County wants to ease rules for ag businesses
Agricultural homestays, roadside sales and tourism, microbreweries, and distillery and cider production are just some of the areas in which the county seeks to provide residents with greater flexibility through its proposed Agricultural Promotion Program.
A public review of the draft environmental impact report for the proposal is at www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/advance/agriculturepromotion.html. The 45-day California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review ends June 13. Written comments or questions may be directed to Dennis Campbell by emailing Dennis.Campbell@sdcounty.ca.gov or calling 858-505-6380.
County Supervisor Dianne Jacob told Ramona residents at her Coffee with Constituents in February that because the Tiered Winery Ordinance has been so successful there have been requests for beer production, bed and breakfasts, cheesemaking “and other kinds of ag endeavors to promote ag tourism.”
In August 2014, the county Board of Supervisors directed staff to start working on a program that could streamline planning and land use regulations to expand and promote agricultural pursuits and to boost the regional economy. The project covers the county’s unincorporated areas.
Among the program’s proposed amendments to the county’s zoning ordinance is expanding by-right zoning for boutique wineries, currently limited to A70 and A72 agricultural zones, to include S92 rural zones.
With the tourist draw to Ramona’s wineries, some community leaders have emphasized the need for more lodging options. One such option is agricultural homestays, where bedrooms on a working farm or ranch can be rented for temporary lodging. The current zoning ordinance addresses agricultural homestays but limits them to specific zones and requires a minor use permit. Among the proposed amendments are adding more zones for agricultural homestays, and changing the permit requirement to a zoning verification permit.
Other areas addressed in the program are cooking, canning or preparation operations related to on-site food production; mobile butchering; on-site retail horticultural sales accessory to nursery sites; and animal raising.
While the draft EIR finds less than significant environmental impacts related to land use, policy, or regulation, it finds significant environmental impacts in air quality/greenhouse gas emissions, biological resources, cultural resources, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, noise, traffic, and water supply and groundwater. To mitigate for those, project alternatives are proposed.
The Board of Supervisors will have to decide whether or how to mitigate significant effects, whether to reject or approve an alternative, or whether to reject or approve the proposed project, according to the report.