Builders group opposes farmland mitigation plan

By TIM MORAN
tmoran@modbee.com

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The proposed agricultural element amendment to Stanislaus County's general plan is drawing stiff opposition from the Building Industry Association of Central California.

The association opposes a provision in the draft that calls for developers to mitigate the loss of farmland by preserving similar farmland elsewhere in the county on an acre-for-acre basis.

Bill Zoslocki, president of the BIA, said the mitigation amounts to a subsidy of farmers by home buyers or retail operators moving onto the land.

"It reduces the value of one person's property and in- creases the value of another. Who is going to pay for it? The end user," Zoslocki said. "If they want to do it, they ought to do it on their own dime."

Steve Madison, executive vice president of the BIA, said there is no evidence that farmland in Stanislaus County is in decline. He pointed to increases in acreage and farm product sales over the past several years as evidence.

Supervisor Jim DeMartini, who has led the effort to revise the county's ag element, defends the proposed mitigation measure.

The acre-for-acre mitigation still results in a 50 percent loss of farmland in the county, said DeMartini.

"Some of our land needs to be permanently protected. We are not subsidizing farms, we are protecting the land for future generations," he said.

The increase in land being farmed in the county is hilly ground around Hickman, DeMartini said, and is not the equivalent of valley floor soil being lost to development. The valley has deeper soil capable of growing a wide variety of crops, and is irrigated with surface water, he said. The hill land coming into production has shallow soil that can grow only some crops, and is largely irrigated with well water, he said.

DeMartini said he understands the BIA's position.

"It will impact their business to some extent," he said. "The building association has been good to work with. We've addressed all of their comments, except for this one issue. We'll see what happens."

The ag element will be considered by the county Planning Commission today at 6 p.m. in the basement chambers, at 1010 10th St., Modesto.

Bee staff writer Tim Moran can be reached at tmoran@modbee.com or 578-2349.