LET’S MAKE HISTORY WITH YOLO COUNTY GREENLINE PLAN
By Dave Rosenberg
Yolo County Supervisor, District Four
Since its founding in 1850 as one of California’s original counties, Yolo County has followed a different path. Born as an agricultural county, Yolo County has, for almost 150 years, maintained agriculture as its focus and its character. Even today, agriculture is by far the primal industry in Yolo County.
Agriculture in Yolo County uses the rich valley soils to provide food and fiber for the nation, as well as a livelihood and jobs for thousands. Virtually everyone in Yolo County is touched, in some way, by agriculture. Yolo County is the home of a great campus of the University of California, founded as the "University Farm" and continuing to impact California, the nation and the world on the cutting edge of agriculture, veterinary medicine and agri-science.
Yolo County’s path has been an uncommon one. For example, our neighbor to the east, Sacramento County, has taken the more typical path of growth, urbanization and industry. Sacramento’s farmland has shrunk in direct proportion to its urban growth. It is, however, virtually impossible to tell when one leaves Sacramento City and enters Sacramento County. It’s all urbanized. In Sacramento County, urban growth on County land is the norm.
Not so in Yolo County. For almost 150 years, Yolo County has (with rare exceptions) not permitted the urbanization of County land.
The pluses of this policy affect us all. Farmland is preserved. Agriculture is fostered. Large open spaces divide and separate the four urban centers (Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento and Winters), and prevent them from melding together into rural megolopoli.
The minuses challenge us, however. The County’s decision to preserve farmland and open space has cost Yolo County revenues which it sorely needs to provide essential services to County residents. After all, farmland provides very little tax benefit. A regional shopping mall would provide tremendous tax benefits to the County.
But it’s important for Yolo County to stay the course to preserve farmland, and to fight the pressure and temptation to urbanize and mall-ize the County. And make no mistake that the pressure is intense and is building. Great segments of County land -- outside the urban zones of cities -- are owned or optioned by those who would wish to "develop" (and I don’t mean orchards and row crops).
It’s time, now, for some bold vision and some bold steps if Yolo County is to continue to preserve its agriculture heritage. I call upon the cities of Yolo County, in partnership with the County of Yolo County to develop what I call a "Yolo County Greenline Plan." Here’s what I suggest:
1. Each of the four cities in Yolo County (Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento, Winters) will, through their respective General Plan processes achieve a community consensus as to its own "Urban Limit Line," that is a line of ultimate urban development, beyond which the community has chosen not to grow. The County of Yolo, also through its General Plan process, will develop similar urban limit lines commensurate with the cities’ choices, as well as for the few urbanized areas of Yolo County (e.g. Esparto, Dunnigan, El Macero, etc.).
2. The combined plan of "Urban Limit Lines" will be known as the "Yolo County Greenline Plan." It will be manifested in a simple Yolo County map which shows the ultimate urban limits and, importantly, displays the preserved open space and farmland surrounding the urban limit lines. Not only will the Yolo County Greenline Plan declare urban limits, but it will preserve agricultural land and open space, and will create large green zones between urban areas.
3. Ultimately, the "Yolo County Greenline Plan" will be memorialized in a "Compact" to be signed by Yolo County and each of the four cities, and witnessed by representatives of the Farm Bureau, Chambers of Commerce, the Sierra Club, the Yolo County Farmland Trust, UCD, and other appropriate organizations. As a contract of mutual benefit, the "Compact" will have both legal and moral suasion.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors, I am confident, will support the "Yolo County Greenline Plan." Will the cities join as well?
I urge the citizens of Yolo County to begin the dialogue with their elected leaders to urge support for this plan to preserve -- for the next century -- the agricultural heritage of Yolo County.