Saticoy & Wells Community Plan & Development ... - City Of Ventura

Saticoy & Wells Community Plan and Code EIRSection 4.2 Agricultural ResourcesMitigation Measures. Mitigation is not required as the Project would not create anyimpacts beyond those associated with the 2005 General Plan. As noted under Impact AG-1,both the 2005 General Plan and the Project include policies and actions aimed at thepreservation of agriculture. Implementation of these policies would further minimize impactsrelating to agricultural land conversion.Significance After Mitigation. The project would contribute to the unavoidablysignificant agricultural impact identified in the 2005 General Plan FEIR, though the Primefarmland conversion associated with the Project would not be beyond that acknowledged in the2005 General Plan FEIR. As discussed above, the City previously adopted a statement ofoverriding considerations for this impact as part of Addendum Number 1 to the 2005 GeneralPlan FEIR.c. Cumulative Impacts. Development facilitated by the Project would convertapproximately 160-acres of Prime farmland to non-agriculture use. As discussed in Section 3.0,Environmental Setting, planned cumulative development associated with growth forecasts fromthe 2005 General Plan would add about 8,300 dwelling units, as well as about 1.2 million squarefeet of retail development, 1.2 million square feet of office development, 2.2 million square feetof industrial development, and 530,000 square feet of hotel development. This cumulativedevelopment would convert an estimated 674 acres of important farmlands, including 520 acresof Prime farmland, 138 acres of “Statewide Importance” farmland, and 16 acres of “Unique”farmland. This would incrementally contribute to the loss of farmland throughout the Countyand the state.As discussed in the Setting, a number of regulatory mechanisms are in place to minimize theconversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural use, including the City’s SOAR Initiative, theCounty SOAR Ordinance, the City’s Right-To-Farm Ordinance, the Agriculture/Urban BufferPolicy, and the greenbelt agreement between Ventura and Santa Paula. Nevertheless, otherpending projects within the City would allow for continued conversion of agricultural landscitywide. The 160-acre loss of farmland associated with development facilitated by the Projectrepresents about 31% of the total cumulative loss of Prime farmlands within the City planningarea. However, as described previously in this section, the conversion of farmland under theProject is in accord with the long-range plan for the City of Ventura as expressed in the 2005General Plan. The General Plan and General Plan FEIR specifically noted the conversion ofagriculturally suitable land to urban uses including the approximately 160-acres within theProject Area. During adoption of Addendum Number 1 to the 2005 General Plan FEIR, the CityCouncil considered the conversion of agricultural lands within the City's sphere of influenceand determined that the public benefits of the General Plan outweigh certain unavoidableadverse environmental effects, including the conversion of agricultural land. A Statement ofOverriding Consideration was adopted. Because cumulative impacts would not be greater thanthose already identified in the 2005 General Plan FEIR, such impacts are considered less thansignificant.4.2-11City of Ventura