COM 0668.000 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Honorable Dominic Yagong, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 2 decisions must also be considered as they may have an impact on similar areas in the County. The change of zone request from a Family Agricultural—2 acre (FA-2a) to a Family Agricultural— 1 acre (FA-la) zoning district conforms to applicable goals, policies and standards of the General Plan. The FA zoning district is intended for lands within the State Land Use Agricultural District, where public services and infrastructure are appropriate to support the very low density residential needs of a rural community and where a substantial number of parcels are less than five acres in size, and where a mix of uses will not conflict with or be detrimental to existing agricultural uses in the surrounding area. The Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map component of the General Plan is a representation of the document's goals and policies to guide the coordinated growth and development of the County. It reflects a graphic depiction of the physical relationship among the various land uses. The LUPAG Map establishes the basic urban and non-urban form for areas within the County. The proposed request conforms to the LUPAG Map, which designates the property mainly as Important Agricultural Land with a small portion designated as Low Density Urban. Important agricultural lands are those lands with better potential for sustained high agricultural yields because of soil type, climate, topography, or other factors. Additionally, a small portion of the property is designated as Low Density Urban, which allows residential uses, with ancillary community and public uses, and neighborhood and convenience-type commercial uses; overall residential density may be up to six units per acre. The Land Study Bureau's Detailed Land Classification System identifies mainly as "Existing Urban Development", with a small part of the soils on the northeastern portion of the property as "C" or"Fair" for agricultural productivity. The majority of the property is classified as Prime Agricultural Land by the ALISH System. A major concern in allowing a rezoning of agricultural land that creates smaller lot sizes is that this will reduce the potential use of the land for commercial agriculture by fragmenting the land into areas too small to be farmed on a commercial scale. While a few crops can be intensively cultivated on very small acreage, usually these crops have a very limited market. Reducing the size of the lots can reduce the range of potential agricultural uses and the range of market opportunities for those crops. In this particular situation, the applicants are requesting the change in zoning in order to subdivide the property into two lots with the intention of constructing a new dwelling for family. Both of the newly created lots will still have the potential to be used for truck crop farming or agricultural purposes, such as pasture.