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(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the County Board of Supervisors will consider adopting an Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance. The Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance would provide new opportunities for local farmers and ranchers to increase revenues and enhance the economic productivity of their agricultural operations provided the primary use of the land remains agriculture including row crops, orchards, vineyards, and ranching/grazing.
If adopted, the Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance will help sustain the economic viability and diversity of agricultural operations in the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County by expanding the range and diversity of allowable uses on all rural unincorporated lands zoned Agricultural II (AG-II), including in the Coastal Zone.
The Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance would permit land uses that support agricultural activities such as small-scale agricultural processing, aquaponics, composting, farm stands, firewood processing/sales, lumber processing/milling, and tree nut hulling, as well as rural recreational/agritourism uses such as small-scale campgrounds, farmstays, educational experiences and opportunities, fishing/hunting operations, horseback riding, incidental food service, and small-scale special events.
Standards and limitations are proposed on these uses and activities to ensure impacts to the environment are minimized and they remain compatible with surrounding agricultural operations and community.
The Board will also consider amending the Uniform Rules to address the compatibility of proposed agricultural enterprise uses on lands subject to an agricultural preserve contract.
The County’s outreach efforts included mailings, emails to over 500 members of the public who expressed interest in the project, four public workshops, meetings on the Program Environmental Impact Report prepared for the project, and public meetings with the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) and the Agricultural Preserve Advisory Committee (APAC).
The County Planning Commission (CPC) held eight public hearings over the course of ten months. The County Planning Commission voted unanimously on August 28, 2024 to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the draft Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance amendments. A summary table of the Planning Commission’s recommendations to the Board of Supervisors is available here.
The Board of Supervisors will consider the Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance at their hearing on November 5, 2024. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be held at the County Administration Building, Board Hearing Room, Fourth Floor, 105 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA.
Written materials for the Board of Supervisors hearing will be available on the Board of Supervisors website the Thursday before the hearing, link available here.
Public comments continue to be welcome. Please submit comments to the Clerk of the Board via email at sbcob@countyofsb.org by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting. You may attend the Board of Supervisors hearing in person, or observe via live stream on (1) Local Cable Channel 20, (2) online at: https://www.countyofsb.org/1333/CSBTV-Livestream; or (3) YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSBTV20.
Individuals wishing to attend virtually and provide public comment during the Board of Supervisors hearing can do so via Zoom webinar. The link and webinar ID will be available on the Board of Supervisors website one week prior to the hearing, link available here.
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ meetings are available in Spanish. Watch live on our Spanish YouTube Channel, or Cable TV subscribers can access Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) in language settings.
Advance requests are still needed to interpret public comment originating in Spanish. To provide public comment in Spanish, contact the Clerk of the Board at (805) 568-2240, before 4:00 p.m. the Friday before the Board meeting.
For more information, please visit the Planning and Development Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance website: https://www.countyofsb.org/728/Agricultural-Enterprise-Ordinance
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