological, or
other benefits, including region-wide or statewide
environmental benefits, of a proposed project against its
unavoidable environmental risks when determining whether to
approve the project. If the specific economic, legal, social,
technological, or other benefits, including region-wide or
statewide environmental benefits, of a proposed project
outweigh the unavoidable adverse environmental effects, the
adverse environmental effects may be considered "acceptable."
THIS BILL :
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1)Makes findings and declarations, which include the following:
a) Despite the analysis and mitigation requirements of CEQA
with respect to projects that result in agricultural land
conversion, lead agencies do not consistently require
feasible mitigation for agricultural land conversion
impacts;
b) The conversion of agricultural land (as defined by the
Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act
of 2000) to nonagricultural uses without appropriate
mitigation negatively affects California's economic
development, natural resources, social and economic equity,
and environmental quality; and
c) It is the intent of the Legislature to reaffirm the
state's intention that a lead agency under CEQA should
impose all feasible mitigation measures to address the
significant impacts on agricultural lands or resources from
development and provide for the permanent protection of
replacement agricultural land or resources through
permanent agricultural conservation easements, which may
constitute feasible mitigation pursuant to CEQA.
2) Defines "development project" as a project, pursuant to
CEQA, that involves residential, commercial, civic,
industrial, or other infrastructure construction, or the
use of property if the construction or use of land is
unrelated to the agricultural use, is incompatible with
either an agricultural or open-space use of the property,
or substantially impairs the agricultural, open-space, or
both uses of the property. Agricultural use, open-space
use, or the acquisition of land or an interest in land is
not a "development project."
3) Defines a "qualified entity" as a land trust, city,
county, nonprofit organization, resource conservation
district, special district, regional park or open-space
district, or regional park or open-space authority that has
the conservation of farmland among its stated purposes.
4) Requires a lead agency reviewing a development project
to require that all feasible mitigation of the identified
significant environmental impacts associated with the
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conversion of agricultural land be completed by the project
applicant.
5) Requires the lead agency to consider the permanent
protection or replacement of agricultural land as feasible
mitigation for identified significant effects on
agricultural land caused by a development project.
6) For an adopted mitigation measure that requires
mitigation in the form of the permanent protection of
agricultural land, requires at least one of the following:
a) A grant in perpetuity to a qualified entity of an
agricultural conservation easement that limits development
that is inconsistent with agricultural uses and related
activities to ensure the protection and stewardship of the
agricultural productive capacity of the mitigation land.
b) The project applicant to pay, or cause to be paid, a fee
to the lead agency sufficient to acquire a perpetual
agricultural conservation easement. The lead agency may
secure an easement through a payment to a qualified entity
or to the Department of Conservation for the California
Farmland Conservancy Program through a deposit to either
the California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund or the
Farm, Ranch, and Watershed Account for the purposes of
acquiring a perpetual agricultural conservation easement.
c) The project applicant to enter into a fee agreement with
a qualified entity to acquire an agricultural conservation
easement.
7) Requires any fees paid by a project applicant to the
lead agency or a qualified entity to acquire an
agricultural conservation easement to include the purchase
price of the easement, all transaction costs, and funding
for a reasonable endowment for the purpose of monitoring,
administering, legal defense, and all other services
provided by the qualified entity to acquire, manage, and
monitor the easement in perpetuity.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)Purpose of the Bill. According to the author, the goals of
this bill "include supporting a vibrant agricultural economy,
ensuring California's long-term food security, supporting
climate protection benefits of farmland and addressing the
need for consistent farmland mitigation. California farmland
is currently being converted to nonagricultural uses, such as
residential, commercial and industrial, at a rate of 30,000
acres per year. While CEQA requires lead agencies to mitigate
for the loss of agricultural land to development projects,
there is very little consistency from county to county or city
to city in terms of their mitigation policies or even if such
policies exist. [This bill] is intended to clarify CEQA
requirements for farmland mitigation."
2)Recent History of Agriculture Land Conversion. According to a
2011 report released by the Department of Conservation on
farmland conversion, from 1984 to 2008, more than 1.3 million
acres of agricultural land in California were converted to
nonagricultural purposes. This represents an area larger in
size than Merced County or a rate of about one square mile
every four days.
Nearly 79 percent of this land was urbanized, while 19 percent
went to miscellaneous land uses and less than 2 percent of the
conversion represents new water bodies-primarily Diamond
Valley Lake, Lake Sonoma, and Los Vaqueros Reservoir (in
Riverside, Sonoma, and Contra Costa counties, respectively) or
flooding of San Joaquin Delta islands for habitat (Contra
Costa and Solano counties).
The types of agricultural lands that suffered the largest
losses are "prime farmland" and "grazing land" (559,743 and
386,525 acres, respectively). Urbanization at the periphery
of California cities, many of which are located in
agricultural valleys and coastal zones, is the primary reason
these types of land are most affected. "Unique farmland"
showed a small net increase over the 24 year period (19,279
acres) due to expansion of high value crops-mostly orchards
and vineyards-on hilly terrain.
3)Double Referred. This bill has been double referred to the
Agriculture Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support (Prior Version of the Bill)
Beverly Hills Farmers' Market
Big Bluff Ranch
Burrows Family Farms
Burrows Ranch, Inc.
California Certified Organic Farmers
California State Grange
Chappellet Winery
Committee for Green Foothills
Durst Organic Growers, Inc.
Ecological Farming Association
Farmland Working Group
Full Belly Farm
Greenbelt Alliance
Heaven and Earth Farm
Hedgerow Farms
Lagier Ranches, Inc.
LandWatch Monterey County
Mendocino Grain Project
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Model Neighborhood Program
The Nature Conservancy
Nicholas Calf Ranch
Oak Hill Farm Sonoma
PRBO Conservation Science
Quetzal Farm
Ridge Vineyards
Roots of Change
San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project, Wild Willow Farm &
Education Center
Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
Sequoia Riverlands Trust
Sierra Farms Lamb
Sierra Nevada Alliance
Sierra Orchards
Sustainable Agriculture Education
Sustainable Economies Law Center
Straus Family Creamery
Swanton Berry Farms
Tulare County Citizens for Responsible Growth
Valley Land Alliance
Opposition (Prior Version of the Bill)
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American Council of Engineering Companies of California
American Planning Association, California Chapter
Association of California Water Agencies
Building Industry Association of Central California
Building Industry Association of Southern California
California Alliance for Jobs
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Coast Forest Association
California Land Title Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
Calleguas Municipal Utilities Association
California State Association of Counties
Camarillo Chamber of Commerce
Coachella Valley Water District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Large Scale Solar Association
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
National Federation of Independent Business
Orange County Business Council
Rural County Representatives of California
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Southwest California Legislative Council
Western Municipal Water District
Westlands Water District
Western States Petrolium Association
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092