Title
REF220044 - AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION MITIGATION PROGRAM
a. Conduct a public workshop to review policy options and receive public feedback for the development of the draft Agricultural Conservation Mitigation Program regulations;
b. Consider establishing an Ad Hoc Committee; and
c. Provide direction to staff.
Project Location: Countywide (Inland Only)
Proposed CEQA action: The workshop is an early planning activity that is not a project under CEQA. The ordinance will be subject to a CEQA determination in the future.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Planning Commission:
a. Receive a presentation summarizing public feedback, policy options, and recommendations;
b. Establish an Ad Hoc Committee; and
c. Provide direction to staff.
SUMMARY:
The 2010 General Plan included an Agricultural Element in recognition of agriculture's importance to the County's economy. Agricultural Element Policy AG-1.12 requires the County to develop an Agricultural Conservation Mitigation Program (Program) to mitigate the loss of agricultural land to non-agricultural use. Development of this Program is one of the priority projects identified in the 2022 annual General Plan implementation report, and it has grant funding timelines. Development of the Program implements the 2010 General Plan, and as such, it will be applicable in the inland areas of unincorporated Monterey County.
The County was awarded a State of California Department of Conservation State Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program grant to fund the development of the Program. The grant was awarded in 2020 and is still active. Work on the Program was delayed for several years due to staffing constraints, but work has resumed, and substantial progress has been made. Staff completed its initial policy research and mapping activities in the spring of 2022, and the stakeholder and community outreach process commenced in earnest in May 2022.
Public outreach began with the County's Agricultural ...
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