California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 9 - Delta Protection Commission › Chapter 3 - Regulations Governing Land Use and Resource Management in the Primary Zone of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta › Section 20070 - Agriculture

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Overview
Delta agricultural lands were "reclaimed" through
				  construction of levees and drainage of the marshy islands of the area. In less
				  than 100 years, from 1850 to 1930, hundreds of thousands of acres of land went
				  into agricultural production due in large part to the high productivity of the
				  peat soils in the central Delta and the mineral soils in the higher elevations.
				  The farmers and landowners represented a cross section of the new
				  Americans--Slavs, Dutch, German, English, and others. Many groups of immigrants
				  first labored in the fields, then went on to become landowners or tenant
				  farmers including Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, and Hindus.
Early crops were grains, fruits, and vegetables marketed in
				  the nearby cities. Early specialty crops included wheat, barley, beans, and
				  potatoes. Later asparagus, sugar beets, tomatoes, and celery grew in
				  popularity. Currently, the Delta counties raise a variety of crops including
				  grains, fruits, field crops, nuts, seeds, pasture and alfalfa, wine grapes,
				  vegetables, olives and blueberries.
In the recent past, thousands of acres of agricultural lands
				  were developed for residential and other urban uses. Between 1990 and 2004,
				  approximately 39,000 acres of agricultural land was converted to urban and
				  other uses in the larger Delta-Suisun Marsh area (
Status and Trends of
				  Delta-Suisun Service
, California Department of Water Resources, May
				  2007). New markets to sell crops, including new crop uses such as the
				  conversion to fuel sources, will continue to keep agriculture an important land
				  use in the Delta and California.
Agricultural lands within the Delta are highly productive and
				  well suited for ongoing agricultural operations. Delta counties have recognized
				  the value of the agriculture economy and have clearly delineated Delta lands
				  for long-term agricultural use. Local governments use specific land use tools
				  to protect the agricultural way of life within the Delta. These tools are the
				  inclusion of agricultural elements in their general plans, the adoption of
				  urban limit lines, the establishment of buffers between agriculture and other
				  approved uses, the adoption of Right-to-Farm ordinances, full support of the
				  Williamson Act programs, the control of land subdivision and land use types
				  allowed within agricultural areas, the establishment of minimum agricultural
				  parcel sizes, and the establishment of limits on General Plan land use
				  designation changes. Also pursuant to the Act, to the extent that any of the
				  requirements specified in this Land Use and Resource Management Plan are in
				  conflict, nothing in this Plan shall deny the right of the landowner to
				  continue the agricultural use of the land.
Some agricultural lands provide rich seasonal wildlife
				  habitat. Thousands of acres of agricultural lands are flooded after harvest and
				  provide feeding and resting areas for resident and migratory birds and other
				  wildlife. This practice of seasonal flooding helps maximize the wildlife values
				  of agricultural areas and lessen opportunities for agricultural
				  pests.
(b) Goals
To support long-term viability of agriculture and to
				  discourage inappropriate development of agricultural lands.
Support the continued capability for agricultural operations
				  to diversify and remain flexible to meet changing market demands and crop
				  production technology. Promote the ability for agriculture operations to change
				  the crops or commodities produced to whatever is most economically viable at
				  the time. Support the use of new crop production technologies that keep Delta
				  agricultural operations competitive and economically sustainable.
The priority land use of areas in the Primary Zone shall be
				  oriented toward agriculture and open space. If agriculture is no longer
				  appropriate, land uses that protect other beneficial uses of Delta resources
				  and that would not adversely affect agriculture on surrounding lands or the
				  viability or cost of levee maintenance, may be permitted. If temporarily taken
				  out of agriculture production due to lack of adequate water supply or water
				  quality, the land shall remain reinstateable to agriculturally-oriented uses
				  for the future.
(c) Policies
(1) Support and encourage agriculture in the
				Delta as a key element in the State's economy and in providing the food supply
				needed to sustain the increasing population of the State, the Nation, and the
				world.
(2) Conversion of land to
				non-agriculturally-oriented uses should occur first where productivity and
				agricultural values are lowest.
(3)
				Promote recognition of the Delta as a place by educating individuals about the
				rich agricultural heritage, the unique recreational resources, the biological
				diversity, and the ongoing value of maintaining a healthy agricultural economy
				in the Delta.
(4) Support
				agricultural programs that maintain economic viability and increase
				agricultural income in accordance with market demands, including but not
				limited to wildlife-friendly farming, conservation tillage and
				non-tillage.
(5) Local governments
				shall encourage implementation of the necessary plans and ordinances to:
				maximize agricultural parcel size; reduce subdivision of agricultural lands;
				protect agriculture and related activities; protect agricultural land from
				conversion to non-agriculturally-oriented uses. An optimum package of
				regulatory and incentive programs could include:
(1) an urban limit line;
(2) minimum parcel size consistent with local
				agricultural practices and needs;
(3) strict subdivision regulations regarding
				subdivision of agricultural lands to ensure that subdivided lands will continue
				to contain agriculturally-oriented land uses;
(4) require adequate buffers between
				agricultural and non-agricultural land uses particularly residential
				development outside but adjacent to the Primary Zone;
(5) an agriculture element of the general
				plan;
(6) a Right-to-Farm
				ordinance; and
(7) a conservation
				easement program.
(6)
				Encourage acquisition of agricultural conservation easements from willing
				sellers as mitigation for projects within each county. Promote use of
				environmental mitigation in agricultural areas only when it is consistent and
				compatible with ongoing agricultural operations and when developed in
				appropriate locations designated on a countywide or Deltawide habitat
				management plan.
(7) Encourage
				management of agricultural lands which maximize wildlife habitat seasonally and
				year-round, through techniques such as fall and winter flooding, leaving crop
				residue, creation of mosaic of small grains and flooded areas, wildlife
				friendly farming, controlling predators, controlling poaching, controlling
				public access, and others.
(8)
				Encourage the protection of agricultural areas, recreational resources and
				sensitive biological habitats, and the reclamation of those areas from the
				destruction caused by inundation.
(9) Support agricultural tourism and
				value-added agricultural production as a means of maintaining the agricultural
				economy of the Delta.