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SACRAMENTO -- The
pace of urbanization in Monterey County
from 1998-2000 increased compared to
1996-98, and a significant amount of
land was reclassified from dryland
agricultural uses to vineyards and other
irrigated crops, according to a new map
from 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 Monterey County,
2,457 net acres were added to the urban
category during the current mapping
cycle. The amount of urban land
increased by 800 acres during the
1996-98 cycle.
There is a net
increase of 14,611 acres in the
Important Farmland categories on the new
map, most of it in vineyards. It should
be noted that some of that increase took
place between 1994 and 1998, when air
photo coverage of the county was
incomplete. A complete set of
high-resolution air photos and satellite
data was available for the current
update. Large vineyards have been
planted throughout the county, including
one of 1,260 acres in the San Ardo area
and another of 1,150 acres in the Hames
Valley.
Since the 1990
survey, Monterey County has gained
nearly 14,000 net acres of Important
Farmland – bucking the statewide trend –
as well as about 7,300 acres of urban
land.
Looking ahead,
Monterey County reports that 1,298 acres
have been committed to non-agricultural
use in the future. 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 Monterey County planning officials.
Interested parties such as the county
Farm Bureau, Local Agency Formation
Commission, city planners, irrigation
districts and the county resource
conservation district 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 Monterey County and other local
governments balance the needs of a
growing population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Of the 2,121,128
acres mapped in Monterey County, 50
percent was categorized as grazing land,
11 percent as farmland, 36 percent as
“other” land and 2.5 percent as
urbanized land. “Other” land includes
wetlands, low-density "ranchettes" and
brush or timberlands unsuitable for
grazing.
Monterey County's
agricultural land will continue to face
development pressure in the foreseeable
future. The California Department of
Finance projects the county's population
will grow from its current 381,000 to
539,000 in 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Monterey
County's agricultural production was
more than $2.9 billion in 2000, ranking
it third among the state's 58 counties.
Following are
examples of farmland with new or
additional urban uses in Monterey
County:
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The 75-acre East
Ranch Business Park, a 40-acre sewage
treatment plant expansion, and the
10-acre Delicato Monterra wine
processing facility in King City.
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Ventana High School
(40 acres) and two housing
developments totaling about 85 acres
in Greenfield.
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The 50-acre Paraiso
Estates/Gabilan Views housing
development, a new school (20 acres)
and the Boronda Adobe History Center
(10 acres) in Salinas.
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The San Vicente
Townhomes (25 acres) and another
30-acre housing development in
Soledad.
In addition to 48
conversions of farmland to urban land,
FMMP mappers noted numerous conversions
of grazing or other land to urban land;
for example, the 445-acre Pasadera Golf
Course community near Laguna Seca and a
new golf course (130 acres) south of
Carmel Valley.
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 fall.
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
benefits to landowners who commit to
keeping their land in agricultural use
for periods of 20 or 10 years,
respectively.
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.
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