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SACRAMENTO -- The
pace of urbanization in San Joaquin
County in 1998-2000 increased compared
to 1996-1998, and a significant amount
of prime farmland was developed,
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 San Joaquin
County, 2,555 acres were urbanized
during the latest mapping cycle compared
to 1,857 acres during the 1996-98 cycle.
More than 90 percent of the land
reclassified as urban in the latest
study was farmland, and 1,529 acres was
rated as prime farmland.
Since the 1990 FMMP
survey, 10,390 acres from all sources
have been urbanized in San Joaquin
County.
Of the 912,600 acres
mapped in San Joaquin County, 69 percent
were farmland, 16.5 percent were grazing
land, 8 percent was urban and 5 percent
were "other" land. The remainder was
water. "Other" land is a category that
includes wetlands, low-density "ranchettes"
and brush or timberlands unsuitable for
grazing.
Looking ahead, the
county reports that 8,733 acres of
farmland -- more than half of it prime
-- and 9,000 total acres are committed
to non-agricultural use. Often, this is
land earmarked for development. In some
cases infrastructure development, such
as sewer installation, may be underway.
The map has been sent
to San Joaquin County planning
officials. 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 can help San Joaquin
County and other local governments
balance the needs of a growing
population with those of the
agricultural economy."
San Joaquin 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
585,600 to 920,900 by 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of San
Joaquin County's agricultural production
was about $1.35 billion in 2000, ranking
it sixth among the state's 58 counties.
The FMMP noted 74
changes of farmland to urban land in the
survey, predominantly additions to
housing, commercial and industrial
facilities in Stockton, Tracy, Manteca
and Lodi. One of the largest conversions
was about 275 acres for the first phase
of a golf course and housing
development, The Reserve at Spanos Park.
The latest statewide
study by the FMMP, Farmland Conversion
Report 1996-98, was released in the fall
of 2000. 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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