Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/01/1997

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FEBRUARY 1997 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION The ConfliC! By Laura Thompson at the Edge Ta,: homeowner ina rl~.w su, bdivision on the edge of town, a shock. To a farmer, it s a way of life. Spreading manure on a field can generate tw~ very different responses. Conflict between farmers and thei~turban neighbors is a serious problem that is increasing as cities expand into agricultural areas. Urban residents living ~ear agricultural areas have many complaints about farmers('.They object to the noise of tractors and irrigation pumps, odo. rs from livestock and other farming ppractices, dust created bY l~lowing the fields, chemical drift from esticide use and slow (ar'~ machinery on the roads. Perhaps less recognized are the complaints from farmers. They include vandalism td farm machinery, restraints on routine farming operationi such as pesticide use, liability for trespassers, garbage disposal on property, and damage from urban neighbors' dogs. The conflict on the agriCultural-urban edge creates a losing situation for both farmers ~nd nonfarmers. New urban residents on the edge, expecting pealie and tranquility in the country, fight to prevent farmers frc~m engaging in their livelihood. It becomes difficult for farm,s to continue profitable agricultural operations when a great d~l of time and money is spent responding to their neighbors' complaints. The challenge for local and county officials is to find ways to reduce these conflicts whil~ attempting to protect farmland and accommodate growth. Theincompatibility between agricultural and urban land uses can b~'decreased by comprehensive planning and land-use t0oli that lead to improved development patterns at the urban edge. ',This issue of Zoning News examines the tools used by planners m resolve the conflicts between commercial agriculture and'lurban development. A Closer Look ' In October 1995, the AgriCultural Issues Center at the University of California in Davis held a conference to address the conflicts in areas of California where commercial agriculture and urban development ruff elbows. The conference, Farmers and Neighbors: Land Use, Pesticides and Other Issues," provided an interactive f0rt~m where California state and local government officials, farmers, and community activists described their views of the~Probiem and proposed solutions. A video, Farmers and Neighbors at the Edge, was prepared for the conference as an overview ojr the problem. The video identifies three areas where conflicts l~gtween farmers and urban neighbors are most likely to occur: , · at the edge ora city, where the boundary is not permanent and continues to expand!i · in expanding unincorporated rural neighborhoods where people move to escape th~ city; · in agricultural areas whe(k different land uses, such as recreational developmenO, have been introduced. The American Farmland Trust has identified specific areas in the United States with the greatest potential for conflict in its 1994 study, Farming on the Edge: A New Look at the Importance and Vulnerability of Agriculture Near American Cities. The report looks at the geographic relationship between population growth and agricultural production in the U.S., identifying those areas most vulnerable to farmland conversion and conflict between urban and agricultural land uses. The study determines that more than half of the value of U.S. farm production is grown in "urban-influenced" counties. These counties are located within and adjacent to Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and have a population of at least 25 persons per square mile. The map on page 2 identifies the urban-influenced counties with farm production levels and increasing population rates above the national mean and above statewide means. Odors J%m livestock are among the man), complaints of urban residents living near agricultural areas. Land-use Tools Buffers. Agricultural buffers are well-defined strips of land located between farmland and nonfarm development. By establishing distance between agriculture and urban development, these buffers are used to reduce the conflict between these sometimes incompatible uses. "Recently, there is a greater interest in buffers since we are losing more agricultural land, and more people are moving to the agricultural-urban fringe," says Mar3, Handel, a land-use consultant in Napa,