Building Industry Ass'n v. County of Stanislaus
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Levy, J.
*586 Opinion
In December 2007, appellants, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors (Board) and the County of Stanislaus (County), adopted an update to the agricultural element of the County’s general plan. At issue in this appeal is one component of this update, the Farmland Mitigation Program (FMP).
The FMP is designed to aid in mitigating the loss of farmland resulting from residential development by requiring the permanent protection of farmland through agricultural conservation easements granted in perpetuity. The FMP implementation guidelines provide that farmland mitigation shall be satisfied by the acquisition of an agricultural conservation easement over an equivalent area of comparable farmland. It is the sole responsibility of the developer to obtain the required easement.
Respondent, Building Industry Association of Central California (BIA), challenged the facial validity of the FMP’s requirement that a developer dedicate permanent easements as a condition of obtaining development approvals or permits from the County. Appellants California Farm Bureau Federation and Stanislaus County Farm Bureau (Farm Bureau) intervened in support of the County and the Board.