Dear Editor,
Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the shared goals and
mitigation processes of the Gilroy City and Santa Clara County’s
Local Agency Formation Commission agricultural mitigation policies.
These preservation policies are not denying full market value sale
prices to landowners, nor are they to be used for eminent domain
actions by the state or municipalities.
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the shared goals and mitigation processes of the Gilroy City and Santa Clara County’s Local Agency Formation Commission agricultural mitigation policies. These preservation policies are not denying full market value sale prices to landowners, nor are they to be used for eminent domain actions by the state or municipalities.
To better understand and become familiar with these important needed agricultural mitigation policies, their goals, and stated protections, please go to: www.ci.gilroy.ca.us/planning/pdf/AgPolicy505.pdf to read Gilroy’s current adopted policy and go to www.santaclara.lafco.ca.gov to read the current LAFCO mitigation draft policy listed under “What’s New.”
The city and county developers should be willing and, if not, required to protectively mitigate both the open space habitat lands, including the fallow (unseeded) agricultural lands, in addition to mitigating the “prime” agricultural lands. The projects that they are applying to develop – within city boundaries or applying through the cities to annex a development – need open space land mitigation. The problem is that the mitigating agricultural land policies currently do not include open space habitat lands for required mitigation.
The developers, through the city agencies, should be willing and, if not, required to select and complete one of the three proposed LAFCO annexation mitigation processes within 24 months to preserve both our open space habitat lands and our prime agricultural lands in the unincorporated county:
n The acquisition and transfer of ownership of agricultural land to an agricultural conservation entity for permanent protection of the agricultural land or
n The acquisition and transfer of agricultural conservation easements to an agricultural conservation entity for permanent protection of the agricultural land or
n The payment of in-lieu fees to an agricultural conservation entity that are sufficient to fully fund:
~ The acquisition of agricultural lands or agricultural conservation easements for permanent protection, and
~ The cost of administering, managing, monitoring and enforcing the agricultural lands or agricultural easements, as well as the costs of promoting agriculture on the mitigation lands.
At least a 1:1 agricultural land annexation conversion ratio (I prefer a 2:1 ratio) would help preserve a vanishing rural agricultural edge for Santa Clara County cities. Every county taxpayer pays a very high price for development and city expansion. It’s in everyone’s best interest to preserve open space habitat lands and the prime agricultural lands, and to control urban sprawl. This is especially true for city residents having to endure added competition for limited water and energy, the added traffic and transportation problems and the strained vital city services, including sewage treatment and waste disposal.
Please attend LAFCO’s Dec. 13, 1:15pm public hearing in the Board of Supervisor’s Chambers at 70 West Hedding St. The commissioners will consider and perhaps adopt the Santa Clara County’s LAFCO annexation Agricultural Mitigation Policy at the meeting.
Ken Bone, Gilroy
