FIRST CALAVERAS IMPORTANT FARMLAND MAP TO BE RELEASED

By Muriel Zeller

November 4, 2021

According to a representative of the Department of Conservation (DOC) Division of Land Resource Protection, release of the Calaveras County Important Farmland Map is imminent. Completion and release of the map was one of the updated General Plan implementation priorities established by the Board of Supervisors in January 2020 and reiterated in January 2021. 

According to the DOC website, “The Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program (FMMP) produces maps and statistical data used for analyzing impacts on California’s agricultural resources. Agricultural land is rated according to soil quality and irrigation status; the best quality land is called Prime Farmland. The maps are updated every two years with the use of a computer mapping system, aerial imagery, public review, and field reconnaissance.” For more information: https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp/.  

The release of the Calaveras map was delayed, because the Board of Supervisors, appropriately, passed a resolution in August 2020 establishing a Farmland of Local Importance category and the components that qualify land for that category. The resolution defines Farmland of Local Importance as, “Cultivated lands that do not qualify as Prime Farmland, Farmland of Statewide Importance or Unique Farmland, or lands zoned General Agricultural (A1) and/or enrolled in the California Land Conservation Act.” This assumes the county knows which cultivated lands do not qualify for another category and which lands are zoned A1 and/or enrolled in the California Land Conservation Act, commonly known as the Williamson Act.

To compile the Calaveras Farmland of Local Importance category, the DOC made repeated attempts to obtain GIS data from the county for parcels enrolled in the Williamson Act during fiscal year 2018-2019, to coincide with the Important Farmland map year of 2018, which is the most recent. Unfortunately, the DOC was forced to use fiscal year 2012-2013 enrollment data which was the last Williamson Act data submitted to the DOC Division of Land Resource Protection by Calaveras County. 

The staff report submitted to the Board of Supervisors with the proposed resolution defining Farmland of Local Importance on August 2, 2020, indicated, “Future costs may accrue to provide DOC with updated mapping of agriculture zoning and agricultural preserve data. These updates will occur through the routine updates of zoning maps on GIS and will be minimal.” It is clearly implied that there are “routine updates of zoning maps.”

There is currently a zoning map posted on the Calaveras County Planning Department website created to bring interim and inconsistent zoning into compliance with the land use designations in the General Plan adopted in November 2019. There is a layer on the zoning map that shows parcels with a Williamson Act contract, which would necessitate Agricultural Preserve (AP) zoning. However, according to an email earlier this week from the Planning Department, “The zoning layer doesn’t properly reflect numbers of parcels currently restricted by an Agriculture Preserve Contract as parcels no longer in the Ag Preserve have not been re-zoned from AP for at least 10 years now.”

As the DOC representative indicated, “The map and data are intended to provide an inventory of agricultural resources for the County to make land use planning decisions with.  We will do our best to make the best maps and data, but until we get cooperation, the Farmland of Local Importance category will suffer.” He went on to say that even if the county were to provide the proper data now, “We will not re-issue the 2018 map/data, it is final. Any updated Williamson Act enrollment GIS data will be incorporated into the next update, 2020.  The correct WA enrollment data for the 2020 Important Farmland map/data would need to be fiscal year 20-21, to coincide with the 2020 map date.  I would guess that Calaveras 2020 is approximately 2 years away.” So our next chance for an accurate map is in December 2023.

The public has a vested interest in having an accurate Important Farmland Map, as an up-to-date map of agricultural land will be important in crafting an open space preservation plan for the county and for identifying priority lands for preservation. It will also be critical for crafting an open space zoning district as part of the zoning code update which is currently underway, to say nothing of how helpful it would be in the California Environmental Quality Act process for discretionary projects. Perhaps the county can start with correctly identifying Williamson Act and Agricultural Preserve parcels on the zoning map.