Title
Reconsideration of the Lime Rock Valley Specific Plan and Applicable General Plan Policies.
Body
On August 14, 2024, the El Dorado County Agricultural Commission reviewed the Lime Rock Valley Specific Plan and Marble Valley Specific Plan projects and the County’s Grazing Lands General Plan Policy. Item # 24-1454.(Please see Associations Tab above for direct link to original item heard on August 14, 2024)
The Lime Rock Valley Specific Plan and Marble Valley Specific Plan projects are anticipated to be scheduled for Planning Commission consideration at the beginning of the year. The Planning Commission’s recommendations will then be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors.
At the August 14, 2024, meeting, the Agricultural Commission raised questions regarding the capacity for the Lime Rock Valley Specific Plan property to sustain commercial livestock production and grazing for an approximately 284-acre portion of the largest subject parcel, APN 109-020-001, which measures approximately 391.47 acres inclusive of the 284-acre portion considered by the Agricultural Commission. In response to the issues raised, the applicant has submitted additional information (Attachment 1). Planning staff has reviewed the information and requested to return to the Agricultural Commission to share this additional information.
The attached memo and report include an introduction and summary prepared by Dave Romano, Civil Engineer with Newman-Romano and Bre Moebius, Partner, Hefner Law (pages 1-16) and a Grazing Viability Assessment prepared by Koopmann Rangeland Consulting March 10, 2025 (pages 18-36). The memo and report analyze General Plan policies and specifically Agricultural and Forestry Element policies that are applicable to parcels within the Lime Rock Valley Specific Plan. It also includes the County’s Procedure for Evaluating the Suitability of Land for Agriculture (pages 37-42), the California Department of Conservation Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Model (“LESA”) (pages 43-80), and the USDA Custom Soil Resource Report for the Lime Rock Valley Specific Plan (pages 81-99). The memorandum calculates the objective scores under the County’s Procedure for Evaluating the Suitability of Land for Agriculture (page 6-9) and calculates the objective LESA scores (pages 11-15).(Attachment C)