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SACRAMENTO -- While a
relatively small amount of acreage was
involved, the pace of urbanization from
1998-2000 increased nearly five-fold in
Yuba County compared to 1996-98,
according to a map released today by the
California Department of Conservation.
The map is designed to help local
governments evaluate land-use planning
decisions.
The Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program (FMMP), part of
DOC's Division of Land Resource
Protection, maps 44.5 million acres of
California's public and private land to
produce a major study every two years.
In Yuba County, 362
acres of land were urbanized during the
current mapping cycle compared to only
69 total acres during the 1996-98 cycle.
Between 1998-2000,
net totals of 81 acres of farmland, 209
acres of grazing land and 72 acres of
land classified as "other" -- a category
that includes wetlands, low-density "ranchettes"
and brush or timberlands unsuitable for
grazing -- were reclassified as urban
land in Yuba County.
In addition, 3,488
acres of farmland were reclassified as
being either grazing land or "other"
land, meaning they are no longer in
cultivation.
Since the 1990 FMMP
survey, 16,239 acres of farmland have
been reclassified to other uses and 821
acres have been urbanized in Yuba
County.
Of the 411,817 acres
mapped in Yuba County, 22 percent were
farmland, 35 percent were grazing land,
3 percent were urban and 39 percent were
"other" land. The remainder is water.
The map has been sent
to Yuba County planning officials, and
interested parties such as the county
Farm Bureau, Local Agency Formation
Commission, planning consultants and
area resource conservation districts
have received copies.
"We do this mapping
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 Yuba County and other local
governments balance the needs of a
growing population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Yuba County's
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
66,000 to 109,000 by 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Yuba
County's agricultural production was
more than $148 million in 2000, ranking
it 32nd among the state's 58 counties.
Following are
examples of agricultural land being
urbanized in Yuba County:
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Three industrial
facilities of about 15 acres each
north of Marysville.
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The Pacific
Millwork processing plant, about 10
acres in size, near Olivehurst.
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The new Sacramento
Valley Amphitheater, which covers
about 25 acres.
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The Gold Village
housing community, about 30 acres,
near Smartville.
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The East Linda
Gardens Apartments in Linda, about 10
acres.
The latest statewide
study by the FMMP, 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, were developed
on agricultural land.
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