Amid overwhelming backlash from equine businesses, wineries and small farmers, Santa Clara County officials are pumping the brakes on proposed changes to the type of development and operations allowed on agricultural land in unincorporated parts of the county.
Once known as the “Valley of the Heart’s Delight” due to its flourishing orchards, Santa Clara County has lost more than 21,000 acres of farmland over the last three decades — and an additional 28,000 acres are at risk, according to county officials.
In an effort to support and preserve agriculture, the county is reexamining zoning rules in rural and agricultural districts. But the process has caused alarm among farmers, ranchers, equestrians and vintners who say the proposed changes put their livelihoods at risk as the modifications might force them to shut down altogether.
After months of apprehension by these business, it appears their concerns have been heard. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proposal from Supervisor Sylvia Arenas that would essentially send the policy back to the drawing board and ensure the county incorporates “extensive, widespread and consistent community concerns.”
Arenas, whose district includes the southern part of the county that encompasses much of the area’s agricultural lands, said she wanted to ensure they got the policy “right for everyone.”
“The ordinance here has a lot of implications for our local businesses and their livelihoods so I want to make sure that it isn’t just good for one particular industry, that it is for all of the industries included in the agricultural community,” she said.
Arenas’ proposal asks county officials to create an agricultural task force and ensure that farm stands can operate without needing a special — and costly — permit. She’s also proposing to create a path for businesses that are currently out of compliance to be grandfathered in and eventually legalized.
The supervisor also wants to reduce some of the thresholds outlined in the draft policy to support small farmers. County officials previously wanted to require no less than 24 acres of land to be able to raise livestock — Arenas wants to shrink that down to one acre.
Laurie Holderman of Dawnridge Ranch in San Martin told the board on Tuesday that requiring a minimum of 24 acres is “unrealistic in our county where land is scarce and extremely expensive.” She currently operates her goat farm on 2.5 acres.
“Goats do not require large acreage,” Holderman said. “Zoning regulations should support sustainable farming practices rather than dictate exactly how farmers manage their animals.”
Arenas is also asking the county to include wineries within the agricultural umbrella.
Kim Engelhardt, the president of the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley and owner of Lion Ranch Vineyard & Winery in San Martin, told the board that the last few months “have been the most stressful” in her 15 years in the industry as the proposal could “put wineries on a path toward closure. Some of the suggested changes could have saddled wineries with costly new permit and event fees.
“The uncertainty surrounding the future of our businesses is overwhelming,” she said. “What has been proposed by the planning department is neither reasonable nor collaborative. These proposals were developed without consultation from the people who will be the most affected.”
Anxious equine businesses also are expected to get some reprieve from Arenas’s proposal, which asks county officials to look at horses separate of the changes being made for agricultural businesses. The county initiative sparked outrage from equestrians as it would no longer have classified horses as livestock or issued permits for stables in “ag exclusive” zones.
Rachael Parakh, the director of public relations for the Santa Clara County Horsemen’s Association, thanked Arenas for “resetting” the process.
“Families and the whole community count on this,” she said of horses. “We don’t want to be relegated to history. We believe that it’s part of our living community now and we look to celebrate the equine and agriculture community.”
County officials are expected to report back to the board next spring with more information.
Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee praised Arenas’ proposal and the county’s objective of preserving its limited farmlands.
“With agriculture having been changed so dramatically in the past decades to being industrialized by conglomerates and large companies, it is certainly very difficult if not impossible for smaller farms to survive these days especially right here in Santa Clara County,” he said. “Before Santa Clara County became Silicon Valley, this was the Valley of Heart’s Delight and we want to keep it that way.”