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Loss of Agricultural Land The Important Farmland 2000 Map lists the property as Prime Farmland. The proposed project will result in the conversion of 4.66 acres of an 18.65-acre parcel from farmland to a non-agricultural use. This is considered a potentially significant impact. In order to mitigate the loss of agricultural land one, of the following options may be used: 1. By providing water supply for agriculture. 2. By assisting agriculturalists in developing restoration and conservation projects. 3. By purchasing and combing smaller parcels to make agriculture more viable. 4. By conducting or funding flood plain restoration projects that benefit agriculture. 5. By developing or funding buffer zones between urban development and agricultural land. 6. By improving levees to protect agricultural land from flooding. 7. By conducting or funding erosion control projects that benefit agriculture. 8. By clustering development of the "Project" to support efficient use of agricultural land. 9. By conducting or providing funding for techniques that increase production by identifying new processes, new techniques, or new crop potential on heretofore- limited agricultural production lands, i.e., converting grazing land to vineyards. 10. By conducting or funding programs that identify best agriculture management practices to increase efficiencies, such as land adjacent to wetlands, and potentially bring more agricultural land into production. 11. By conducting or funding Urban Limit Line studies that provided for improvement of geometric shape and compactness of urban development that reduces pressure to prematurely convert agricultural lands. Another method to mitigate for the loss of agricultural land is to obtain agricultural conservation easements that assure the availability of agricultural land for the long term. One technique to obtain conservation easements to mitigate for the loss of agricultural land is to establish a mitigation fee. Absent such a fee, the project proponent has the alternative to purchase the easement directly from a property owner. Another alternative is to work with the American Farmland Trust to establish a mitigation fee. In this case, the fee will be placed in an interest- bearing account for a three-year period of time to allow San Joaquin County to develop a mitigation program for the loss of agricultural land or to select an appropriate mitigation site within San Joaquin County. If San Joaquin County establishes a farmland trust during the three years, the American Farmland Trust will distribute the funds to San Joaquin County. If San Joaquin County has not approved a program for the loss of agricultural land, then the American Farmland Trust will utilize the funds to obtain an easement. The applicant needs to propose a mitigation measure to the Community Development. Department before the Staff Report can be prepared. SJCOG, Inc. The San Joaquin Council of Governments has reviewed the proposed project and determined that the project will result in the conversion of Row and Field Crops and as such should 2