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Ms. Leanne Mueller January 29, 2002 Page 3 of 6 Conservation funded study, The Impacts of Farmland Conversion in California (1991), available from the Division. This study included several county case studies of conversion trends over a thirty-year period of time, including San Joaquin County, and would provide a good context for discussing cumulative land conversion impacts. • Impacts on agricultural resources may also be quantified and qualified by use of established thresholds of significance (California Code of Regulations §15064.7). The Division has developed a California version of the USDA Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) Model, a semi-quantitative rating system for establishing the environmental significance of project-specific impacts on farmland. The model may also be used to rate the relative value of alternative project sites. The LESA Model is available from the Division at the contact listed below. • The EIR should include a discussion of agricultural impacts on the project site and portions thereof throughout the 60-year duration of project implementation, including impacts from each phased-in operation. Williamson Act Lands A project is deemed to be of statewide, regional or area-wide significance if it will result in cancellation of a Williamson Act contract for a parcel of 100 or more acres [California Code of Regulations §15206(b)(3)]. A project's conflict with a Williamson Act contract is considered a significant impact. The Department recommends that the following information be provided in the EIR: • A map detailing the location of agricultural preserves and contracted land within each preserve, both within the project site and the surrounding area. The EIR should also tabulate the number of Williamson Act acres, according to land type (e.g., prime or non-prime agricultural land), which could be impacted directly or indirectly by the project. • A discussion of Williamson Act contracts that may be terminated in order to accommodate the project. The EIR should discuss the impacts that termination of Williamson Act contracts would have on nearby properties also under contract; i.e., growth-inducing impacts (in the sense that the removal of contract protection not only lifts a barrier to development, but results in higher property taxes and an incentive to shift to a more intensive land use, such as urban development.) As a general rule, land can be withdrawn from a Williamson Act contract only through the nine-year nonrenewal process. Immediate termination via cancellation is reserved for "extraordinary", unforeseen situations (See Sierra Club v. City of Hayward (1981) 28 Cal.3d 840, 852-855). The City or County of jurisdiction must approve a request for contract cancellation, and base that approval on specific findings that are supported by substantial evidence (Government Code §51282). If Williamson Act contract cancellation is proposed, we recommend that a discussion of the findings be included in the EIR. Separate