A Feasibility Study for Urban Edge Agricultural Parks - SAGE

a portion of these funds. Additional funding may come from donations, gifts,federal grants or loans, or other sources. CFCP currently administers bond fundsremaining from Proposition 12 (which passed in 2000). The state budget allocates$10 million to CFCP for the current (2003-04) fiscal year.Further, a variety of local measures have been used throughout the Bay Area toprotect open space, inclusive of farmland (rarely exclusively of other open space)including:• Measure AA (Alameda and Contra Costa)• Property tax increment (Marin)• Open space district with taxation (San Mateo, Santa Clara)• Open space bond (San Mateo)• Sales tax (Sonoma)• Landfill tipping fee (Alameda)While a number of these, such as Measure AA and San Mateo’s bond measure haveor will shortly have spent all funds, new sources are being explored in jurisdictionsthroughout the Bay Area, with Solano and Contra Costa counties specificallydeveloping new funding streams.The City of Brentwood in Contra Costa County provides an example of strategies forextending conservation easements on to existing farmlands:• Brentwood Agricultural Mitigation Fee – An existing development fee on all newconstruction in Brentwood has generated $4 million to date and anticipated togenerate $10 million with fee potentially to be reviewed for an increase. A localnon-profit land trust has been initiated to utilize the funds for acquisition ofeasement rights. Additionally, under a local Transfer of Agricultural Credits(TAC) program, developers may purchase development rights on farmlands at anegotiated price, for the local Trust to the hold in perpetuity in order to secureadditional development rights on an eligible development site.• Proposed County Open Space Protection and Enhancement Funding Measure - of$130 million in acquisition funds for variety of open space priorities thisprospective bond measure for Contra Costa County earmarks $5 million forBrentwood agricultural land preservation. Another $65 million for maintenanceand operations is scheduled for all land types.Further, non-profit intermediaries fund easements as well as provide technicalsupport for implementing the strategy. The Great Valley Center’s AgriculturalTransaction Program (ATP) provides assistance to permanently protect farmland inthe Central Valley, with a specific focus on Yolo, Stanislaus and Merced counties.The three counties are able to access the ATP funds for conservation-relatedDRAFT 1.6.05 86