Item 22 - Public Hearing Ordinance Second Reading - General Plan Amendment, Zoo Overflow Parking Rezone

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SANTA ANA REZONE PROJECT INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION Environmental Evaluation In determining whether impacts to agricultural resources are significant environmental effects, lead agencies may refer to the California Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Model (1997) prepared by the California Department of Conservation (DOC) as an optional model to use in assessing impacts on agriculture and farmland. In determining whether impacts to forest resources, including timberland, are significant environmental effects, lead agencies may refer to information compiled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection regarding the State's inventory of forest land, including the Forest and Range Assessment Project and the Forest Legacy Assessment project; and forest carbon measurement methodology provided in Forest Protocols adopted by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). Setting The DOC Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program (FMMP) was established by the State Legislature in 1982 to assess the location, quality, and quantity of agricultural lands and conversion of these lands over time. The FMMP has established five farmland categories: • Prime Farmland (F) is farmland with the best combination of physical and chemical features able to sustain long-term agricultural production. This land must have been used for irrigated agricultural production at some time during the last 4 years before the mapping date and have the ability to store moisture in soil well. • Farmland of Statewide Importance (S) is similar to Prime Farmland but contains greater slopes and a lesser ability to store soil moisture. • Unique Farmland (U) is usually irrigated but may include non -irrigated orchards or vineyards as found in some climate zones in California. This land must still have been cropped sometime during 4 years prior to the mapping date. • Farmland of Local Importance (L) is important to the local agricultural economy as determined by each county's board of supervisors and local advisory committee. • Grazing Land (G) is land on which the existing vegetation is suited to the grazing livestock. This category was developed in cooperation with the California Cattlemen's Association, University of California Cooperative Extension, and other groups interested in the extent of grazing activities. According to the FMMP Orange County Important Farmland, the City does not contain any Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, or Farmland of Statewide Importance parcels.14 No farmland or agricultural activity exists on or in the vicinity of the project site. The City is designated Urban and 14 California Department of Conservation (DOC). 2025. California Important Farmland Finder. Website: https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/DLRP/CIFF/. Accessed February 5, 2025. 24 FCS Https://adecinnovaticns.sharepoint.com/sites/PubiicationsSite/Shared Documents/Publications/Client(PN-JN)/0327/03270047/ISMND/03270047 Santa Ana Rezone Project ISMND.docx