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SACRAMENTO -- The
pace of urbanization in Sutter County
from 1998-2000 increased compared to
1996-98, and a significant amount of
farmland was reclassified as being
non-cultivated in 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 Sutter County, 692
net acres of land were urbanized during
the current mapping cycle compared to 51
acres during the 1996-98 period. Much of
the development came near the
communities of Sutter and Yuba City, and
most of it was commercial in nature. The
average increase in urban land in the
county from 1988-98 was 215 acres per
year.
All told, 4,876 acres
were reclassified from farmland to the
non-cultivated categories of urban,
grazing or “other” land – a category
that includes wetlands, low-density
“ranchettes” and brush or timberlands
unsuitable for grazing. The idling of
farmland for three or more update cycles
in many locations around the county
accounted for most of the
reclassification. Low-density
development on farmland was noted in
several locations, and four new wetlands
areas of 200 or more acres were mapped.
Since 1990, 9,333
acres of farmland have gone out of
production in Sutter County and 2,354
acres of new urban land have been
created.
Looking ahead, the
county reports that 226 acres of
farmland and 114 acres of grazing land
are committed to future non-agricultural
use. Often, this is land earmarked for
development. In some cases
infrastructure development, such as
sewer installation, may be underway.
Of the 389,439 acres
in Sutter County, 77 percent were
farmland, 13 percent were grazing land,
6.2 percent were “other” land and 3
percent were urbanized. The remainder is
water area.
The map has been sent
to Sutter County planning officials.
Interested parties such as the county
Farm Bureau, Local Agency Formation
Commission, planning consultants and the
county resource conservation district
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 Sutter County and other local
governments balance the needs of a
growing population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Sutter County's
agricultural land will continue to face
development pressure in the foreseeable
future. The California Department of
Finance projects the county's population
will grow from its current 84,200 to
161,600 in 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Sutter
County's agricultural production was
nearly $343.5 million in 2000, ranking
it 21st among the state's 58 counties.
Following are
examples of farmland and grazing land
being urbanized in Sutter County:
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New developments
around the community of Sutter,
including Sweco Products Inc. and
other businesses (15 acres), an
expansion of Helena Chemical Company
(15 acres), and new buildings on about
45 acres of former grazing land at the
Sutter Industrial Park.
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In and around Yuba
City, the Calpine Power Plant (25
acres), a 15-acre expansion of the
Wildwood West housing community, new
car dealerships (10 acres) and the Sri
Guru Narak Sikh Temple (5 acres).
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The 140-acre Rio La
Paz Golf Club near Nicolaus along the
Feather River.
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About 20 acres were
developed in Pleasant Grove for a
Teichert facility and Consolidated
Dealer Systems Inc.
The latest statewide
study by the FMMP, Farmland Conversion
Report 1996-98, was released in the fall
of 2000. 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. A new statewide report will be
released this summer.
Through the
Department of Conservation, the state
offers programs that provide financial
incentives to keep land in agricultural
use. The California Farmland Conservancy
Program makes grants available to local
governments, land trusts or resource
conservation districts to purchase
permanent agricultural conservation
easements from willing landowners. These
easements prohibit future development.
Farmland Security Zone and Williamson
Act contracts provide potential tax
benefits to landowners who commit to
keeping their land in agricultural use
for periods of 20 or 10 years,
respectively.
In addition to
administering agricultural and
open-space land conservation programs,
the Department of Conservation ensures
the reclamation of land used for mining;
promotes beverage container recycling;
regulates oil, gas and geothermal wells;
and studies and maps earthquakes and
other geologic phenomena.
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