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Appendix to Land Use Current Conditions paper

Contents 1 El Dorado County Current Rural Policy Inventory 1.1 A. Urban and Rural Development Policies 1.2 B. Affordable Housing Requirements 1.3 C. Jobs-housing ratio standards 1.4 D. AG tourism or Economic Development 1.5 E. Right to Farm Ordinance 1.6 F. Open Space/Conservation Policies in GP 1.7 G. Active Ag General Plan Element and/or Easement Programs 1.8 H. Flood Protection Policies 1.9 I. Williamson Act 2 El Dorado Zoning

El Dorado County Current Rural Policy Inventory

The following text has been extracted from the 2004 El Dorado County General Plan. It is not an exhaustive list of policies and is not intended to represent the full General Plan document. The purpose of this document is to highlight the policies used to inform the Land Use Current Conditions Inventory paper.

A. Urban and Rural Development Policies

The urban limit line establishes a line on the General Plan land use maps demarcating where the urban and suburban land uses will be developed. Community Regions and Rural Centers shall be the established urban limit line. All lands not contained within the boundaries of a Community Region or a Rural Center are classified as Rural Regions.

Policy 2.1.1.2 Establish Community Regions to define those areas which are appropriate for the highest intensity of self-sustaining compact urban-type development or suburban type development within the County based on the municipal spheres of influence, availability of infrastructure, public services, major transportation corridors and travel patterns, the location of major topographic patterns and features, and the ability to provide and maintain appropriate transitions at Community Region boundaries.

Policy 2.1.1.1 The Communities within the County are identified as: Camino/Pollock Pines, El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, El Dorado, Diamond Springs, Shingle Springs, and the City of Placerville and immediate surroundings.

Policy 2.1.2.2 Rural Center boundaries establish areas of higher intensity development throughout the rural areas of the County based on the availability of infrastructure, public services, existing uses, parcelization, impact on natural resources, etc. These boundaries shall be shown on the General Plan land use map. Recognize existing defined places as centers within the Rural Regions which provide a focus of activity and provides goods and services to the surrounding areas.

Policy 2.1.2.1 The Rural Centers within the County are identified as: Coloma, Cool, Fairplay, Garden Valley, Greenwood, Georgetown, Grey\’s Corner, Grizzly Flat, Kelsey, Kyburz, Latrobe, Little Norway, Lotus, Mosquito, Mount Ralston, Mt. Aukum, Nashville, Oak Hill, Phillips, Pilot Hill, Pleasant Valley, Quintette, Rescue, Somerset, Strawberry, and Chrome Ridge.

Policy 2.1.3.1 All lands not contained within the boundaries of a Community Region or a Rural Center are classified as Rural Regions. Rural regions maintains the open character of the County, preserves its natural resources, recognizes the constraints of the land and the limited availability of infrastructure and public services, and preserves the agricultural and forest/timber area to ensure its long-term viability for agriculture and timber operations.

Policy 2.5.1.1 Low intensity land uses shall be incorporated into new development projects to provide for the physical and visual separation of communities. Low intensity land uses may include any one or a combination of the following: parks and natural open space areas, special setbacks, parkways, landscaped roadway buffers, natural landscape features, and transitional development densities.

Policy 2.5.1.2 Greenbelts or other means of community separation shall be included within a specific plan and may include any of the following: preserved open space, parks, agricultural districts, wildlife habitat, rare plant preserves, riparian corridors, and designated Natural Resource areas.

Policy 2.5.1.3 The County shall develop a program that allows the maintenance of distinct separators between developed areas (Community Regions and Rural Centers).

Policy 2.2.7.4 The County shall coordinate with the incorporated cities to ensure that compatible development occurs within each city\’s sphere of influence and/or the Community Region adjacent to each city, which is consistent with the County\’s and each city\’s respective General Plans, that development which is incompatible with the city\’s General Plan and within any city\’s sphere of influence and/or the Community Region adjacent to each city shall not be permitted by the County, and that urban development shall be discouraged until annexation to the city occurs.

B. Affordable Housing Requirements

Housing Element
Policy HO-4h The County shall work with the State Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a program to track the approval and status of employee housing, particularly housing in the Tahoe Basin and housing for agricultural employees.

GP Implementation MEASURE HO-F Continue to implement the following incentive programs:

• Allow second residential units with single-family residences by right; and
• Allow "hardship mobile homes," as defined in the Zoning Ordinance, as temporary second residential units in residential and/or agricultural zones.

Policy HO-1u The County shall track the approval and status of housing dedicated for agricultural employees.

GP Policies
Policy 8.2.3.1 A special use permit shall be required for additional dwellings over and above those allowed by right for permanent and seasonal agricultural employees. The Agricultural Commission shall review the application and make recommendation on the necessity and compatibility of the additional dwelling units with the agricultural activities both on- and off-site. The special use permit shall be subject to the following provisions: A. The housing is clearly needed for and incidental to agricultural production and related uses on the site; and B. The housing is constructed and maintained to conform to the minimum standards contained in the Uniform Building Code or as otherwise regulated by the State Department of Housing and Community Development for migrant farm labor housing.

C. Jobs-housing ratio standards

Community Regions: Policy 2.1.1.2 Establish Community Regions to define those areas which are appropriate for the highest intensity of self-sustaining compact urban-type development or suburban type development within the County based on the municipal spheres of influence, availability of infrastructure, public services, major transportation corridors and travel patterns, the location of major topographic patterns and features, and the ability to provide and maintain appropriate transitions at Community Region boundaries. These boundaries shall be shown on the General Plan land use map.

Policy 2.1.1.3 Mixed use developments which combine commercial, research and development, and residential uses on a single parcel are permissible and encouraged within Community Regions provided the commercial use is the primary and dominant use of the land. Within Community Regions, the mixed uses may occur vertically. In mixed use projects, the maximum residential density shall be 10 dwelling units per acre within Community Regions.

Rural centers: Policy 2.1.2.3 To meet the commercial and service needs of the residents of the Rural Centers and Rural Regions, the predominant land use type within Rural Centers shall be commercial and higher density residential development

Policy 2.1.2.5 Mixed use developments which combine commercial and residential uses on a single parcel are permissible and encouraged within Rural Centers provided the commercial use is the primary and dominant use of the land. Within Rural Centers, the mixed uses may occur either vertically or horizontally. The maximum residential density shall be four dwelling units per acre in Rural Centers in mixed use areas.

D. AG tourism or Economic Development

GP Policies Agricultural Element
Policy 10.1.5.4 Recognize and promote agricultural based industries in El Dorado County and provide for the expansion of value added industries in an economically viable manner consistent with available resources.

Tourism Policy 10.1.6.1 The County shall encourage expansion of the types of local industries that promote tourism including but not limited to Christmas tree farms, wineries, outdoor sports facilities, Apple Hill and other agricultural-related activities, the County Fairground, bed and breakfast inns, and ranch marketing activities.

Policy 10.1.6.2 The use of public transportation shall be encouraged to serve and support the County\’s tourist destinations.

Policy 10.1.6.3 Support land use designations adjacent to major transportation corridors which are suitable for convention centers and vehicle-to-shuttle-bus transfer facilities to support tourism, large special events, etc.

Policy 10.1.6.4 The majority of transient occupancy tax (TOT) generated revenue shall be directed toward the promotion of tourism, entertainment, business, and leisure travel in El Dorado County.

Policy 10.1.6.5 The County shall designate areas Tourist Recreation to promote the development of tourist-related business.

E. Right to Farm Ordinance

Excerpt from ordinance: It is the declared policy of the county to conserve and protect agricultural land and to encourage agricultural operations within the county. Where nonagricultural land uses, including but not limited to residential development, extend into or adjoin areas of agricultural land, agricultural operations have become the subject of nuisance complaints. As a result, agricultural operations are sometimes forced to curtail or cease operations, and operators are discouraged from making investments in farm improvements to the detriment of the economic viability of the county\’s agricultural industry as a whole. It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to reduce the loss to the county of its agricultural resources by limiting cir-cumstances under which agricultural operations may be considered a nuisance.

F. Open Space/Conservation Policies in GP

GP Policies
Policy 7.1.1.1 Conserve and maintain important agricultural soils for existing and potential agricultural and forest uses by limiting non-agricultural/non-forestry development on those soils.

Policy 7.2.2.1 The minimum parcel size within, or adjacent to, areas subject to the -MR overlay shall be twenty (20) acres unless the applicant can demonstrate to the approving authority that there are no economically significant mineral deposits on or adjacent to the project site and that the proposed project will have no adverse effect on existing or potential mining operations. The minimum parcel size adjacent to active mining operations which are outside of the -MR overlay shall also be twenty (20) acres.

Policy 7.2.2.3 The County shall require that new nonmining land uses adjacent to existing mining operations be designed to provide a buffer sufficient to protect the mining operation between the new development and the mining operation(s).

Policy 7.3.3.4 The Zoning Ordinance shall be amended to provide buffers and special setbacks for the protection of riparian areas and wetlands. The County shall encourage the incorporation of protected areas into conservation easements or natural resource protection areas.

Policy 7.4.1.3 Limit land uses within established preserve areas to activities deemed compatible. Such uses may include passive recreation, research and scientific study, and education. In conjunction with use as passive recreational areas, develop a rare plant educational and interpretive program.

Policy 7.4.1.4 Proposed rare, threatened, or endangered species preserves, as approved by the County Board of Supervisors, shall be designated Ecological Preserve (-EP) overlay on the General Plan land use map.

Policy 7.4.2.9 The Important Biological Corridor (-IBC) overlay shall apply to lands identified as having high wildlife habitat values because of extent, habitat function, connectivity, and other factors. Lands located within the overlay district shall be subject to the following provisions except that where the overlay is applied to lands that are also subject to the Agricultural District (-A) overlay or that are within the Agricultural Lands (AL) designation, the land use restrictions associated with the -IBC policies will not apply to the extent that the agricultural practices do not interfere with the purposes of the -IBC overlay.

• Increased minimum parcel size;
• Higher canopy-retention standards and/or different mitigation standards/thresholds for oak woodlands;
• Lower thresholds for grading permits;
• Higher wetlands/riparian retention standards and/or more stringent mitigation requirements for wetland/riparian habitat loss;
• Increased riparian corridor and wetland setbacks;
• Greater protection for rare plants (e.g., no disturbance at all or disturbance only as recommended by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/California Department of Fish and Game);
• Standards for retention of contiguous areas/large expanses of other (non-oak or non-sensitive) plant communities;
• Building permits discretionary or some other type of "site review" to ensure that canopy is retained;
• More stringent standards for lot coverage, floor area ratio (FAR), and building height; and
• No hindrances to wildlife movement (e.g., no fences that would restrict wildlife movement).

Policy 8.1.1.1 "Agricultural Districts" shall be created and maintained for the purposes of conserving, protecting, and encouraging the agricultural use of important agricultural lands and associated activities throughout the County; maintaining viable agricultural-based communities; and encouraging the expansion of agricultural activities and production. These districts shall be delineated on the General Plan land use map as an overlay land use designation.

Community separators

Policy 2.5.1.1 Low intensity land uses shall be incorporated into new development projects to provide for the physical and visual separation of communities. Low intensity land uses may include any one or a combination of the following: parks and natural open space areas, special setbacks, parkways, landscaped roadway buffers, natural landscape features, and transitional development densities. Policy 2.5.1.2 Greenbelts or other means of community separation shall be included within a specific plan and may include any of the following: preserved open space, parks, agricultural districts, wildlife habitat, rare plant preserves, riparian corridors, and designated Natural Resource areas. Policy 2.5.1.3 The County shall develop a program that allows the maintenance of distinct separators between developed areas (Community Regions and Rural Centers).

G. Active Ag General Plan Element and/or Easement Programs

Agriculture Element
Policy 8.1.1.1 "Agricultural Districts" shall be created and maintained for the purposes of conserving, protecting, and encouraging the agricultural use of important agricultural lands and associated activities throughout the County; maintaining viable agricultural-based communities; and encouraging the expansion of agricultural activities and production. These districts shall be delineated on the General Plan land use map as an overlay land use designation.

Policy 8.1.1.4 The procedures set forth in The Procedure for Evaluating the Suitability of Land for Agriculture shall be used for evaluating the suitability of agricultural lands in Agricultural Districts and Williamson Act Contract lands (agricultural preserves). The procedures shall be developed, reviewed, and revised, as appropriate, by the Agricultural Commission, and approved by the Board of Supervisors.

Policy 8.1.1.5 Except for parcels assigned urban or other nonagricultural uses by the Land Use Map for the 1996 General Plan, parcels 20 acres or larger containing "choice" agricultural soils (see Policy 8.1.1.2(b)) shall be zoned for agricultural use except where the Board of Supervisors determines that economic, social, or other reasons justify allowing nonagricultural development or uses to occur on the affected properties.

Policy 8.1.3.1 Agriculturally zoned lands including Williamson Act Contract properties shall be buffered from increases in density on adjacent lands by requiring a minimum of 10 acres for any parcel created adjacent to such lands. Those parcels used to buffer agriculturally zoned lands shall have the same width to length ratio of other parcels.

Policy 8.1.3.2 Agriculturally incompatible uses adjacent to agricultural zoned lands shall provide a minimum setback of 200 feet from the boundary of the agriculturally zoned lands. Agriculturally incompatible uses adjacent to agriculturally zoned land outside of designated Agricultural Districts shall provide a minimum setback of 200 feet on parcels 10 acres or larger.

Policy 8.1.3.4 A threshold of significance for loss of agricultural land shall be established by the Agriculture Department and the Planning Department, with opportunity for public comment before adoption, to be used in rezone applications requesting conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural lands, based on the California LESA system. For projects found to have a significant impact, mitigation shall include 1:1 replacement or conservation for loss of agricultural land in active production and/or 1:1 replacement or conservation for land identified as suitable for agricultural production. A monitoring program should be established to be overseen by the Agricultural Department.

Policy 8.1.5.1 Buildings resulting from clustered development through the Planned Development (-PD) process shall be placed to minimize the loss of choice agricultural lands.

Policy 8.2.4.5 The County shall support visitor-serving ranch marketing activities on agricultural land, provided such uses to not detract from or diminish the agricultural use of said land.

Policy 8.3.1.1 Lands suitable for timber production which are designated Natural Resource (NR) on the General Plan land use map and zoned Timber Production Zone (TPZ) or Forest Resource (FR) are to be maintained for the purposes of protecting and encouraging the production of timber and associated activities.

Policy 8.3.2.1 Lands zoned Timber Production Zone (TPZ) shall not be subdivided into parcels containing less than 160 acres.

Easements
Policy 7.3.3.4 The Zoning Ordinance shall be amended to provide buffers and special setbacks for the protection of riparian areas and wetlands. The County shall encourage the incorporation of protected areas into conservation easements or natural resource protection areas.

H. Flood Protection Policies

GP Policies
Policy 6.4.1.1 The County shall continue participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and application of flood plain zoning regulations.

Policy 6.4.1.3 No new critical or high occupancy structures (e.g., schools, hospitals) shall be located in the 100-year floodplain of any river, stream, or other body of water.

Policy 6.4.1.4 Creation of new parcels which lie entirely within the 100-year floodplain as identified on the most current version of the flood insurance rate maps provided by FEMA or dam failure inundation areas as delineated in dam failure emergency response plans maintained by the County shall be prohibited.

I. Williamson Act

Policy 8.1.1.6 Parcels encumbered by a Williamson Act Contract, pursuant to the California Land Conservation Act, shall be zoned Exclusive Agriculture (AE).

El Dorado Zoning