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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09201994 - IO.6 G TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS I .O.-6 `�.S;-.,` •.oF Con' tra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE 'f Costa L �'����� • • ��°¢ County DATE: September r 12, 1994 ,•T �sr^I•cGJK`� ` SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AGRICULTURAL SOILS TRUST SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS : 1 . ENDORSE the revised Work Program for the development of an Agricultural Soils Trust, as outlined in the attached report from the Community Development Director. 2 . DIRECT Community Development Department staff to proceed with this project with the assistance from other appropriate County staff . 3 . INDICATE that, based on current information, the Board of Supervisors believes that, . if an Agricultural Soils Trust is created, it should be created as a private, non-profit corporation with a Board of Directors which is appointed by the Board of Supervisors but is otherwise independent from the Board of Supervisors. 4 . DIRECT the Community Development Director to report back to the Internal Operations with an additional status report on this subject on December 12, 1994 . BACKGROUND: On April 19 , 1994, the Board of Supervisors approved the following recommendations from our Committee: 1 . DIRECT County Counsel and the Community Development Director to resolve the legal details of forming either a land trust or an agricultural preservation district as a mechanism to administer an Agricultural Soils Trust Fund for the Agricultural Core area, as defined on the County General Plan land use map. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES GNATURE: -RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTR TO REC M N I OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER JEFF SMITH MARK DeSAULNIER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED 7X_ OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE HO ,[J9 ATTESTED EP 2 y Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: See Page 3 SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY DEPUTY I .O.-6 2 . DIRECT the Community Development Director to work on the following tasks and provide an additional report on these tasks to the Internal Operations Committee in three months : • Prepare a detailed parcel map of the Agricultural Core area which will identify the geographic range for which the trust or preservation district has jurisdiction. • Prepare another map which identifies existing property boundaries, common ownership and the range of agricultural uses which may occur on these properties over a calendar year. • Identify the various means by which the trust or preservation district might secure property for long-term agricultural use (e.g. , the purchase of property in fee; use of conservation easements; acceptance of gifts or donations; or other mechanisms which may be identified) . • Develop a set of preliminary policies and criteria which might be used in setting priorities for the use of funds for land/property rights acquisitions the trust or preservation district might make. • Develop, in conjunction with the County Counsel 's Office, a proposed definition for a "land trust" and for an "agricultural preservation district" . • Consider the possibility of convening a panel of appraisers which would be brought in to discuss ways to value future development rights . • Consider consulting with agricultural economists at the University of California - Davis on ways to value future development rights . • Explore the possible use of various types of investment instruments which might be used as a mechanism for purchasing future development rights and outline for the Internal Operations Committee how this might work. • Outline for the Internal Operations Committee, in conjunction with the County Counsel 's Office, the advantages and disadvantages of having the Board of Supervisors remain in control of the trust or preservation district, as opposed to creating an independent entity which would operate the trust or preservation district. 3 . DIRECT the Community Development Director to prepare a staff report for presentation to the Board of Supervisors which amends the A-40 District to permit all uses now permitted in the A-20 District, plus those uses identified in the attached staff report as staff recommendations . On September 12, 1994, our Committee met with staff from the Community Development Department and reviewed the attached report which was prepared in response to these recommendations . We believes that staff is moving in the right direction and would like to encourage them to continue to develop the points outlined in the report. Our Committee believes that the Board of Directors 2 I .O.-6 of an Agricultural Soils Trust needs to be as independent as possible from the Board of Supervisors . We are, therefore, recommending that the Trust take the form of a private, non-profit agency with the Board of Directors being appointed by the Board of Supervisors, but otherwise being as independent from the Board of Supervisors as possible. Many of the other variables require additional staff work before our Committee and the Board of Supervisors will be in a position to make the policy decisions necessary to get the Agricultural Soils Trust underway. We hope to have a further report for the Board following the staff 's report to our Committee in December. cc: County Administrator Harvey Bragdon, Community Development Director Victor J. Westman, County Counsel Dennis Barry, Deputy Director, Community Development Department 3 I Contra Costa County Community Development Department DATE: September 8, 1994 TO: Internal Opera ions Committee FROM: arveyE. Bragdon, Directo SUBJECT: Interim Report on the Agricultural Soils Land Trust Program I. INTRODUCTION - On April 19, 1994, the Board of Supervisors considered an earlier report and set of recommendations from the Internal Operations Committee which urged the Board to consider establishing an agricultural land trust program for the Agricultural Core area. The Board endorsed the recommendations and directed Community Development Department staff to proceed with a variety of tasks which lead to the establishment of a land trust program. This report provides an update to the IOC regarding what has been accomplished, emerging issues which will require further Board discussion and direction, and next steps for establishing a land trust program. II. FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES Does the Board wish to pursue the Agricultural Soils Trust as outlined? 1. Agricultural Core Location 2. Keller Mitigation Funds 3. Purchase of development rights/conservation easements How Should the Trust Fund Be administered? 1. County Board of Supervisors reside as Board of Directors 2. Appoint Board of Directors 3. Delegation to Staff What funding Sources should be pursued beyond the initial $500,000? 1. Continuation of Keller Fee 2. Development of Agriculture Mitigation fee 3. Solicitation of grants and gifts 1 Should the County first develop a County wide action plan in conjunction with EBRPD and other Land Trusts to define priorities for acquisition? III. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL SOILS LAND TRUST Community Development Department staff has made progress on several tasks which were outlined by the Board of Supervisors in April 1994. Staff has developed a draft mission and goals statement; a preliminary administrative program; and further refined the project work program so that this effort can proceed. Formation of the Trust Entity and Nonprofit Incorporation- The Board asked staff to clarify some of the legal details needed to form a land trust as the mechanism to administer a preservation program for the Agricultural Core area. Most land trusts are created under the provisions of the Internal Revenue code section 501 (c) (3). The Agricultural Soils Land Trust would be a non-stock corporation organized for charitable purposes. The Land Trust would have a legal identity with the state of California. To make landowners eligible for a tax deduction upon donating land to the Trust, the Trust must be identified as a public charity under the Internal Revenue code section 501 (c)(3). Tax Exemption - The land trust can apply for tax exemption status which requires completing federal tax form 102 (IRS publication 557, Tax Exempt Status for your Organization). This task can to take up to eight months to a year to complete. These forms have been requested in preparation of establishing the land trust. Community Development Department staff will work with County Counsel to determine all necessary legal requirements and steps for establishing the trust. A separate report will be provided on this task. IV. FUNDING SOURCES - Presently,$500,000 has been collected from the Keller Canyon Landfill Agriculture mitigation fee. This fee is presently set at$1.00 per ton each,however this could be changed by the Board of Supervisors. Other funding sources should be explored such as establishing a countywide agriculture mitigation fee on new development,receiving donations of land,applying for grant monies,and prudent investment options available for land trust monies. 2 Establishing an Agricultural Mitigation Fee and Grants-With the establishment of an agricultural mitigation fee,long-term development could be assessed a fee when development expands into agricultural areas. The fee would be used to secure conservation easements within the Agricultural Core area and to fund the Agriculture Soils Land Trust Program. Another possible funding source are public and private grants. Staff will research and develop a listing of such grant monies for land trust program purposes. Establishing an agricultural mitigation fee ordinance and pursuing available grant monies are included in the revised work program and will be further examined and pursued. A Primary Pool of Protected Money-Evaluating investment options for the purposes of protecting a primary pool of money which will grow will also be explored with assistance from appropriate County staff. To ensure a long-term funding source with existing monies,there will need to be a firm policy for using these funds in the most prudent manner. This approach also assumes that a coherent plan for prioritizing land acquisitions will be in place. V. EXPANDING THE TRUST'S ROLE OUTSIDE THE AGRICULTURAL CORE Although the Board's primary interest for creating the land trust is for the protection of the agricultural core area, the role the trust could be expanded to include other non-urban lands. The secondary role, would be to help develop a countywide plan for open space acquisitions which identifies opportunities for mitigation banking. The Agricultural Soils Land Trust would not necessarily expend any of its funds for acquiring land outside the Agricultural Core area, but would be the vehicle in coordinating the development of a countywide program to maintain permanent open space. More specifically, such a plan would identify existing land trusts in Contra Costa County, identify acquisition and priority areas for mitigation banking, and provide an important tool for identifying countywide priorities for other agencies to execute their land acquisition programs. This effort would extend the role of the land trust to further implement the provisions of Measure C-1990 related to open space preservation. VI DRAFT ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE LAND TRUST- Staff has developed a draft administrative program for the Agricultural Soils Land Trust that is included as part of this report as Attachment A. This is a preliminary draft which describes the 3 overall role of the land trust; program procedures; criteria to be used for prioritizing land acquisitions; and monitoring and enforcement provisions. Other Tasks - In addition to the major tasks described above, staff has also been working on mapping the precise geographic boundary of the Agricultural Core area which will be covered by the land trust. The County Agriculture Department staff has provided information on the various farming activities which occur in the Agricultural Core area. CDD staff has attempted to estimate each crop's economic value on a per acre basis as shown in Attachments B and C. VII. REVISED WORK PROGRAM Based on the work which has been completed to date and the potential for expanding the role of the land trust outside the Agricultural Core area, staff has revised its work program and is included as Attachment D. Based on this work program staff will continue its efforts to establishing a Agricultural Soils Land Trust. 4 VIII. RECOMMENDATION - The IO Committee recommend the following to the Board: 1) Endorse the revised work program. 2) Direct Community Development Department staff to proceed with this project with the assistance from other appropriate County staff. 3) County staff will report back in December 1994 with a progress report. MT'sHDWTFIASLT Program to IOC 9/12/94 5 Attachments Attachment A-Draft Administrative Program Attachment B -Table 1 -Primary Agricultural Activities in the Agricultural Core Area Attachment C-Figure 1 -Estimated Value of Agricultural Crops per Acre Attachment D-Revised Work Program 6 Attachment A Contra Costa County Agricultural Soils Land Trust A Program Administration 1. Roles a. A Board of Directors would be the decision maker: adopt a program; approve the form of easement to be used; and approve or disapprove specific easement acquisition projects presented to it. b. The Director of Community Development would serve as staff to the Board of Directors for processing easement acquisition projects received from Contra Costa County Agriculture Soils Land Trust(CCASLT). The CCD Director would review projects submitted by CCCASLT for consistency with Program criteria and submit projects to the BOS. C. CCCASLT would administer the Program: make the Program known to eligible landowners;identify and evaluate potential projects;negotiate with landowners;prepare necessary documents;submit projects to the County Board of Supervisors;oversee close of escrow;and monitor easements acquired with Program funds. 2. Procedure a. Project Identification. .Projects would be developed by CCCASLT-through landowner inquiriestapproaches to CCCASLT and CCCASLT approaches to landowners under certain circumstances. In addition,potential projects might be referred to CCCASLT by the BOS,as the result of a landowner contact or inquiry. Periodically,CCCASLT would disseminate general information about the Program to all eligible landowners. b. Evaluation and Negotiation. CCCASLT would evaluate speck easement acquisition projects based on Program criteria. The CCCASLT Board would approve the terms and conditions of any proposed project, subject to approval by the BOS. Upon approval by the CCCASLT Board and agreement with the landowner,a project would be submitted to the BOS through the CDD Director. The project submission would include a description of the project, an evaluation/analysis of the project vis-a-vis the Program criteria,the written agreement between CCCASLT and the landowner(conditioned on County approval)and an appraisal. C. County review and decision. The CDD Director would review projects submitted by CCCASLT for consistency with the Program criteria and submit them to the BOS for consideration. The project would be calendared on the BOS agenda. The BOS would approve/disapprove the project. d. Close of Escrow. CCCASLT would have prepared closing documents (escrow instructions, Attachment A coat. easement, subordination agreements,etc.). The CDD Director would review closing documents and request to obtain funds from the County. B . Criteria Two criteria are suggested below. The first criterion must be met for a property to be eligible for the Program. The second criteria would be cumulative and would be used to establish the general priority of projects and to choose among projects if necessary. The cumulative criteria are not intended to be used quantitatively as in a numerically based selection process. The criteria are not all equally important,and the significance of individual criterion will vary among projects. However,they will be useful to evaluate the relative priority of projects for Program funding. Eligibility Criteria: Property is designated by the County General Plan and is zoned for agricultural use. Preservation for agricultural use is consistent with the Contra Costa Countywide Plan. This is the only criterion that must be met in order for a project to be eligible. Since the purpose of CCCASLT and this program is to implement existing county agricultural land-use plans and policies,easements should be acquired only on lands that are currently designated by the County General Plan and zoned agricultural. Cumulative Criteria: The cumulative criteria are a list of attributes or factors which, together,help determine the relative priority of projects. None of the cumulative must be met,but a property that meets or rates high on many of the cumulative criteria would indicate a higher priority than a property that meets or rates high on only a few of the criterion. The cumulative criteria are not to be used quantitatively;they are not a scoring system. Rather,they provide a guide to evaluating and ranking or choosing among different projects. Attachment A cont. The actual priority of a project will be determined by the CCCASLT Board,as part of its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Generally,the cumulative criteria address agricultural (4),strategic(2),vulnerability/urgency/threat(1),and cost(1) factors. (numbers representing the priority of a project) a. Present agricultural and economic productivity of the Property. This criterion looks at agricultural productivity in terms of how the property is utilized. Economic productivity,ie.,estimated gross agricultural income,would be one component of this criterion. The next criterion evaluates the potential productivity of the property, whether it is presently in agricultural use or not. b. The potential agricultural productivity of the land, given its soils, topography, water resources, etc. See above. c. Economically significant agricultural facilities on the Property. A property that contains significant agriculture site improvements s should be more important than a similar property without such improvements. d. Size of the Property. Generally,size is a factor which should be considered. How important this factor is will vary depending on circumstances such as location,neighboring properties, significant agricultural facilities,etc. Like the other cumulative criteria,this is not an absolute factor,only a relative one. e. Effect of conversion to non-agricultural use of the Property on adjacent or nearby properties in agricultural use. An evaluation of the effect of conversion given location,size,ag facilities,etc. f. Effect of protection of the Property on the opportunity to protect nearby agricultural property. 9- Immediate threat that the Property may be converted to non- agricultural use. Addresses the threat/jeopardy/urgency situation. This could relate to market pressures, imminent sale, owner's circumstances (death, disability, ownership splits),etc. Whether the property is under Ag Contract would be considered in assessing threat. h. The price at which the easement is being offered relative to its Fair Market Value.(FMV) All other things equal, the better bargain should rank higher. This may not be a frequent factor since we would expect to do most projects at FMV,but seems appropriate Attachment A cont. to include it. C . Monitoring and Enforcement CCCASLT would be responsible for periodic monitoring of easements acquired with Program Funds based on monitoring policies and procedures to be defined by CCCASLT. CCCASLT's Easement Monitoring Procedures would be a model for this. A summary of each monitoring report would be prepared and conveyed to the CCD Director. The CCD Director could request a complete copy of any monitoring report. The CCD Director would be notified in writing of a determination by the CCCASLT Board of Directors that a violation has occurred. The CCD Director and County Counsel will be notified in writing by CCCASLT of any proposed legal action to enforce an easement. Attachment B Types of Agricultural Crops and their values within the Agriculture Core Field Crops Acres Per acre Value Estimated Value' Alfalfa 800 $465.75 $372,600 Beans 100 $2,708.64 $270,864 Cantaloupes 300 $1,772.58 $531,774 Field Corn 200 $376.84 $75,368 Sweet Corn 1,600 $2,255.51 $3,608,816 Oat Hay 800 $412.50 $330,000 Onions 40 $4,191.20 $167,648 Peppers 300 $862.58 $258,774 Squash 150 $1,706.55 $255,983 Tomato .3,200 $1,793.28 $5,738,496 7,490 $1,654.54 $11,610,323 Misc. Crops Nursery-bed 10 n/a n/a Christmas tree 10 n/a n/a Vegetable seed 20 n/a n/a 40 Orchard Crops apples 900 $6,712.50 $6,041,250 apricots 500 $1,484.80 $742,400 cherries 150 $1,630.56 $244,584 peaches 150 $2,440.36 $366,054 pears 110 $2,843.10 $312,741 walnuts .800 $976.80 $781,440 2,610 $2,681.35 $8,488,469 ITotal 10,140 $2,167.95 $20,098,792 Source: County Department of Agriculture report 1993 note: total and subtotals for per acre value are an average acreage from rough estimate of Agricultural Commissioner Attachment C Figure 1-Estimated Value of Agricultural Crops per Acre $4,500 $4,191 h' $4,000 :•...:.:;:; $3,500 kv$: $3,000 #?: $2,708 . $2,500 •�� $1,772$2,000 $1,793 $1,706 $1,500 :.��}}3 nvf{y. ••}. y`: of--.i{:yr•.: v,'{�Y�'F:.•. $862 L Q vyyl• T,t..�:' y :.y?�.` '<` :itiirfvi,y ...._`5{. $1,000 �^`•}�-;Hhi ?''•};`:yam••:; • '•.. 44-�:�'_I-.. '/•:';•••:i:.i:::::• ..: . Ir::.:;.;.:{ y.\ i.cy.. :::`.'-• f•r .{•}..;..i:;:%r: :.,y:•;::::•: iii%:::�; - t $465 �2•.'e?j��:;•v•<�-y:+w:i4y'�'. $376 500 �:�.�:>:-?f•} :a{.Ly:;e}�9•Cc`!::y,.�t•�i fi.tf f. }�::f%r:t.:f,:•:�irvr'S•;:�.;ii.;-}}:.:•:;.i}%: •::.�.r.�t?"tr./:?.;:•>::{:::�:-:':•;•_i:{-t:, •x.'::.{<�:/-:N�4-n'Jti.Ft=.{'.'.;+::: • :;i:�:�i:tSgi.;.•tvrrri•:t j:}i-i•i}l}ini::'i:':•'i:':: I. y':F:Y.•:i'::: CO w r 0 a0i 3U U CL E .Q CO o eap m (n t0 7a �, �' O b U. U N Source:County Agriculture Dept.-1993 Agriculture Report Attachment D SCOPE OF WORK for AGRICULTURAL SOILS LAND TRUST I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND On March 28, 1994, the Board of Supervisors directed the Community Development Department to consider the creation of an Agricultural Soils Land Trust for the purpose of complying with the components of Measure C 1990 and the General Plan 1990-2005. Prior to this direction, the Board completed a rezoning of the Agriculture Core which resulted in rezoning almost all of those properties to the A-40(Exclusive Agriculture)District. This rezoning implements the mandates of Measure C-1990 and the policy provisions in the County General Plan. Measure C 1990 states "The 65/35 Land Preservation Plan policies are intended to: Protect and promote the economic viability of agricultural land by appropriate standards and policies. In section 3 B-(1) of Measure C-1990, Statement of Findings and Policy. "Growing urbanization of the County is threatening the long term viability of the County's agricultural and open space land, parks,wetlands,hillsides and ridgelines. Preservation and buffering of agricultural land is critical to maintaining a healthy and competitive agricultural economy and assuring a balance in land uses in the County." The text of Measure C clearly expresses the implied need for protecting agricultural resources. A land trust oriented program is one way to permanently protect the prime agricultural soils of the County.The General Plan discusses the reasoning behind the delineation of the Agricultural Core as follows, "The purpose of the Agricultural Core designation is to preserve and protect the farmlands of the County which are the most capable of, and generally used for, the production of food,fiber,and plant materials.In accordance with Measure C-1990,the Agricultural Core is to be protected by requiring a higher minimum parcel size to attempt to maintain economically viable, commercial agricultural units" The County General Plan also states the need for permanent protection of the prime agricultural soils.The Land Use Element of the general plan states in one of it's policies, "Establish standards and policies designed to protect the economic viability of agricultural land which may include,but not necessarily be limited to, preservation agreements, conservation easements, clustering, and establishment of agricultural mitigation fees." As part of the larger task of creating a trust-oriented program, staff will be examining these specific measures in more detail in developing a more formal recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Funding- At the current time$250,000 has been collected from in the Keller Canyon Landfill Open Space and Agriculture mitigation fees.This fee is presently set at$2.00 per ton, however this may be changed by the Board of Supervisors in the near future. Other funding sources could include establishing a countywide agriculture mitigation fee. Conceptually, future development could be assessed a fee to insure the long-term viability of agriculture. The fees collected under such a program could be used to fund the Agriculture Soils Land Trust Program. Exploring this option would require additional staff work if the Board of Supervisors decided to pursue this. II. THE TRUST AND LAND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS Previous Board Direction - On March 28, 1994 the Internal Operations Committee made the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for Community Development Department staff to begin work which would detail the necessary steps needed to create a land trust oriented program. The Overall Intent- The overall intent of the Agricultural Soils Trust Fund is two-fold, (1) To provide a mechanism to preserve and protect the soils in the Agricultural Core area; and to (2) promote the economic viability of agricultural land. This effort is intended to further implement Measure C-1990 and the policy provisions of the County General Plan. The following is a brief description of the rough mechanics of how the trust would operate. a)LEGAL STATUS OF THE TRUST Nonprofit Incorporation- The Agricultural Soils Land Trust would be a non-stock corporation organized for charitable purposes. Such an entity has a legal identity with the state of California which is separate from that of individuals involved in their management. To make landowners eligible for a tax donation upon donating land to the Trust,the Trust must be identified as a public charity under the Internal Revenue code section 501 (c)(3). Tax Exemption -Application for tax exemption requires completing federal tax form 1023. (also obtain a copy of IRS publication 557, Tax Exempt Status for your Organization) This can be expected to take eight months to a year to complete. b) LAND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS As part of considering the various Land management options available to the Trust, the following are the most common form of acquiring property rights or land in fee. Conservation Easements - Instead of an outright purchase, a conservation easement can be purchased. A conservation easement establishes a long-term commitment for using the property for agriculture use. While the development right belongs to the Trust, the ownership of the property still remains with the original property owner. Conservation easements seem to be the most common way of acquiring property rights and are used by other land trusts throughout the state. Land Acquisition- Staff's report will also discuss the various land acquisition options which include the following: acquiring the property in fee, lease back to dedicated agricultural growers, accept gifts and donations, or the use of any combination of these. Land Stewardship - If the land is purchased outright,the land trust is responsible for managing the land. If an easement is purchased the Board will develop polices that require agricultural activities. A part of the forthcoming report, the following question will be answered what(if any) policies will be in place that effect the land which is under the jurisdiction of the Trust. Who will determine what will take place on the land once it is acquired,or who will that decision rest with, the landowner/leaser. Gifts/Donations to Trust -A minimum amount of land area must be established for donations or gifts. Criteria must be established for accepting land donations. IH. MECHANICS OF THE LAND TRUST a) ESTABLISH BOARD OF DIRECTORS A Board of Directors must be established for the Trust. The board will assume legal responsibility and accountability for the affairs of the organization. Part of staffs work will outline an initial recommendation to the Board on composition of the Board of Directors. b) ESTABLISH PURPOSE AND GOALS A land trust must have a clear purpose and goals. Staff will establish purpose and goals that provide the Agricultural Trust with a framework in which to acquire properties.Help from the Land Trust Association,The Trust for public land, and various public trust agencies. c) HOW THE AGRICULTURAL SOILS LAND TRUST WILL OPERATE 1)Staff will propose an initial set of criteria which will establish the process for prioritizing land acquisitions in addition to drafting criteria for land acquisition. The report will describe day-to-day staffing needs. 2) The Trust will formally adopt policies which describes appropriate uses of land under it's jurisdiction.