Council approves 55-year development agreement with Pacific Coast Producers; company to pay $500,000 up front and $200,000 annually
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Summary
Woodland approved a 55-year development agreement with Pacific Coast Producers to preserve the plant’s existing operations at 1376 Lehman Avenue; the agreement includes a $500,000 initial payment and $200,000 annual payment for workforce development and community benefits.
The Woodland City Council voted 5-0 to approve a 55-year development agreement with Pacific Coast Producers (PCP) that preserves the company’s existing tomato-processing operations at 1376 Lehman Avenue and secures community benefits including direct payments and site improvements.
City Manager Ken Hyatt told the council PCP has operated in Woodland for decades and currently employs about 900 workers during harvest and about 65 year-round. Hyatt and Deputy Director of Community Development Erica Baumgartner said the development agreement gives PCP “long term operational certainty” at its existing location but does not authorize new expansion beyond what current zoning allows.
Under the agreement PCP will make an initial payment of $500,000 on the agreement’s effective date and annual payments of $200,000, adjusted for inflation. Baumgartner said the annual funds are “focused on citywide workforce development and economic innovation programs that are administered or sanctioned by the city,” including job training, upskilling and entrepreneurship support aligned with Woodland’s food and agricultural economy.
Baumgartner also described in-kind commitments and site improvements: facility screening and public art along public roadways (including Main Street and Lehman Avenue), sustainability upgrades to advance facility efficiency, and ongoing site maintenance measures intended to improve neighborhood compatibility.
The city and PCP emphasized the agreement preserves existing land-use entitlements and does not change zoning or exempt the facility from future health, safety or building-code permitting. Erica Baumgartner told the council the agreement “does not change the zoning or confer broader entitlements than those already provided by existing rules,” and that fire, life-safety and building codes will continue to apply.
PCP and its counsel participated in the hearing. Sabrina Barr, counsel for PCP, thanked staff for the “collaboration” and said she was available for questions. Public commenters praised PCP as a long-standing local employer; former council member Angel Rodriguez noted local artists and youth participated in earlier murals on the Lehman Avenue side of the plant.
Council members described the plant as integral to the local agricultural economy. Council Member Garcia Cadena said she toured the plant and “was so impressed” by its operations, and the mayor said residents historically know the plant by the Contadina brand.
Action: The council approved the development agreement 5-0. Council members who spoke in favor cited job preservation, support for local growers and predictable annual funding for city workforce programs. The agreement’s commitments to visual screening and sustainability upgrades were discussed as measures to improve neighborhood compatibility while preserving an important local industry.
What’s next: Staff will execute the development agreement and oversee enforcement of its terms, including allocation of the initial payment to innovation, public-safety equipment or related investments and the annual funding to city workforce and economic programs.
