City Council Work Session No. 2
March 6, 2022
Agricultural Preservation Ordinance
AGENDA
2 Present Draft Agricultural Land Preservation Ordinance Receive Public Comments & Questions
City Council Discussion & Input
1 2
3 Purpose
Implement General Plan Policy LU-P-34, which calls for the City to create and adopt a mitigation program to address conversion of Prime Farmland and Farmland of Statewide Importance in Tiers II and III.
Distinct from other General Plan policies calling for additional strategies to protect agricultural land.
Right-to-farm ordinance
Urban agricultural ordinance
Williamson Act contracted land reviews
Agricultural buffers and greenbelt
3 Program Parameters & Direction
4 1
2 3
Policy Directives
Work Session No. 1 Direction
Applicability
Development of prime farmland and farmland of statewide importance Tier II and Tier III properties
Exemptions apply to Tier I, agricultural processing, agricultural buffers, public facilities, roadways Provide for a verification mechanism to ensure that Prime Farmland and Farmland of Statewide Importance was the focus of the program Exempt sites of 5 acres or less
Exempt 100% affordable housing projects
Allow for portions of a project to be exempt
Easements
1:1 conversion to preservation
Equivalent land
Located outside Visalia’s Urban Development Boundary (UDB) Held by a qualifying entity
Agricultural zoning
Allow easements within Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern counties with a preference for easements located near City Require one verified water supply
City would not be a party to the easement
In-lieu Fee
Allowed as an option
Preference for easement over fee
In-lieu fee to be established case-by-case
Fee to be remitted directly to land trust
Draft Ordinance Articles & Content
5 Article 1: General Provisions
Title, Purpose and Intent, Objectives, Interpretation of Provisions, Definitions Article 2: Program Requirements
Applicability, Preservation Requirement
Article 3: Methods of Preservation
Acquisition of Agricultural Conservation Easement, Payment of In-Lieu Fee Article 4: Monitoring and Compliance
Qualified Entity, Compliance Review, Severability
Program Requirements
6 Project Applicability
Applicable projects include development projects that would:
authorize the construction or development of the project site, and result in the conversion of prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance.
Applicability
Is the project exempt?
Is the project, or a portion of the project, excluded?
Not subject to the program
Is it an applicable project type or action?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
7 Exemptions
Location. Lands that are NOT within Tier II or Tier III.
Size. Projects of five acres or less.
Prior compliance. Projects on sites that have already complied with this program.
Program Requirements
Applicability
Is the project exempt?
Is the project, or a portion of the project, excluded?
Not subject to the program
Is it an applicable project type or action?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
8 Exclusions
Farmland designation. Not prime or farmland of statewide importance.
Based on FMMP
Process to verify the status of the FMMP designation
Project type or use.
100% Affordable housing projects
Agricultural processing
Agricultural buffers
Public facilities
Roadways
Program Requirements
Applicability
Is the project exempt?
Is the project, or a portion of the project, excluded?
Not subject to the program
Is it an applicable project type or action?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
9 Determine your preserved land obligation
Preserved land obligation = 1 acre for each 1 acre of converted land Converted land = total project acreage – acreage of exclusions Program Requirements
Preserved Land Obligation Calculation
10 Eligibility for Preserved Land
Location
Preference for easement within 10 miles of City limits.
Anywhere within the southern San Joaquin Valley if confirmation in writing from land trust is if there is no land or no willing seller within the 10-mile radius.
Prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance
Minimum 20 acres in size
One verified water supply
Methods of Preservation
Acquisition of Easement
Southern San Joaquin Valley:
Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, and Madera
11 Form of the Easement
The easement form and terms shall be approved by the City to ensure compliance Initial review and approval of form by City Council
Verification of form can be delegated
Any changes to approved forms will go back to City Council Methods of Preservation
Acquisition of Easement
12 Eligibility
Either:
The total preserved land obligation is less than 20 acres OR At least one of the following conditions is met:
No qualified entity is able or willing to assist with acquisition, confirmed in writing At least one good faith offer has been declined, confirmed in writing Methods of Preservation
In-Lieu Fee
13 Fee Determination
Amount of the fee is determined on a case-by-case basis. Fee will include:
Purchase price
35% of the average purchase price per acre of three comparable lands Appraisal report is required
Transaction costs, such as closing costs, due diligence costs, administrative costs Endowment cost
Establishes an endowment for ongoing easement monitoring, administration, enforcement Methods of Preservation
In-Lieu Fee
14 Approval of Fee
City Council will approve the amount of the fee
Remittance will be directly from the project proponent to the qualified entity Use of Fee
In-lieu fees are only able to be used to purchase easements in Tulare County Reporting
Requires accounting of all fees
Requires submittal of costs associated with previous acquisitions Methods of Preservation
In-Lieu Fee
15 Approval of Qualified Entity
To be a qualified entity for purposes of this program, land trusts must be approved by City Council.
To be approved, certain criteria shall be considered including:
Experience in the San Joaquin Valley
Accreditation status or standing with a nationwide or statewide association of land trusts Whether the easement is consistent with the terms of the program Monitoring & Compliance
Qualified Entity
16 Monitoring and Reporting
Required annually by February 1 for previous calendar year. Reporting to include:
Acquisitions and associated costs
Actions taken to enforce easements
Accounting of the amount and use of administrative and in-lieu fees Confirmation of accreditation status
Monitoring & Compliance
Qualified Entity
Next Steps
Input received during the public comment period will be considered in preparation of the public hearing draft Public comment period closes on March 27th
City Council hearing date targeted for May 2023
17 Submit comments & questions to:
Paul Bernal, Community Development Director
[email protected]
(559) 713-4025
Visit the Website:
https://www.visalia.city/depts/community_development/planning/agricultural_preservation_ordinance.asp