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5.6 LAND USE 5.6.1.2 Agricultural Lands within the Study Area' The Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program (FMMP) of the California Department of Conservation(CDC) provides statistics on conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses for San Joaquin County where the project site is located. In 2006,San Joaquin County had approximately 620,070 acres of Important Farmlands (including Prime Farmland,Farmland of Statewide and Local Importance and Unique Farmland) and an additional 144,933 acres of grazing land. In the period between 2004 and 2006,Important Farmlands had shown a net decrease of 18,863 acres (4.0 percent) within the county (CDC,2006). A review of the "Important Farmlands" mapping by the FMMP shows that the power plant site and four equipment and parking laydown areas are designated as"Urban and Built-Up Land". The natural gas pipeline route would cross land that is primarily designated as"Unique Farmland," with a small portion of the alignment crossing land designated as"Urban and Built-Up Land" and"Farmland of Local Importance" (CDC,2004). Figure 5.6-2 shows the important farmland designations within one mile of the project site. Preservation of farmland in California is encouraged by the California Land Conservation Act,more commonly known as the"Williamson Act." Pursuant to this program(which was initiated in 1965),a landowner signs a contract with the County in which the land is located, voluntarily restricting land to agricultural and open space uses. The contract is automatically renewed annually,continuing indefinitely unless the owner requests cancellation or files for non-renewal.The minimum initial contract term is 10 years. The Williamson Act was designed to allow farming to continue in areas close to urbanization by a beneficial tax assessment procedure. In 1998,the provisions of the Williamson Act were expanded by Senate Bill 1182 to strengthen agricultural land preservation incentives. The 1998 changes to the Act provided a 35 percent property tax discount to the Williamson Act valuation or Proposition 13 valuation, whichever is lower,and other incentives for farmland owners willing to maintain their land in agricultural land use for 20 years. This latter program creates Farmland Security Zones within agricultural preserves. Land enrolled under a Farmland Security Zone contract is restricted to agricultural and open spaces uses for a minimum initial contract term of 20 years. Land within a Farmland Security Zone cannot be annexed into cities,and school districts are prohibited from acquiring Farmland Security Zone lands for school facilities. Table 5.6-2 lists the parcels of land by Assessor's Parcel Number (APN) that would be affected by the proposed project,i.e.,the power plant site and four equipment and parking laydown areas,and natural gas pipeline alignment and a 900-foot-wide disturbance area around each facility, and the parcels'Williamson Act and Farmland Security Act statuses. 1 The Study Area is defined to be a 1-mile radius from the power plant site. SAC/371322/082340004(LEC_5.6_LAND_USE.DOC) 5.6-5