Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Conservation And Williamson Act topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves Williamson Act rescission and open-space easement for Zacharias Ranch mitigation bank
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously July 22 to rescind a Williamson Act contract and enter an open-space easement so Westervelt Ecological Services can develop a 580-acre tidal-marsh mitigation bank at Zacharias Ranch in the Delta area.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on July 22 approved actions to rescind an existing Williamson Act contract and to accept a new open-space easement allowing the Zacharias Ranch Mitigation Bank to proceed as a floodplain tidal-marsh restoration and mitigation bank.
Why it matters: Westervelt Ecological Services plans to convert roughly 580 acres of periodically flooded farmland near Snodgrass Slough into tidal-marsh habitat. County staff concluded the conversion is consistent with the general plan and with Delta policies because the land’s agricultural productivity has fallen due to recurring flooding and because the property connects existing conserved habitat (Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and portions of the Cosumnes Preserve).
Board discussion and findings: Planning staff told the board that Department of Conservation farmland maps show increasing fallow acreage on the parcels and that the state’s mapping may reclassify portions of the land if agricultural use does not resume. Planning staff also noted the county zoning (AG-80) permits wildlife preserves and that the Delta plan and state policy support ecosystem restoration in lower-productivity parcels. The Agricultural Advisory Committee recommended approval but asked the county to require agricultural-mitigation measures. Westervelt said the site has flooded multiple times in recent decades, reducing viable cropping to a small fraction of acreage and making restoration to marsh habitat both environmentally valuable and feasible.
Action taken: By motion, the board approved (1) a CEQA exemption finding (PRC/CEQA consistency exemptions cited by staff), (2) rescission of Williamson Act contract 74AP035, and (3) execution and recording of a permanent open-space easement to protect the restored tidal marsh. Supervisor Hulme moved staff’s recommendation and the board approved the package unanimously.
Practical effects: The approved open-space easement will codify long-term habitat protection on the site and allow the property to operate as a mitigation bank, generating mitigation credits for federal, state and local projects and providing a long-term stewardship funding mechanism. Westervelt said the design includes staged berms and planting benches, working with local tribes on traditional ecological practices, and eventual breaching to connect the site to Snodgrass Slough.
Ending: Supporters, including neighboring growers, said the project would fill a regional habitat gap between Stone Lakes and the Cosumnes Preserve while offering a stable stormwater/flood outlet that could benefit surrounding farmland.
