|
SACRAMENTO -- The pace of urbanization
in Glenn, Shasta and Tehama counties
from 1998-2000 increased compared to
1996-98, and a significant amount of
Tehama County farmland was reclassified
as being non-cultivated in maps released
today by the California Department of
Conservation. The maps are 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.
All told, 2,311 acres
of land were urbanized in the three
counties during this mapping cycle
compared to 1,272 acres from 1996-98.
In Glenn County, 231
net acres of land were urbanized during
the current cycle compared to 56 acres
from 1996-98. All told, 113 acres were
reclassified from farmland to the
non-cultivated categories of urban,
grazing or “other” land – a category
that includes wetlands, low-density
“ranchettes” and brush or timberlands
unsuitable for grazing from 1998-2000.
That’s a decrease from the last map,
which showed 775 acres of farmland
reclassified.
Among the
urbanization observed in the county were
new homes in Willows (40 acres), Orland
(10 acres) and Hamilton City (8.5
acres). The biggest single change was
the 130-acre Thunderhill Racetrack on
Highway 162 west of Interstate 5.
Looking ahead, the
county reports that 2,417 acres of
farmland and 2,915 total acres of land
are committed to future non-agricultural
use. Often, this is land earmarked for
development. In some cases
infrastructure development, such as
sewer installation, may be underway.
In Shasta County,
1,405 net acres of land were urbanized
in 1998-2000, up from 1,182 acres in
1996-98. The majority of new urban land
occurred on grazing and wooded areas,
leaving the amount of cultivated land in
the county virtually unchanged. During
the 1996-98 update, most urbanization
also occurred in non-cultivated
locations, and a total of 1,487 acres
were reclassified out of farmland due to
being left idle for six years.
Examples of
urbanization in the county include
nearly 250 acres of homes and 85 acres
of commercial structures in the Redding
area, about 75 acres of new homes in the
Enterprise area, the 53-acre Willow Glen
Estates development in the Cottonwood
area, and a 78-acre expansion of the
Anderson Landfill.
Shasta County
reported that 237 acres of grazing land
and 2,980 acres of “other” land are
committed to future non-agricultural
use.
In Tehama County, 675
acres of land were reclassified as
urban, a large increase from the 1996-98
total of 34 acres. A large proportion of
this increase, approximately 625 acres,
was due to the increase in development
density at the Lake California resort
development northeast of Red Bluff.
Other examples of urbanization included
new homes on the northern fringe of Red
Bluff, an expansion of the Foothill
Recycling Center, a new Ford automobile
dealership in Corning and a 15-acre
expansion of Corning Disposal and
Recycling. Meanwhile, 1,193 acres of
farmland were reclassified to
non-cultivated categories compared to a
113-acre increase in cultivated land in
the 1996-98 cycle.
Tehama County
reported that 3,877 acres – including
1,237 acres of farmland – are committed
to future non-agricultural use.
Since 1990, the three
counties have gained a combined 3,187
acres of farmland and 7,530 acres of
urban land. Gains in farmland over that
time are primarily due to the planting
of irrigated eucalyptus groves and
increases in irrigated pastures.
The maps have been
sent to planning officials in each
county. Interested parties such as the
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 these counties and other local
governments balance the needs of a
growing population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Agricultural land in
these counties will continue to face
development pressure in the foreseeable
future. The California Department of
Finance projects Glenn County’s
population to grow from its current
29,000 to 45,000 in 2020, Shasta
County’s to grow from 178,500 to 247,000
and Tehama County’s to grow from 58,700
to 77,700.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Glenn
County's agricultural production was
nearly $281 million in 2000, while
Tehama County’s was $110.7 million and
Shasta County’s $50 million.
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. A new statewide report will be
released this summer.
In addition to
administering agricultural and
open-space land conservation programs,
the Department of Conservation ensures
the reclamation of land used for mining;
promotes beverage container recycling;
regulates oil, gas and geothermal wells;
and studies and maps earthquakes and
other geologic phenomena.
###
|