None. All County costs are recovered through payment of application processing fees by the project applicant.

Proposed Project  
  
The applicant requests approval of a rezone of three properties (Parcel A - 26.14 acres, Parcel B - 20.34 acres and Parcel C - 25.82 acres) from A-4 Agricultural Preserve District to A-2 General Agricultural District.  
  
Site/Area Description  
  
The subject site consists of three rectangular parcels located in a rural area of unincorporated San Ramon on the south side of Bollinger Canyon Road. Parcels A and C are vacant. Parcel B is developed with a single-family residence and accessory structures/buildings normally accessory to an agricultural property. Parcels in the vicinity range in size from 1-acre to over 100-acres. The site is surrounded by properties zoned A-4 and A-2. Other agricultural zoning districts in the area include A-20 Exclusive Agricultural District (20 acre minimum) and A-80 Exclusive Agricultural District (80 acre minimum). The area is characterized by steep terrain and large groupings of mature trees.  
  
Appropriateness of Proposed Rezone  
  
Existing Zoning Conditions  
  
County File #RZ-1925 was approved in 1975 to rezone approximately 481-acres of land that included these three parcels from A-2 and C-M to A-4 entering them into a Williamson Act contract. A Williamson Act contract is a contract entered into between a property owner and the County wherein the owner agrees to utilize the land for those uses specified in the contract and in return the County taxes the property at a lower rate. The A-4 zone is compatible with lands that are under a Williamson Act contract because it specifies that all uses agreed to in the contract are permitted uses. The property came out of its Williamson Act contract in February 2006. With the properties out of contract, the A-4 zoning designation is unnecessary and inappropriate.  
  
Background on Rezoning in the Bollinger Canyon Area  
  
It is typical for properties to rezone from A-2 to A-4 before entering into a Williamson Act contract. A significant amount of acreage in the unincorporated San Ramon area was zoned A-4 for this reason. Though several of the contracts have either expired or were never executed, a significant amount of acreage remains zoned A-4.  
  
Comparison of Existing and Proposed Zoning Designations  
  
The uses allowed both by right and with a land use permit in the A-2 and A-4 zones are similar. The A-2 District does allow for establishment of some more-intense agricultural uses, such as granaries, dehydration plants, fruit and vegetable packing plants, and the like. However, physical limitations such as steep slopes, limited access, lack of utility connections, and scarcity of suitable building locations make the property an unlikely candidate for establishment of these types of land uses. It should be noted that these physical limitations also make the properties a poor candidate for additional subdivisions.   
  
Under the A-4 zoning the three properties are required to be at least 40 acres due to the non-prime soil types that are present. This has since changed and the minimum area requirement was 20 acres when the property was rezoned to A-4 in 1975. The A-2 District requires a minimum parcel size of five acres. Therefore, approval of the rezone would correct the property’s existing inconsistency with zoning standards.  
  
General Plan Consistency  
  
Land Use Element - Land Use Designation  
  
The Land Use Element of the General Plan designates the subject property as Agricultural Lands (AL). The AL designation allows for a wide range of agricultural uses and limits density to a maximum of 1 unit per 5 acres. The A-2 zoning designation is consistent with the AL designation in terms of density as well as general uses allowed.  
  
This land use designation includes most of the privately owned rural lands in the County, excluding private lands that are composed of prime soils or lands that are located in or near the Delta. Most of these lands are in hilly portions of the County and are used for grazing livestock, or dry grain farming. The purpose of the Agricultural Lands designation is to preserve and protect lands capable of and generally used for the production of food, fiber, and plant materials. The title is intended to be descriptive of the predominant land-extensive agricultural uses that take place in these areas, but the land use title or description shall not be used to exclude or limit other types of agricultural, open space or non-urban uses. The maximum allowable density in this category is one dwelling unit per 5 acres. The uses that are allowed in the Agricultural Lands designation include all land-dependent and non-land dependent agricultural production and related activities. In addition, the following uses may be allowed by issuance of a land use permit, which shall include conditions of approval that mitigate the impacts of the use upon nearby agricultural operations through the establishment of buffer areas and other techniques:  
  
• facilities for processing agricultural products produced in the County such as dairies, rendering plants, and feed mills;  
• commercial agricultural support services which are ancillary to the agricultural use of a parcel, such as veterinarians, feed stores, and equipment repair and welding; and  
• small-scale visitor serving uses including small tasting rooms, stands for the sale of products grown or processed on the property, guest or "dude" ranches, horse training and boarding ranches, improved campgrounds, and "bed and breakfast" inns of five or fewer bedrooms which are on lots of 20 acres or more, extensive recreational facilities and private retreats.  
  
Land Use Element - Urban Limit Line   
  
The purpose of the ULL is twofold: (1) to ensure preservation of identified non-urban agricultural, open space and other areas by establishing a line beyond which no urban land uses may be established; and (2) facilitate the enforcement of the 65/35 Land Preservation Standard (Land Use Element page 3-8). To this end, the General Plan does not allow properties outside the ULL to obtain General Plan Amendments that would re-designate them for an urban land use. In addition, properties outside the ULL may be subject to various agricultural and open space preservation measures. These measures could include, but would not necessarily be limited to:  
  
1. Permitting owners of large acre parcels to subdivide and allow only a one-acre building envelope (building site).  
2. Encouraging the dedication of open space and agricultural conservation easements.  
3. Implementing a transfer of development rights (TDR) program.  
  
The subject property is located outside the ULL and the proposed zoning designation is consistent with the intent and purpose of the ULL because it is agricultural (non-urban).

Land Use Element - 65/35 Land Preservation Standard  
  
The 65/35 Land Preservation Standard limits urban development to no more than 35 percent of the land in the County, and requires the remaining 65 percent of all land be preserved for agriculture, open space, wetlands, parks and other non-urban uses (Land Use Element page 3-11). The proposed zoning designation is consistent with the intent and purpose of the 65/35 Standard because it is agricultural.  
  
Conservation Element - Agricultural Resources  
  
The Conservation Element of the General Plan includes goals and policies related to protection of agricultural resources and encouragement of agricultural production. The subject property is located in an agriculturally important area (Conservation Element Figure 8-2). The Conservation Element does not specifically favor one agricultural zoning district over another. Rezoning the property from A-4 to A-2 would in no way threaten agricultural resources or hinder agricultural production.   
  
Conclusion  
  
The subject properties were at one time zoned A-2 but were rezoned to A-4 when they were entered into a Williamson Act Contract. With the Williamson Act contract expired, the current zoning inappropriately limits development. Therefore, staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors adopt the Negative Declaration for the project and adopt a motion to rezone the subject property from A-4 Agricultural Preserve District to A-2 General Agricultural District.   

If the Board of Supervisors denies the application, then the zoning district for the subject property would remain A-4 Agricultural Preserve District.

No Impact.

CLOSED the public hearing;