|
SACRAMENTO -- Contra
Costa County saw another 4,798 acres of
land converted to urban uses between
1998-2000 -- nearly quadruple the
1996-1998 total -- mapping done by the
California Department of Conservation
shows.
Thousands of acres of
farmland or grazing land are being
urbanized or otherwise taken out of
agricultural use around the state,
according to the Farmland Mapping and
Monitoring Program (FMMP), part of DOC's
Division of Land Resource Protection.
In Contra Costa
County, a net total of 4,381 acres of
agricultural land -- 2,791 acres of
farmland and 1,590 acres of grazing land
-- were reclassified to urban land by
the FMMP. Also, 417 acres of "other"
land -- neither built-up nor used for
agriculture, such as wetlands,
low-density "ranchettes" or brush lands
not suitable for grazing -- were
reclassified as urban.
The rate of
urbanization is increasing in Contra
Costa County. In the 1996-98 FMMP
mapping cycle, 1,264 acres (1,202
agricultural) were urbanized. In
1994-96, 1,467 (852 agricultural) were
urbanized.
Looking ahead, 4,266
acres -- 3,484 of it agricultural --
were committed to non-agricultural use.
Typically, this is land earmarked for
development. In some cases the
development, such as sanitary sewer
installation, already may be underway.
The FMMP maps 44.1
million acres of California's public and
private land to produce a major study
every two years. The latest, Farmland
Conversion Report 1996-98, was released
last fall. About 70,000 acres were
urbanized throughout the state. More
than 43,000 acres of the new urban land,
an area about the size of the city of
Modesto, was developed on agricultural
land.
DOC's maps help local
entities evaluate land use planning
decisions. Contra Costa County planning
officials and interested organizations
such as the county Farm Bureau, Local
Agency Formation Commission, planning
consultants and area resource
conservation districts have received
copies.
"We do this to help
counties plan and prepare for their
expected growth in the coming years,"
explained Department of Conservation
Director Darryl Young. "This information
is a tool that can help Contra Costa
County and other local governments
balance the needs of a growing
population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Contra Costa County
agricultural land will continue to face
development pressure in the foreseeable
future. The California Department of
Finance projects that the county's
population will grow from its current
948,816 to nearly 1.2 million by 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, Contra Costa ranks No. 37
among California counties in gross value
of agricultural production at
$86,694,000 for 1999. Primary crops and
products include bedding plants and
milk.
The FMMP found the
following examples of land conversion in
the county:
-
Twelve conversions
of farmland to urban land in the
Brentwood area, including the 500-acre
Summerset golf community, Loma Vista
Elementary School, a new shopping
center, and the Brentwood Aquatic
Center.
-
The Meadowcreek
Village housing development in South
Antioch.
-
Thirty-seven
conversions of lesser farmland,
grazing or other land, most notably
the 700-acre Gale Ridge community in
San Ramon, the 160-acre Brookfield
golf community near Antioch, and the
160-acre Crystyl Ranch community in
Concord.
Through the
Department of Conservation, the state
offers programs that provide financial
incentives to keep land in agricultural
use. The California Farmland Conservancy
Program makes grants available to local
governments, land trusts or resource
conservation districts to purchase
permanent agricultural conservation
easements from willing landowners. These
easements prohibit future development.
Farmland Security Zone and Williamson
Act contracts provide potential tax
breaks to landowners who commit to
keeping their land in agricultural use
for periods of 20 or 10 years,
respectively.
###
|