Habitat conversion permit discussion may kill two land buys
Chico Enterprise Record - 1/8/03
By Heather Hacking, staff writer

Butte County plans to require a permit when agricultural land is converted to habitat have stalled purchase of 271 acres of farmland by the Nature Conservancy.

The nonprofit group has funding lined up through CalFed to purchase the land and turn it over to a government wildlife agency.

Dawit Zeleke, manager of the Nature Conservancy's Sacramento River project, said the group is not going to buy land unless it knows it can convert it to habitat. The permit process provides uncertainty because the county could put restrictions on the land use or require special mitigation funds.

For the past 15 years various wildlife agencies have been building a contiguous stretch of public land along the Sacramento River. The intention is to restore the land to wildlife habitat and allow for a limited river meander zone.

In recent months the county has been working to put more restrictions on agriculture-to-habitat conversions.

Assistant county counsel Rob MacKenzie said the county is working on the rules so land use changes don't affect nearby property or the flow of the Sacramento River.

MacKenzie said the Board of Supervisors is also considering requirement of a 300-foot buffer zone between habitat and nearby farms. The land could be required to be plowed every year and a fund would need to be established to pay for that, MacKenzie said.

This would help alleviate pest problems that can spread from habitat to farms, increasing costs for farmers, he said.

Right now a 300-foot buffer zone is required between residential and ag land, MacKenzie added.

The major pest threat right now is squirrels, the attorney said.

He said the county is also considering requiring wildlife agencies to set up a fund to pay for third-party impacts such as lost tax revenue and decreases in sales tax when property is converted from ag to habitat.

"Its no different than imposing requirements on developers," MacKenzie said. Developers have to pay fees for traffic impacts, school etc., he said.

These changes will be talked about at the Jan. 23 meeting of the Planning Commission, he said.

Glenn County is working on similar protective measures, but so far is waiting to see how Butte County handles the topic, Glenn County Supervisor Denny Bungarz said.

Butte County Supervisor Curt Josiassen said the county needs to act to protect property tax revenue. When the Nature Conservancy buys and converts land, it usually then turns the land over to state and federal wildlife agencies. Those agencies have a record of not paying property taxes, Josiassen said.

"I don't want (Northern California) to become the mitigation bank for the cities," he said. "If in fact they are going to turn Northern California into a park, we have to figure out how to get revenues to support what is here."

Zeleke said the new requirements will likely wreck the two deals now being worked on by the Nature Conservancy. He said that's a shame because the two property owners want to sell.

He said the Nature Conservancy works by building consensus, so if it's clear the county opposes habitat conversion, the conservancy will look for other properties to buy.

Zeleke said he doesn't buy the argument that having habitat nearby will create more pest problems for farmers. He says habitat could instead help farmers.

The science coming out of UC Davis includes recommendations to planting hedgerows and filtration strips to keep farm chemicals from entering waterways.

If planned correctly, habitat could serve that role and allow flood waters to go on government land rather than farms, Zeleke said.

The 300-foot buffer zone is also a hardship because many of the properties being eyed are long and narrow, Zeleke said.

George Nicholas owns 146 acres of land that he wants to sell to the Nature Conservancy for $1.36 million. The deal has been in the works for about two years, he said.

Nicholas said he's tried to reach Supervisor Josiassen and hopes his property will get an exception and won't have to go through the extra requirements the county is working on.

Nicholas said the property is very flood-prone. The land is along River Road just a little south of West Sacramento Avenue. He said the land has been flooded three times since December.

He said it can only get worse with time. As areas higher up on Mud Creek continue to be developed, more runoff will be sent down Mud Creek, which parallels his land, Nicholas said.

"At this point I'm not ready to quit farming," he said. "I hope to acquire other property that is less flood-prone."

Nicholas also has property he farms off the Midway.

Just south of his property is another farmer who just planted walnuts last year. Those trees have been under water for a couple of weeks, which will kill many of the trees, Nicholas said.

Nicholas said he has to pay more to farm in a drought-prone environment because applications to ward off disease are needed more frequently.

High water also brings trash and debris from the waterway, which costs money to dispose of, he said.

John Nock is also negotiating the sale of 125 acres to the south and east of Nicholas' property. That sale would be for $830,000.

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