CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 15, 2017
PREPARED BY: Anthony Eulo, Program Administrator/Community Services
APPROVED BY: City Manager
TITLE
PROGRESS UPDATE ON CITY AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION ACTIVITIES
END
RECOMMENDATION(S)
RECOMMENDATION
Accept Report.
BODY
COUNCIL PRIORITIES, GOALS & STRATEGIES:
Ongoing Priorities
Protecting the environment
2016 Focus Areas
Developing Our Community
REPORT NARRATIVE:
The purpose of this staff report is to provide the City Council with a progress report on the City's efforts to preserve agricultural lands through securing agricultural conservation easements.
The community engaged in a decade-long process to consider growth boundaries around the City. A major component of this discussion was the preservation of agricultural uses around the community. Most of the agriculture present in the City's Sphere of Influence (SOI) occurs in the area known as the Southeast Quadrant. On November 5, 2014, the City Council adopted the attached Agricultural Lands Preservation Program (Program) as a component of the City's actions addressing the Southeast Quadrant (SEQ). While the related land use annexation in the SEQ was denied by the Santa Clara Local Agency Formation Commission, the Agricultural Program remains active. Preserving agricultural uses is specifically called out as one of the "Big Ideas" in the City's new General Plan and is supported by numerous policies in the General Plan including CNF-4.2 (Urban Growth Boundary), CNF-7 (Preserving Viable Agricultural Lands), CNF-20.3 (Minimize Impacts on Adjacent Agriculture), HC-6.7 (Agricultural Retention), and, most significantly, NRE-4 (Viable Agricultural Industry). In addition, Program implementation was specifically one of the projects and initiatives for the City Council's 2016 Focus Areas.
The Program has the following five goals:
1. Preserve open space agricultural lands and agricultural activity within the Morgan Hill Sphere of Influ...
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