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IMPACT Land Use and Agriculture--Direct Conversion of Important Farmland. The proposed project would 4.2-3 result in the direct conversion of approximately 760 acres(730 on the College Park project site and 30 acres on the Pombo property)of Important Farmland(Prime Farmland and Farmland of Local Importance)to urban land uses.A significant and unavoidable impact would occur. The 815-acre project site contains 730 acres of Important Farmland.This includes 490 acres of Prime Farmland and 240 acres of Farmland of Local Importance(Figure 4.2-2).This loss of Important Farmland is consistent with the conclusions of the MHMP EIR,which showed that all of MHMP Neighborhoods A,B,and D would be converted from farmland to urban uses.The agricultural impacts of developing the College Park site and greater MHMP area were evaluated and mitigated to the extent feasible in the MHMP EIR. However, as indicated in the MHMP EIR,this farmland conversion would represent a potentially significant unavoidable impact,even with ' implementation of the mitigation measures identified in the EIR. Although the County has already adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations for this impact in the context of the MHMP EIR as required by CEQA, this impact is also identified as significant and unavoidable again in this EIR for purposes of public disclosure. In addition,the Pombo property would increase the total acreage of conversion by 30 acres. In addition to development of the 815-acre project site,the proposed College Park project would result in the development of several off-site infrastructure improvements.As indicated in Figure 4.2-2, site improvement locations are all currently designated as Important Farmland by the Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program. The majority of these improvement locations were accounted for and analyzed in the MHMP EIR,including the sites of the proposed water,sewer, and storm drainage pipelines between College Park and their current stubs in Specific Plan I;the sites of the proposed Grant Line Road and Mountain House Parkway roadway widenings; and the sites of the proposed off-site intersection improvements. However,the site of the proposed interim land disposal of treated wastewater(30-acre Pombo property)is outside the MHMP area and was not evaluated in the MHMP EIR. As described in Chapter 3,"Project Description,"and Section 4.5,"Public Utilities,"interim land disposal of treated wastewater is proposed on the Pombo property until such time that river discharges of treated wastewater from the Mountain House Wastewater Treatment Plant(W WTP)commence.This land disposal would be accomplished through the development of spray-field pipelines across the Pombo property to irrigate existing feed crops,and the development of a 30-acre recycled water storage pond to hold the treated wastewater from the W WTP before land disposal.The majority of the Pombo property would remain in agricultural production under this operation(i.e.,hnportant Farmland in the spray fields would not be converted to urban uses).However,the development of the 30-acre storage pond would convert 30 acres of Prime Farmland to an urban use.This would exacerbate the significant unavoidable farmland conversion impact identified in the MHMP EIR.A significant and unavoidable impact would occur. Since certification of the MHMP EIR and adoption of the MHMP in 1994,the County has not ado agricultural impact fee(MHMP bnplementation 3.2.5(a)calling for future developers in the MHN the agricultural impact fee should one be adopted by the County).However,the County has adopt As discussed under"Regulatory Setting,"one of the primary goals of the SJMSCP is to preserve farmland that is compatible with protecting and preserving lands with biological resources and h-, accomplished through the payment of fees by developers of proposed projects that would conver — biological habitat to urban uses,with these fees going towards the purchase of conservation ease farmlands that contain the types of sensitive biological habitat that would be converted.While tl program is not directed specifically towards mitigating farmland conservation,it is anticipated tl preservation would be an indirect benefit of the program.Payment of the required SJMSCP fee., Park developers would help preserve existing farmland elsewhere and thus would partially mitigate We - conversion impacts of the College Park project.However,because new Important Farmland would be removed temporarily from production,a significant and unavoidable impact would remain. College Park at Mountain House Specific Plan III Draft EIR EDAW San Joaquin County 4.2-17 Land Use and Agriculture