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SACRAMENTO -- The
pace of urbanization in Kern County from
1998-2000 decreased compared to 1996-98
but much more farmland was reclassified
as being non-cultivated, 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.
Kern County is one of
the state’s few counties in which both
“important” and “interim” farmland is
mapped. Farmland on which the USDA has
conducted modern soil surveys is known
as “important,” and is rated as either
prime farmland, farmland of statewide
importance, unique farmland or farmland
of local importance. “Interim” farmland
lacks soil surveys and is categorized as
either irrigated or non-irrigated.
In Kern County, 2,272
net acres of land were urbanized during
the current mapping cycle compared to
4,343 acres during the 1996-98 cycle. A
total of 15,338 acres of farmland –
11,501 acres of “important” farmland and
3,837 “interim” acres – were
reclassified to non-cultivated
categories on the new map. The 1996-98
total was 10,726 acres out of
cultivation.
While the FMMP report
indicates there are more than 990,000
acres of farmland in Kern County, the
county has consistently been ranked
among the state’s leading counties in
total urbanization and net losses of
farmland. From 1990 to 2000, the amount
of “important” and “interim” farmland in
the county decreased by 83,741 acres.
About one-third of this decrease was due
to urban-related changes, while
two-thirds were associated with the
idling of farmland.
Looking ahead, Kern
County reports that 5,006 acres –
including 3,653 acres of prime farmland
– have been committed to
non-agricultural use in the future.
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 Kern County planning officials.
Interested parties such as the county
Farm Bureau, Local Agency Formation
Commission, planning consultants and the
county 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 Kern County and other local
governments balance the needs of a
growing population with those of the
agricultural economy."
Kern 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 727,000 to
more than 1.2 million in 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Kern
County's agricultural production was
more than $2.2 billion in 2000, ranking
it fourth among the state's 58 counties
behind only Fresno, Tulare and Monterey
counties.
Following are
examples of agricultural land being
urbanized in Kern County:
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The Links at River
Lakes Ranch Golf Course and the River
Lake Ranch development northwest of
Bakersfield (300 acres), and “The
Gardens” development and the “Madison
Grove” homes in the same area (30
acres each).
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The Rancho Fiesta
development in western Delano (30
acres).
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New homes at three
locations in the Rosedale area (70
acres).
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New homes on 10
acres in the Arvin area plus an
expansion of about 130 acres of ponds
for the Arvin Edison Water Storage
District.
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 fall.
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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