(a) A city or county may develop an agricultural land component of the city or county’s open-space element or a separate agricultural land element. If a city or county chooses to develop an agricultural land component of the open-space element or an agricultural land element, the agricultural land component of the open-space element or the agricultural land element shall do the following:

(1) Identify and map, utilizing the designations in the Farmland Monitoring and Mapping Program pursuant to Section 65570 or soil surveys conducted by the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service where applicable, agricultural lands within the city’s or county’s jurisdiction. That portion of the plan shall include all of the following:

Ask a real estate law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified real estate lawyers.
Specialties include: All Real Estate Law, Landlord and Tenant Law, Foreclosure, Homeowners' Association, Trespassing, Property Law, General Legal and more.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(A) All parcels subject to a contract executed pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5).

(B) All parcels subject to a conservation easement.

(C) All agricultural preserves established pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 51230) of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5.

(D) All parcels subject to a farmland security zone contract established pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 51296) of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5.

(E) All parcels being used for agricultural purposes within a sphere of influence or municipal service boundary and not subject to a permanent easement.

(F) The total acreage of land classified as a category of agricultural land and a breakdown of agricultural land by Farmland Monitoring and Mapping Program classification.

(G) The total acreage of agricultural land that is located within two miles of land zoned for housing, including rural residential uses, business, or industry in the land use element prepared pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 65302. The city or county shall not identify the individual parcels subject to this subparagraph.

(H) All public agencies with responsibility for preservation of agricultural land within the jurisdiction, including resource conservation districts established pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 9001) of the Public Resources Code.

(I) The total acreage and Farmland Monitoring and Mapping Program classification of former agricultural land that has been developed since 1984. All land that was, at any time, classified as agricultural land shall be included, even if it was subsequently classified as “other” land.

(J) The total acreage of land that qualifies as a category of agricultural land that is likely to be developed in the next eight years.

(K) An identification and designation of priority land for conservation.

(2) Establish a comprehensive set of goals, policies, and objectives based on the information identified pursuant to paragraph (1) to support long-term protection of agricultural land. In developing these goals, policies, and objectives, a city or county may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(A) Evaluating and amending as necessary the action plan developed pursuant to Section 65564.

(B) Avoiding or minimizing, when feasible, new development that is located on priority land.

(C) Locating, when feasible, new essential public facilities no less than one mile from priority land.

(D) Adopting land use and zoning policies to discourage leapfrog development.

(E) Creating procedures for cooperating with other public agencies and agricultural associations to protect priority land.

(F) Developing strategies to promote the development of multicounty and city-county agreements for the protection of priority land.

(G) Identifying the total acreage of agricultural land to be preserved within the jurisdiction.

(H) Prioritizing the development of housing, including affordable housing, and commercial development within existing areas zoned for housing and commercial development, when feasible.

(3) Identify and establish a set of feasible implementation measures designed to carry out and promote the goals, policies, and objectives established pursuant to paragraph (2). Implementation measures may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Establishing, or entering into an agreement with a resource conservation district, pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9151) of Division 9 of the Public Resources Code.

(B) Establishing public-private partnerships for the long-term protection and stewardship of agricultural lands.

(C) Establishing streamlined procedures for the development of housing within areas identified as adequate housing sites in the housing element developed pursuant to Section 65583.

(D) Promoting the development of housing and utilizing the reforms and incentives to facilitate and expedite the construction of affordable housing that are identified in Section 65582.1.

(E) Repealing ordinances that limit development in existing or planned urban areas, including, but not limited to, density limitations, permit caps, and height restrictions.

(F) Identifying all urban parcels suitable for infill development.

(b) Subject to available funding, and pursuant to the grant application requirements of § 10281.5 of the Public Resources Code, the department may award grants to cities or counties to implement the requirements of this section.

(c) (1) At least 45 days before adopting or amending the open-space element, or at least 45 days before adopting or amending an agricultural land element, each county and city shall submit to the department one copy of a draft of the agricultural land component of the open-space plan or amendment, or the agricultural land element or amendment, and any maps used in creating that component or element.

(2) The department may review drafts so submitted to determine whether the drafts incorporate all known agricultural land and reasonable measures for the long-term protection of agricultural land, and report its recommendations to the city or county within 30 days of receipt of the draft of the open-space element or amendment, or the agricultural land element or amendment, pursuant to this subdivision.

(3) The legislative body of the city or county shall consider the department’s recommendations before the final adoption of the open-space element or amendment, or the agricultural land element or amendment, unless the department’s recommendations are not available within the above-prescribed time limits as described in paragraph (4), or unless the department has indicated to the city or county that the department will not review the agricultural component of the open-space element or amendment or the agricultural land element or amendment.

(4) If the department’s recommendations are not available within those prescribed time limits, the legislative body of the city or county may take the department’s recommendations into consideration at the time it considers future amendments to the agricultural component of the open-space element or agricultural land element.

(5) All recommendations made by the department shall be advisory to the planning agency and legislative body of the city or county.

(d) This section does not require a city or county with an existing adopted agricultural land component of their open-space element, or an existing separate agricultural land element, that is in place before January 1, 2018, to update that element to require the information specified in this section.

(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 434, Sec. 5. (SB 732) Effective January 1, 2018.)