|
SACRAMENTO -- While a
relatively small amount of acreage was
involved, the pace of urbanization from
1998-2000 more than tripled in Siskiyou
County compared to 1996-1998, according
to a map released today by 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 Siskiyou County,
277 acres -- virtually all of it
farmland -- were urbanized during the
latest mapping cycle compared to only 78
acres during the 1996-98 cycle.
Since the 1990 FMMP
survey, 1,491 acres from all sources
have been urbanized in Siskiyou County.
Of the 1,281,292
acres mapped in Siskiyou County, 63
percent were farmland, 29 percent were
grazing land, 1 percent was urban and 5
percent were "other" land. The remainder
is water.
Looking ahead, the
county reports that 27 acres of farmland
and 36 acres of grazing land are
committed to non-agricultural use.
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 Siskiyou County planning officials,
and interested parties such as the
county Farm Bureau, Local Agency
Formation Commission, planning
consultants and area resource
conservation districts 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 Siskiyou County and other local
governments balance the needs of a
growing population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Siskiyou County's
agricultural land will continue to face
development pressure in the foreseeable
future. The California Department of
Finance projects that the county's
population will grow from its current
46,100 to 58,200 by 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Siskiyou
County's agricultural production was
about $119 million in 2000, ranking it
34th among the state's 58 counties.
Following are
examples of agricultural land being
urbanized in Siskiyou County:
-
A new runway at the
county airport.
-
The Karuk Tribe
Housing Authority in Yreka.
-
New or previously
unclassified homes totaling 175 acres
in the City of Mount Shasta.
The latest statewide
study by the FMMP, Farmland Conversion
Report 1996-98, was released last fall.
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.
###
|