The County shall designate areas set aside for managed production of resources as Open Space, including, but not limited to, forest lands, rangeland, agricultural lands not otherwise designated Agricultural; areas required for the recharge of groundwater basins; bays, estuaries, marshes, rivers, and streams which are important for the management of commercial fisheries; and areas containing major mineral deposits, including those in short supply.
MPSP
LU-8.1 Areas Appropriate for the Agricultural Land Use Designation
The County shall ensure that the Agricultural land use designation primarily includes lands that are designated as Prime Farmlands, Farmlands of Statewide Importance, or Unique Farmlands in the state’s Important Farmland Inventory (IFI), although the County may not designate land as Agricultural if small areas of agricultural land are isolated from larger blocks of farming land. In such cases, the Agricultural land is to be assigned to the Open Space or Rural designation for consistency with surrounding properties.
LU-8.3 Minimum Lot Area for the Agricultural Land Use Designation
The County shall ensure that the smallest minimum lot area consistent with the Agricultural land use designation is 40 acres. The County may require larger minimum lot areas based on the zone classification.
LU-9.1 Areas Appropriate for the Open Space Land Use Designation
The County shall ensure that the Open Space land use designation includes areas of land or water that are set aside for the preservation of natural resources, including, but not limited to, areas required for the preservation of plant and animal life, including habitat for fish and wildlife species; areas required for ecologic and other scientific study purposes; rivers, streams, bays, wetlands, and estuaries; and coastal beaches, lakeshores, banks of rivers and streams, and important watershed lands.
LU-9.2 Preservation of Areas for Public Health and Safety
The County shall designate areas of land or water which are set aside for public health and safety as Open Space, thereby safeguarding humans and property from certain natural hazards, including, but not limited to, areas which require special management or regulation because of hazardous or special conditions such as earthquake fault zones, unstable soil areas, flood plains, watersheds, areas presenting high fire risks, areas required for the protection of water quality and water reservoirs, and areas required for the protection and enhancement of air quality.
LU-9.3 Minimum Lot Area for the Open Space Land Use Designation
The County shall ensure that the smallest minimum lot area consistent with the Open Space land use category is 10 acres. The County may require larger minimum lot areas based on the zone classification.