HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1990 1107 CC REG ITEM 10BV
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BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
COUNTY OF VENTURA
299 WEST HILLCREST DRIVE, SUITE 212
THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA 91360
September 26, 1990
Mayor Bernardo Perez
City of Moorpark
799 Moorpark Avenue
Moorpark, CA 93021
Dear Mayor Perez:
MADGE L. SCHAEFER
Chair
SUSAN K. LACEY
\� MAGGIE H. ERICKSON
JAMES R. DOUGHERTY
JOHN K. FLYNN
MADGE L. SCHAEFER
SUPERVISOR, SECOND DISTRICT
(805) 496 -3423
(805) 656 -1500 EXT. 8295
CORPARK, CALIFORNIA
C1t Cou H Meeting
of `-� 199U
By
Subject: Nominations for the Agricultural Land Trust Advisory Committee
On September 25, 1990, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors authorized the
establishment of an advisory committee which would study existing land trusts
which have been created in other counties for the purpose of preserving
agricu tura
an s an o e ermine a feasibility of establishing _a_ trust in
en ura ount see attac ed transmittal letter). The Committee is identified as
t e gricultural Land Trust Advisory Committee. The Committee will _report its
recommendations directly to the Board of Supervisors.
The purpose of this letter is to request that you or your organization nominate
individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee. In establishing the Committee,
the Board of Supervisors determined that: the membership would be as follows:
Elected officials (Total 3 members)
1 - Incorporated City
1 - Board of Supervisors
1 - Local Agency Formation Commission
Agricultural experts (Total 5 member.rs):
2 - Farm Bureau
1 - Agricultural Commissioner's Offi,
1 - Resource Conservation District
1 - Agricultural Advisory Committee
Public interest-representatives (Tota) 3 members):
1 - League of Women Voters
1 - Countywide Planning Program (CPP
1 - Taxpayers Association
- RE CEEV €D -
OCT 0 1 ;-9110
City of Moorpark
September 26, 1990
Page 2
In all, the Advisory Committee will consist.. of 11 members. For some of the
membership categories above, nomination requests have been sent out to several
organizations. For these categories, the Board of Supervisors will select the
representative whom they wish to serve on the Committee. Therefore, not all of
the nominees will be selected for the Committee.
The Advisory Committee's study will begin in November 1990 and will be carried
out in various stages. The initial stage will invo ve the formation of the
Committee including the election of a chair and adopting bylaws. The second
stage will involve information gathering and the review and analysis of the
data /issues (e.g., status of local agricultural resources, review State and local
policies, review legal data, analyze funding and publicity issues, review land
acquisition techniques, etc.). The third stage will involve the preparation of
recommendations based on input from numerous organizations /agencies. The fourth
stage will consist of the adoption of a program by the Board of Supervisors - the
Board's final action will be based on the Committee's recommendations. The fifth
and final stage will be implementing the program adopted by the Board. This
stage could consist of filing articles of incorporation, appointing trust policy
board members, drafting bylaws, adopting a budget, begin a publicity campaign,
etc.
A major issue to be addressed is whether the trust should be set up under the
auspices of the County government or as a separate, non - profit entity with no
formal ties to any governmental agency. Assuming the Committee meets monthly, it
is estimated that the program will take up to 12 months to complete.
Please submit your nominations to Keith Turner, Director, Planning Division, 800
South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA 93009. The deadline for nominations is
October 23, 1990. The Board of Supervisors will make its final Committee
appointments on November 6, 1990.
I would like to thank you for your interest in this timely study. If you have
further questions on the program or on the nomination and selection process,
please call either Nancy Settle, Supervising Planner, at 654 -2465 or Gene
Kjellberg, Senior Planner, at 654 -2455.
Sincerely,
Madge
Ventur
Second
chaefer, Chair
unty Board of Supervi rs
strict
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cc: Board of Supervisors
Richard Wittenberg, CAO
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY
a "ft & ventua
September 25, 1990 (Agenda)
Board of Supervisors
County of Ventura
800 S. Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA 93009
Planning Division
Keith A. Turner
Manager
Subject: Formation of an Advisory committee to Study Feasibility of Establishing
Agricultural Land Trust
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
1. Establish an advisory committee to study existing land trusts which have
been created in other counties for the purpose of preserving which have
lands, and to report to the Board of Supervisors on the feasibility of
establishing a trust in Ventura County;
2. Approve proposal for committee membership makeup; and
3. Authorize Board Chair to sign attached letter inviting nominations.
STATEMENT OF MATTER FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION:
1•
Background:
On September 19, 1989, your Board received and approved the final
Recommended Strategies Report of the Beyond the Year 2000 Advisory Committee
regarding future growth management strategies for Ventura County. One of
these strategies recommended exploring the formation of a County land trust
to preserve and manage agricultural and /or open space lands.
On July 24, 1990, the Planning Division staff reported back on the status of
the implementation of the various adopted strategies. During that
report -back, Supervisor Erickson proposed that your Board direct staff to
explore the formation of an Advisory Committee to recommend to the Board of
Supervisorb on the feasibility of a trust, and to prepare a work program for
the proposed committee. Your Beard concurred with Supervisor Erickson's
proposal.
2. Discussion:
a• Combined vs. Se crate A ricultural and up, en S sce
issue to be addressed in the formation of the Trusts: Advisory Committeejis
whether to charge the Committee to examine the idea of setting up a
single combined land trust which would have responsibility for
obtaining both agricultural and open space lands, or to direct the
Committee to examine the creation of one or more separate trusts. This
issue affects your Board's ecision on how the membership of this
Committee should be constituted.
P0.3rd of Supervisors
September 25, 1990 (Agebaa)
Page.
The Beyond the Year 2000 Committee recommended forming a land trust to
obtain either or.both agricultural and open space lands. However, it
appears that land trust programs are more successful if separate trusts
are established for the .icquisition of farmlands and open space lands.
The reason for establishing separate trusts is that the purposes served
by each program are significantly different. Open space trusts are
aimed at conserving natural habitats on lands which are more difficult
to develop. Agricultural land trusts are aimed at providing economic
incentives for farmers to maintain their lands in agricultural use.
Therefore, the techniques for persuading property owners to participate
in each program is different and the representation of the policy
boards of the two types of trusts should be different and separate.
A second issue is whether to direct the Advisory Committee to focus on
one or both of the trusts at this time. Staff recommends that your
Board direct the Committee to focus on agricultural land trusts.
Agricultural lands are the most immediately threatened with development
because they are located in closest proximity to existing urban areas
and available urban services. These lands also have the fewest
topographic and environmental constraints.
Open space lands, on the other hand, feature significant development
constraints and would be expensive to urbanize. An agricultural land
trust program would provide an incentive for growth management in areas
of the County where it is most urgently needed.
the creation of an agricultural land trust by means of this recommended
program will not preclude the future creation of an open space trust.
In fact, this initial program may provide the model for establishing an
open space trust program in the future as well.
Work Program: Attachment L is the draft work program for assembling
the C- ittee and assisting it in developing recommendations. The work
program lists the types of information to be presented to the
Committee, the issues to be discussed, and potential steps which would
have to be taken if an agricultural land trust is established. As can
be seen from this outline, the steps are numerous and complex. If the
Committee meets monthly, it is estimated that the program will take up
to 12 months to complete.
Committee Size and Make -Up: Staff is recommending that the Committee
be composed of 11 persons with appropriate expertise, including
citizens from the agricultural community. Committee members could be
selected from the following organizations, agencies, and interest
groups:
" Board of Supervisors
* Incorporated City
* LAFCO
* Farm Bureau
* Agricultural Commissioner's Office
Resource Conservation District
* Agricultural Advisory Committee
^ Countywide Planning Program (CPP)
League_ of Women Voters
* Taxpayers Association
It is recommended that your Board authorize the Chair to sign the
letter inviting the submission of nominations (see Attachment 2). The
due date for submitting nominations has been tentatively set for
October 23, 1990. Upon review of the nominations submitted, your Board
would then appoint the Committee members on November 6, 1990.
d. Staff_ Smart: Assuming that Committee members will have limited time
available for in -depth research, and taking into account the need for
technical input from various experts, it is proposed that the Planning
Division coordinate staff :,uppott to the Committee. Support for the
Committee can be provided L. existing staff.
i
Board of Supervisors
ell, September 25, 1990 (Agenda)
Page 3
If you have any questions regarding this item, please contact Nancy Settle,
Manager, Regional Plans Section, extension 2465, or myself at extension 2481.
1
rner, eputy Director
Planning Division
KT. j /I94
Attachment 1 - Draft Work Program
Attachment 2 - Invitation Letter
WORK PROGRAM
LAND TRUST PROGRAM
A. COMMITTEE FORMATION
1. Obtain Board approval for committee membership makeup (number of
members, categories of representation, etc.).
2. Obtain Board authorization for Board Chair to invite nominations.
3. Return to Board for approval of List of members.
4. Set first meeting to explain Board's charge, introduce members and
staff, elect chair, adopt bylaws.
S. Invite participation of other existing trust representatives in
County process.
B. COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
1. Analyze status of local agricultural resources (land inventory,
economic trends, growth patterns, etc.).
2. Review local and State agricultural land use and land preservation
policies.
3. Analyze sample criteria for prioritizing lands to be preserved.
4. Review sample joint powers agreements, trust bylaws, incorporation
agreements, model easements, etc.
S. Review legal data:
a. Internal Revenue Code: regulations for charitable
contributions, gift taxes, estate planning.
b. California Codes: property tax relief; Corporations Code
procedures on incorporation of nonprofit trusts.
C. Legal responsibilities of trust directors.
d. Nonprofit liability protection.
6. Analyze program /policy issues:
a. Type of Purchase (Purchase in Fee vs. Purchase of Conservation
Easements).
b. Criteria for lands to be obtained (size of parcel, location,
quality of farmland, economic viability, importance to local
agricultural industry, threat of future development, consistency
with local policies, etc.).
I9s
LAND TRUST WORK PROGRAM
September 25, 1990
Page 2
c. Assignment of Responsibility (Proceed with County- administered
Purchase of Development Rights vs. proceed with privately -
administered Conservation Easements program through Land Trust).
d. Should the County undertake a comprehensive review of
agricultural and open space preservation programs currently
underway in County General Plan and Zoning Ordinance?
e. Should the County participate in programs to encourage developer
agreements?
7. Analyze potential staffing needs - expertise needed; level of
interdepartmental participation; administrative responsibility
(Planning, GSA, PIA, CAO, etc.).
8. Analyze funding issues such as potential sources of funds; public vs.
private funds; new taxes (transfer tax, property tax, sales tax);
creation of special districts; developer fees.
9. Analyze legal documents needed if trust established (Joint Powers
Agreements, Trust Bylaws, Incorporation Agreements, Model Easement).
10. Review potential General Plan, Zoning Ordinance amendments.
11. Discuss publicity issues (identify as important part of program).
12. Discuss land acquisition process.
13. Discuss Trust Board membership selection considerations.
C. RECOMMENDATION STAGE
1. Prepare draft program recommendations.
2. Committee reviews and amends draft recommendations.
3. Coordinate /obtain feedback on recommended program with:
a. City /County Planning Association
b. Countywide Planning Program
C. Agricultural Advisory Committee
d. General Services Agency
e. County Counsel
f. Tax Assessor
g. Local Agency Formation Commission
h. Chief Administrative Office
4. Revise recommendations, based on feedback.
D. ADOPTION STAGE
1. Present recommended program to Board of Supervisors for
consideration.
195
i
LAND TRUST WORK PROGRAM
September 25, 1990
Page 3
E. IMPLEMENTATION STAGE (Potential tasks, depending on type of program which
is recommended by Committee and adopted by Board):
1. Appoint /assign Staff.
2. File Articles of Incorporation.
3. Search for and appoint Trust Policy Board members.
4. Draft Corporate Bylaws.
S. File for Internal Revenue Code 501 (c) (3) status (Need Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws).
b. Assemble Advisory Board.
7. Determine and formally adopt policies such as criteria for lands to
be preserved.
8. Adopt budget.
9. Begin publicity campaign, raise funds, build support, recruit
volunteers.
10. Identify key properties, property owners.
11. Negotiate agreements for purchase of properties, easements.
12. Conduct monitoring /enforcement program.
13. County considers actions to fund program (new taxes, creation of
special districts, developer fees, etc.).
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