General Plans, Zoning, and Ordinances

» Directly engage agriculturalists in every level of planning

» Update General Plans to incorporate agricultural goals and policies

» Use zoning codes to implement agricultural goals and policies

The state of California requires every county and incorporated city to produce a General Plan. While not required by state law, Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada each have General Plans as well. As part of the General Plan, open space and conservation elements must be included. Also in the General Plan process, communities can opt to include an agricultural element and an economic development element. The two non-required elements are strongly recommended if a community has extensive agricultural and timberlands. By law, the General Plan document must contain vision statements and guiding principles along with an "action program" identifying specific techniques that the county or city intends to use to implement its goals. Therefore, the General Plan process is both regulatory and visionary.

Frequently, the open space and conservation elements are combined to promote the management, preservation, and conservation of natural resources and open space. The goal is to assure the availability of those resources for future generations and allow the realization of their full economic potential through appropriate use and protection.

This planning tool provides counties and incorporated cities with powerful methods to establish growth patterns within their jurisdiction. But in order for a General Plan to remain practical and effective updates need to occur. If not already included in the General Plan, community members and especially agriculturalists need to advocate for an agricultural element.

When updating the General Plan, agricultural elements need to be revisited as well to ensure adopted methods are accomplishing stated goals. The following topics need to be addressed and included with the agricultural element of the General Plan:

* An implementation strategy with an agriculture element, where planning departments or agricultural commissions implement the strategy
* Agricultural infrastructure, particularly water supply and delivery
* An economic development element in the General Plan with a specific rural development section designed to support agriculture
* Goals and policies that define county and city support for Agricultural Waiver programs of the Clean Water Act
* Identify antiquated subdivisions and develop a program to retire patented parcels underlying agriculturally zoned areas

General Plan updates happen infrequently, but counties and cities have ample opportunity to shape growth in their community through zoning and ordinances. Agriculture zoning and creating agricultural preserves within a community allows for distinctive growth patterns while maintaining working landscapes.

The creation of buffer zones around agricultural preserves with specific permitted uses will help minimize land use conflict as will agriculture zones. Specific agriculture zoning needs to address a multitude of issues including:
* Minimum parcel sizes for agricultural uses
* Clear definitions of permitted and conditional uses
* Design guidelines for agricultural tourism uses
* Clear guidelines for agricultural housing
* Well-defined appropriate nuisance issues and nuisance ordinances to fit buffers
* A Right-to-Farm ordinance
* Well-defined agricultural subdivision allowed in agriculturally zoned areas with clear and realistic enforcement policies