The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06202000 - D6 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: DENNIS M. BARRY, AICP Costa COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR County DATE: JUNE 20, 2000 SUBJECT: RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AGRICULTURAL TASK FORCE SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS 1. CONSIDER the proposed membership guidelines and the process for recruiting and seating new members for the re-establishment of the County Agricultural Task Force, including the timeline for completing the process and ADOPT same; 2. APPROVE the proposed work program for the Agricultural Task Force, including the timeline for the review of potential County Code Amendments; 3. DIRECT the Community Development Department and the Agricultural Commissioner to implement the Board's direction. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON June 20, 2000 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED XX OTHER On this date, the Board considered re-establishing the Agricultural Task Force. Public Comment was OPENED, and Sarah Mora, Farm Bureau, 5554 Clayton Road, Concord, spoke in favor of the matter; no one else desiring to speak, the Board discussed the issue and took the following action: APPROVED staffs recommendations as stated above. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND XX UNANIMOUS(ABSENT — -- I° CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND AYES: NOES: ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ABSENT: ABSTAIN: SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN Contact: Catherine Kutsuris 335-1210 ATTESTED June 20, 2000 cc: Ed Meyer,Agricultural Commissioner PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Community Development SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY A"DMININISTRATOR B � ,DEPUTY 6 ".4- C20- clo June 20, 2000 Board of Supervisors Re-Establishment of the Agricultural Task Force Page 2 FISCAL IMPACT The cost for the involvement of the Agricultural Commissioner's Office is covered by their annual budget. The staffing cost for the Community Development Department for the initial six- month period is approximately$6000.00. This budget estimate is based on the proposed work program included herein. This staffing cost will be included in the Department's reimbursement request for unfunded mandates. BACKGROUND The Agricultural Task Force was originally established on March 25, 1991 to advise the Board on agricultural and open space issues. The 16 member committee, supplemented by alternates and a technical advisory committee, met for several years. On March 28, 2000, the Board authorized the re-establishment of the Task Force and directed the Community Development Department to develop guidelines and to establish a process for recruiting and seating new members. The goal of the Task Force is to provide a forum whereby those actively involved in agriculture may provide input or advise on agricultural issues. The proposed membership and work program was developed in response to what was learned from the efforts of the previous task force. A more focused group and a clear work program have been included to ensure that the time invested by both the agricultural community and staff is efficiently used. A. Membership: While developing a proposed membership, staff consulted with both the Contra Costa County Farm Bureau and the County Agricultural Commissioner. The proposed membership would ensure representation from throughout the County, as well as from the variety of agricultural products produced within the County. To ensure that the Task Force represents each region of the County, five seats would be allocated such that one member would be nominated by each Supervisor. Those appointed must be actively involved in agriculture in our County. Four additional seats would be provided as follows: • One seat for a representative of the Contra Costa County Farm Bureau —nominated by the Bureau; • One seat for a representative of the Cattlemen's Association — nominated by the Association; • One seat for the University of California Cooperative Extension - nominated by the Extension office; • One seat for the Resource Conservation District nominated by the District. June 20, 2000 Board of Supervisors Re-Establishment of the Agricultural Task Force Page 3 Although it is expected that appointments for these nine positions will represent the variety of agricultural products within the County, to the extent that one or more of the following categories' is not represented, additional appointment{s} should be made: • Field Crops • Vegetable and Seed Crops • Fruit and Nut Crops • Nursery Products • Livestock and Poultry B. Proposed Timeline for Seating Members: The proposed timeline, which allows approximately one month to advertise the openings, accept nominations, and schedule appointments for the Board's agenda, is as follows: • Advertise positions June 26th —July 6th • Accept nominations June 26th - July 18th • Board Appointments August 1st • First Task Force Meeting August 14th —84th C. Work Program: The proposed work program includes three components. The first would be to provide assistance to the Community Development Department related to the Department's review of potential zoning code amendments to implement the Agricultural Resource Policies of the Contra Costa County General Plan. This four month effort will include two to three meetings with the Agricultural Task Force to discuss the issues and review recommendations, as well as hearings before the County Planning Commission. The second task for the Agricultural Task Force would be to provide advice and input to the Community Development Department related to the program review of the Williamson Act and the Super Williamson Act. This work effort includes addressing issues such as the minimum acreage required to establish an agricultural preserve. At the conclusion of these two work items, the Task Force should meet on a quarterly or biannual basis to discuss issues related to agriculture, and to be available to provide expertise upon which County staff could rely for advice on programs or issues related to agriculture. 1 Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture 1999 Crop Report " June 20, 20001 Board of Supervisors Re-Establishment of the Agricultural Task Force Page 4 D. Staffing: The Community Development Department is available to provide initial staffing for the organization of the Task Force, and during the review of the two work program items discussed above in Item #C. The office of the Agricultural Commissioner is available to assist in providing staff support to the Task Force during this period, and to assume primary staffing at the conclusion of the Community Development Department's program reviews.