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SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES: Sec. C13-15. Compatible uses and development.

Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

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Sec. C13-15. Compatible uses and development.

(a) All use or development of any contracted land must comply with all of the following criteria:

(1) Contracted land must be devoted to agricultural use before any other use or development is allowed.

(2) The proposed use or development is compatible with and will not significantly compromise the long-term productive agricultural capability of any contracted land within the agricultural preserve, including the land upon which the use or development is proposed to occur;

(3) The proposed use or development will not significantly displace or impair current or reasonably foreseeable agricultural operations on the land upon which the use or development is proposed to occur. A use or development that significantly displaces agricultural operations on the land upon which the use or development is proposed to occur may, in the County's discretion, be deemed compatible if the uses or development relate directly to the production of commercial agricultural products on that parcel or nearby parcels (e.g., harvesting, processing or shipping of locally produced commercial agricultural products).

(4) The proposed use or development will not substantially interfere with the agricultural use of the land upon which the use or development is proposed to occur;

(5) The portion of the parcel to remain in agricultural use must be capable of sustaining a commercially viable agricultural use;

(6) The proposed use or development will not hinder or impair agricultural operations in the area by significantly increasing the permanent or temporary human population of the area;

(7) The proposed use or development does not constitute a residential subdivision; and

(8) The proposed use or development complies with all other federal, state and local laws, regulations, ordinances and guidelines, including the County general plan and this Code.

(b) With respect to contracts executed prior to January 1, 2006, the following uses and development have been determined by the Board of Supervisors to be presumptively compatible with agricultural use of contracted land if all of the criteria in subsection (a) are also met:

(1) Residential uses incidental to the agricultural use of the land, including:

a. Single-family homes for the property owner or lessee, which includes stockholders in family corporations, beneficiaries of family trusts and estates, owners of undivided partial interests in the fee, and joint tenants.

b. Dwellings for persons employed in the agricultural use of land or structures used to provide educational experiences or day-care facilities for their children, provided the use is nonprofit and not open to the general public.

c. Temporary farm labor camps incidental and necessary to the gathering of the crops grown on the land.

d. Residential care facilities for persons actively participating in agriculture as a prime component of their training or recreation.

e. Facilities to be used as bed and breakfast inns with a maximum of six guest rooms, kitchen and dining facilities for guests and small private events, all of which are totally contained within the existing residential structure.

(2) Accessory structures necessary and incidental to the agricultural use of the land, including:

a. Facilities for the drying, packing or other processing of an agricultural commodity usually performed on the premises where it is produced, but not including slaughterhouses, fertilizer yards, bone yards, or plants for the reduction of animal or vegetable matter.

b. Stands or shelters for the sale of agricultural commodities produced on the land.

c. Farmer's markets, including an agricultural stand where agricultural commodities grown, raised or produced off the premises are offered for sale to the general public by the operator of the stand.

d. Limited sales of agricultural supplies, including hay, seed, veterinary supplies and horse tack. The sale of farm equipment or horse trailers as specifically excluded.

e. Aircraft landing strips.

f. Storage and maintenance facilities for trucks used exclusively for hauling agricultural produce, which must include produce grown on the property, as long as the remainder of the property can sustain an agricultural use.

g. Temporary wood recycling operations.

(3) The maintenance of land in its natural state for the purpose of preserving open space for recreation or plant or animal preserves, or the holding of nonproducing land for future agricultural use or future mineral extraction.

(4) Recreational uses:

a. Public or private fishing or hunting of wildlife, including structures associated with hunting or fishing clubs.

b. Public or private rifle and pistol practice ranges, trap or skeet fields, archery ranges, golf driving ranges or other similar uses.

c. Public or private riding or hiking trails.

d. Riding academies, stables, and boarding of horses or other livestock.

e. Large animal clinics primarily for horses or other livestock, including associated stables and pasture. (Small animal hospitals and kennels are excluded.)

(5) Utilities, resource extraction, and waste disposal facilities.

a. The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance of gas, electric, water, or communication utility facilities; small-scale facilities testing electronic products for electromagnetic emissions under applicable Federal Communications Commission regulations; radio, television or microwave antennas; and transmitters and related facilities.

b. Oil and gas well drilling, including the installation and use of such equipment, structures and facilities as are necessary or convenient for oil and gas drilling and producing operations customarily required or incidental to usual oil field practice, including the initial separation of oil, gas and water, and the storage, handling, recycling and transportation of such oil, gas and water from the premises.

c. Surface mining operations which have an approved land rehabilitation plan which returns the land to an agricultural or open space use upon completion.

d. Sanitary landfills which have a land rehabilitation plan which returns the land to an agricultural or open space use upon completion.

(6) Educational, cultural, and religious facilities.

a. Churches, including accessory structures, as long as such use does not substantially interfere with the primary agricultural use of the land within the preserve.

b. Educational and cultural uses not located on prime agricultural soils which do not require major road improvements, and where traffic to and from the subject use location does not hinder or impair the agricultural operations in the surrounding area. At least three-quarters of the parcel must remain in agricultural or open space uses, and the maximum coverage of the site where the educational and cultural uses are to occur is limited to 20 acres.

c. Seasonal and occasional social receptions at existing facilities and immediate surrounding grounds, which do not displace or interfere with agricultural and open space use of the parcel or any adjacent parcel.

(c) With respect to contracts executed on or after January 1, 2006, the following uses and development have been determined by the Board of Supervisors to be presumptively compatible with agricultural use of contracted land if all of the criteria in subsection (a) are also met:

(1) Residential:

a. "Residence, Single-Family," as defined in § 2.10.030 of the Zoning Ordinance.

b. "Secondary Dwelling" as defined in § 2.10.030 of the Zoning Ordinance.

c. "Agricultural Employee Housing" as defined in § 2.10.030 of the Zoning Ordinance.

(2) Agricultural accessory uses that support the agricultural use of the land, including:

a. "Agricultural processing" as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.

b. "Agricultural sales" as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.

c. "Wineries" as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.

d. "Aircraft landing strips - private," as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance, that are limited to the private use of the owner of the property or agricultural use of land with the agricultural preserve.

e. Storage and maintenance facilities for trucks and equipment used exclusively for tending, harvesting or hauling agricultural commodities at least some of which are grown on the property.

(3) Recreational uses, including:

a. Public or private fishing or hunting of wildlife.

b. Public or private riding or hiking trails.

c. Public or private stables and boarding of horses or other livestock.

(4) Utilities, including:

a. "Utilities, Minor" as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.

b. "Antennas - Commercial" as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.

(5) Resource Extraction:

a. "Oil and Gas Extraction" as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.

b. "Surface Mining," as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance, so long as mining and associated activities are not visible from the public right-of-way or other public lands and do not involve open pit quarrying.

(6) Miscellaneous:

a. Facilities for agricultural education and preservation that are not located on prime agricultural land and do not require major road improvements, and where traffic to and from the facility does not hinder or impair the agricultural operations in the surrounding area.

b. A "Bed and Breakfast Inn," as defined in § 2.10.040 of the Zoning Ordinance, within a residential structure that existed when the land was first restricted by contract.

(Ord. No. NS-1203.113, § 1, 5-23-06)