O 536
ORDINANCE NO. 536 !
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ,
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ARROYO GRANDE SUSPENDING DEVELOPMENT
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APPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ANY PRIME !
FARMLAND SOILS I
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WHEREAS, on October 9, 2001 the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande ("City") ,.
adopted the Agriculture, Conservation and Open Space Element of the 2001 General
Plan; and f
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WHEREAS, Agriculture Objective "Ag1" of the Agriculture, Conservation and Open ,
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Space Element in the 2001 General Plan, is to "Avoid, minimize and/or mitigate loss of
prime farmland soils and conserve non-prime Agriculture use and natural resource 1
lands"; and
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WHEREAS, the City acquired a grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy I
("CSCC") in 1991 to develop a Coordinated Agricultural Support Program ("CASP") for \
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the Arroyo Grande Valley. The overall purpose of the CASP was to identify issues and l
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conflicts related to the support and preservation of agricultural resources of the Arroyo I
Grande Valley. As a result of development, there remain few areas within the City with I
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contiguous parcels of prime farmland soil. In the interest of preserving existing prime i
farmland soils from urban encroachment, the City deems it necessary to consider all i
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ramifications of allowing the development of prime farmland soils; and I
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WHEREAS, the CASP study suggested that when development occurs, it should be I
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done in a "logical and orderly" fashion. Development should not hinder any agricultural- l
viable parcels adjacent to those parcels as they develop. The City occupies 5.45 square
miles, with most of its urban development located in the western quadrants. Orderly !
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ORDINANCE NO. 536
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development has allowed the town center with its current infrastructure to be sufficiently
capable of providing services to the population while retaining the ability to expand. At
the same time large parcels of outlying prime farmland soil have been protected from
development. The City Council seeks to assure the public that policies of the 2001
General Plan are implemented to safeguard the welfare and health of the community.
Study of this issue will ensure that zoning will continue to provide for infill growth in
areas with sufficient infrastructure and services and simultaneously protect outlying
areas from premature and/or unnecessary conversion of prime farmland soils; and
WHEREAS, suburban sprawl has been defined as irresponsible, poorly planned
development that destroys green space, increases traffic and air pollution, and
negatively impacts the ability to provide public services. It is critical to the social and
economic health of the City to promptly research this issue and develop solutions to
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avoid sprawl, thereby promoting the long-term health and orderly development of the I
community. One possible solution may be the use of urban growth boundaries and/or
agricultural buffers to create designated urban growth areas with distinct boundaries to
protect the areas outside the boundaries. The State Department of Housing and
Community Development ("HCD") on December 4, 2002 determined that the San Luis
Obispo County regional housing need is 18,035 housing units over the next five years.
In January 2003, more than one year after adoption of the City's General Plan, the San
Luis Obispo Council of Govemments is expected to assign approximately 1,200 to
1,440 units to the City of Arroyo Grande to plan for in its 2003 General Plan Housing I
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Element Update. The Council is required by Govemment Code section 65580(e), to I
consider "economic, environmental, and fiscal factors and community goals. in the I
General Plan. This moratorium will enable the Council to review the Arroyo Grande
housing needs projected by HCD and distributed by SLOCOG in a manner to prevent
sprawl, and comply with the 2001 General Plan, Agriculture, Conservation and Open
Space Element and refine policies intended to protect prime farmland soils; and
WHEREAS, the viability of the City, both economically and culturally, is significantly
dependent upon revenues from the agricultural sector. The 1997 Census of Agriculture
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ORDINANCE NO. 536 I
PAGE 3
from the United States Department of Agriculture as released by the California !
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Agriculture Statistics Service shows that for San Luis Obispo County, farmland I
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decreased 2 percent from 1,324,403 acres in 1992 to 1,301,889 acres in 1997. At the
same time, in San Luis Obispo County, the market value of agricultural products sold
increased 69 percent to $312,950,000 in 1997. According to the CASP study, the fertile
soils of the 2,500:t acres in the Arroyo Grande Valley yielded approximately $10 million
in agricultural value. The County Assessor's maps identified 168 parcels within the
CASP study area, with 28 lying within City limits for a collective total of 282 acres. Many I
of these landowners lease to any of about 10 commercial growers, most of whom also
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own nearby acreage. Of parcels in the Study Area, approximately 106 were in active
agricultural production at the time of the CASP study. Total revenues per acre were
estimated at $4,000 per year thus generating retums equivalent to approximately $7.9
million in 1994, or about 1/6 of the County's total gross revenues for that year. A
moratorium on development applications will allow for time to study locations where
permitting development may have an adverse affect on the agricultural sector thus
affecting City and County revenues and other economic benefits of preservation of
prime farmland soils. Moreover, the City Council desires to avoid a "domino. effect
whereby development may affect conversion of surrounding agricultural lands. This
includes refinement of conversion mitigation measures, urban growth boundaries and/or
agricultural "buffers"; and
WHEREAS, the City Council deems that it is critically necessary to protect prime
farmland soils from encroachment of non-agricultural, higher density uses. The City
Council seeks to ensure that development occurs in a logical and orderly fashion within
the City, and to study the effects of buffers between developing areas and prime
farmland in compliance with the agriculture objectives and policies of the 2001 General
Plan. The State Department of Housing and Community Development projections for
regional housing needs will greatly affect the growth of the City of Arroyo Grande.
Therefore, the City Council deems it necessary to avoid the effects of sprawl and,
alternatively, study the use of urban growth boundaries and agricultural buffers. The
future of the City of Arroyo Grande as a community with a strong economic base
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ORDINANCE NO. 536 i
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On motion of Council Member Dickens, seconded by Council Member Costello, and on I
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the following roll call vote to wit: i
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AYES: Council Members Dickens, Costello, and Mayor Ferrara I
NOES: Council Members Runels and Lubin I
ABSENT: None !
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the foregoing ordinance was passed and adopted at this reading on the 14th day of I
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January, 2003. I
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ORDINANCE NO. 536
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TONY~
ATTEST:
/JuftJtMA-L
KELL Eli ORE, DIRECTOR OF
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICESI
DEPUTY CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
~l~'TYMANAGER
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION
I, KELLY WETMORE, Director of Administrative Services/Deputy City Clerk of
the City of Arroyo Grande, County of San Luis Obispo, State of California, do
hereby certify under penalty of pe~ury, that the attached is a true, full, and
correct copy of Ordinance No. 536 which was introduced at a regular meeting of
the City Council on December 10, 2002; and was passed and adopted at the
regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande on the 14th day
of January, 2003.
I further certify that said Ordinance No. 536 was duly published in summary in
accordance with the law and order of said City Council in The Five Cities Times
Press Recorder, a newspaper printed and published in said City, on 3111 day of
January, 2003, at least five days prior to the meeting at which it was proposed for
adoption; and a copy of the summary was posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board.
WITNESS my hand and the Seal of the City of Arroyo Grande affixed this 17th
day of January, 2003.
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KELLY: E MORE, DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES/
DEPUTY CITY CLERK