Update General Plans to incorporate agricultural goals and policies

• Include an agriculture element with specific goals and policies in every general plan in the Sierra Nevada

• Include an implementation strategy with each agriculture element, where planning departments or agricultural commissions implement the strategy

• Include agricultural infrastructure, particularly water supply and delivery, in Capital Improvement Plans

• Include an economic development element in the general plan with a specific rural development section designed to support agriculture

• Include 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

Case Study: Inyo County General Plan Update

In 2001, Inyo County updated its General Plan and included agriculture goals within its Conservation/Open Space Element. The Agricultural Resources Section identifies three critical county agricultural resource issues and sets goals and implementation strategies.

The critical issues are broad in scope: protect and preserve agricultural lands, protect water needed for agriculture, and protect agricultural use on federal, state, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power lands.

With the goal of maintaining a viable and diverse agricultural industry in the county, eight policies were approved. The 2001 updated version includes four new policies such as identifying important agricultural lands, supporting continued agricultural production, supporting agronomics education, and working with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to identify and expand croplands on their lands in the county.

The action-oriented items – the implementation measures – of the Agricultural Resources Section narrows the broad goals into identifiable tasks. This section explicitly identifies the tasks needed to accomplish policy goals, which government agency or individual is responsible for implementation, and a timeframe to complete implementation.

Subsequent updates of the General Plan allow for evaluation, readjustment and even termination of policies, if needed. Including agricultural policies and implementation strategies in the General Plan ensures that guidelines and policies intended to sustain and protect working landscapes are part of the municipality or county’s growth plan.