More San Diego farmland will be eligible for an agricultural conservation program under new rules the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has approved.
San Diego has lost much of its farmland over the past decade. Since 2009, about 60,000 acres — 20 percent of San Diego County’s agricultural land — has been converted to other uses.
The county has tried to stem that decline through the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement, which is called the PACE program.
It was originally intended to compensate rural land owners for zoning changes to their property under the county’s 2011 General Plan. Participating property owners would receive a one-time payment in return for granting the county easements on their land, ensuring that it remains in agricultural use.
Despite that effort, about 30 percent of PACE applicants were not eligible under the previous rules, and the number of applications submitted dropped from 60 during the pilot program in 2012 to just 12 applications in 2020, Planning and Development Services Deputy Director Rami Talleh said.
The county supervisors voted unanimously March 3 to approve changes to PACE that will increase the amount of eligible farmland more than six-fold, from about 101,000 acres to 628,000 acres countywide.
The supervisors also adjusted participation criteria to emphasize the agricultural and habitat value of conserving the land.
To qualify for the program, land must be actively farmed or ranched for at least two years before an application is submitted, and it must fall into one of several rural or agricultural zones.
Zoning changes introduced in 2011 meant that some land was designated at lower density, allowing fewer homes per acre, and some landowners lost the right to subdivide land their property altogether.
The updated rules will remove properties’ general plan status as an application criteria, so density and subdivision factors won’t be part of the equation for eligibility. Instead, the new rules will prioritize a land’s agricultural value, with a secondary emphasis on farmland that can serve as buffers to wildlife conservation areas.
Additional priorities will include a property’s potential to reduce greenhouse gases, compatibility with neighboring land use, and voluntary wildlife enhancements.
The changes approved by the supervisors also will add a monitoring process for land in the program, allowing the county to apply for state and federal grants for agricultural land conservation.
Officials hope the changes will increase participation in the program and sustain more agricultural lands in San Diego.
So far, 2,405 acres of farmland have been preserved through the program, with $6.5 million paid to land owners, Talleh said.
San Diego County’s agricultural production totaled $1.79 billion in 2019.
San Diego County Farm Bureau Executive Director Hannah Gbeh said the supervisors’ action expands eligibility so more people can access the PACE program. The program compensates farm owners who dedicate an agricultural easement with the intent it would remain agricultural property forever, Gbeh said.
“PACE is a voluntary program in which farm owners can receive financial reimbursement in exchange for granting an agricultural easement on their property,” Gbeh said. “Granting the easement on your property requires your property to remain in agricultural use in perpetuity.”
Gbeh said before the supervisors’ action, only a small fraction of farmland in the county was eligible to participate in the PACE program.
Farm and vineyard owners can submit an application to participate in PACE through the county’s website at https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/advance/PACE.html.
“It’s a great program but it’s not for everybody,” Gbeh said. “It limits your long-term development potential, but it assists the property owners who want to ensure their property remains agricultural forever.”
A letter of sent to the county expressed the Farm Bureau’s appreciation that the “county is working to offset the drastic and distressing loss of agricultural lands.”
“We look forward to seeing more growers benefit from participating in the PACE program,” the letter states, citing the more than 5,700 farms within the county that are working to turn a profit in nursery, flowers, avocados, tomatoes, citrus, chicken, eggs, succulents and strawberries. “To ensure the survival of the agricultural industry in San Diego County, growers need creative and innovative programs that can assist them in achieving economic viability.”
Ramona Ranch Winery Co-owner Micole Moore said PACE applies to the A-70 and A-72 agricultural zones as well as the general agriculture and rural residential properties.
“The only thing replacing vineyards and farmland is housing,” Moore said. “I’d rather see people use the land to grow grapes, citrus and avocados than see new housing out there.”
