DATE: October 17, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Resolution Supporting Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement on approximately 642 acres of land owned by Scott and Charlyse Raven
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Consider a request from the Sequoia Riverlands Trust and adopt a Resolution supporting the purchase of an Agricultural Conservation Easement on approximately 642 acres of land owned by Scott and Charlyse Raven by utilizing a grant from the State Department of Conservation's Farmland Conservancy Program.
REPORT
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The Board may choose not to adopt the Resolution, which may affect approval of the grant by the California Department of Conservation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The preparation of this report and staff work associated with this request is a Net County Cost that is funded by appropriations in the Department of Public Works and Planning Org 4360 budget. The approximate cost to process this request is $1,300.
The County is not contributing to the purchase of the conservation easement on the subject property or assuming responsibility for monitoring or enforcing the terms of the Conservation Easement Agreements.
DISCUSSION:
Sequoia Riverlands Trust has submitted a letter (see Attachment A) requesting that the Board adopt a Resolution in support of purchasing an Agricultural Conservation Easement on an approximately 642-acre parcel of agricultural land owned by Scott and Charlyse Raven (see Attachment B).
In order to adopt a Resolution of Support, the Board must determine that the proposal meets the eligibility criteria set forth in Public Resources Code Section 10251. Staff's evaluation of the proposal against the eligibility criteria is discussed below:
A) The parcel proposed for conservation is expected to continue to be used for, and is large enough to sustain, commercial agricultural production. The land is also in an area that poss...
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