Hold a public hearing and consider a recommendation from the Planning Commission to approve the 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan (an amendment to the 2030 Countywide General Plan), adopt associated zoning changes, and adopt a Negative Declaration as the appropriate level of environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (No general fund impact) (Lindbo/Trebec) (Est. Time: 10 min)

The proposed 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan, which updates the 2001 Dunnigan Community Plan, furthers the goals and policies of the Countywide General Plan by addressing a broad array of public concerns and providing guidance specific to the town of Dunnigan. The overarching vision for the community is to enhance the quality of life and maintain its 'small town' ambiance, community character, design, and scale of Dunnigan for present and future generations while fostering economic vitality. To achieve this vision, the 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan includes land use goals, policies, and programs to protect the characteristics which make Dunnigan a pleasant place to live, provide land for industrial use and employment, facilitate commercial development, and increase residential density in the town center (Attachment A).

In 2022, the County received a Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) grant from the California Department of Conservation to create a new Dunnigan Community Plan. By the end of 2022, Planning staff had held numerous monthly meetings with the Dunnigan Citizens Advisory Committee (DCAC) and surveyed community members to gather public input on the plan. In January 2023, staff presented the survey results and an initial draft of the community plan to the DCAC. Staff finalized the community plan and prepared a draft environmental assessment by the end of 2023 and the Planning Commission recommended approval to the Board of Supervisors in April 2024 (see Attachment G to review the Planning Commission staff report).

The proposed Dunnigan Community Plan (Attachment A) includes the two growth areas identified by Community Character Policy CC-3.8 in the 2030 Countywide General Plan (the area west of I-5/County Road 6 interchange, between CR 5 and CR 6; and the area west of the I-5/CR 6 interchange and CR 7, between I-5 and CR 99W) and a developed portion of the original Hardwood Subdivision east of CR 99W. In addition, the proposed plan updates the community goals and policies from the 2001 Dunnigan Community Plan and revises the land uses and zoning for the Dunnigan area to meet the updated policies.

The proposed 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan includes the following specific components:

Staff completed an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with a Negative Declaration determination. A notice of intent to adopt a Negative Declaration was distributed to all properties affected by proposed land use designation and zoning changes and posted in the Dunnigan Post Office (Attachment D). The public review period ran from January 31, 2024, to March 1, 2024. Staff only received standard comments from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board. Formal notice and invitation to initiate consultation under AB 52 was sent to Tribes requesting notification on December 12, 2023, and the County received a request for consultation from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (Tribe) in a letter dated March 26, 2024. Preliminary consultation took place on April 4, 2024, with no further requests from the Tribe. A separate notice and invitation to initiate consultation under SB18 was also sent to Tribes requesting notification but no consultation request has been received. [Invitations for tribal consultation are sent to California Native American tribes requesting notification and/or potentially affected by a proposed general plan adoption or amendment (SB 18) and prior to initiating an environmental review under CEQA (AB 52).]

The DCAC unanimously approved recommendation of the plan on February 21, 2024, with a request to clarify proposed Policy D-AG-2 (Attachment A). The policy originally sought to provide priority status under the County's Agricultural Conservation and Mitigation Program Ordinance (County Code Section 8-2.404) to allow farmland within one mile of the Dunnigan Community Growth Boundary to mitigate for the conversion of farmland. The DCAC was concerned this might prevent limited future growth and could be used to fulfill mitigation requirements for projects in other parts of the County. Staff revised the policy to emphasize that the Ordinance already grants the Board of Supervisors the ability to designate areas for mitigation at whatever level of mitigation the Board deems proper, and that specific parcels of prime farmland within two miles of the Dunnigan Community Growth Boundary should be considered by the Board, but only for projects in northern Yolo County north of the County Road 13 alignment (see Figure 10 in Attachment A).

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on April 11, 2024, to consider a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to approve the community plan (Attachment G). The Planning Commission asked questions about potential funding sources to implement certain components of the plan, such as water and sewer services, and discussed the need for parks, bike lanes, and trails within the community, which are recommended in the plan. Implementation of the 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan, including identification of available funding sources, will require long-term coordination with both public and private entities. The Planning Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the findings and recommend that the Board of Supervisors adopt the Negative Declaration and General Plan Amendment for the 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan.

Property owners and community members of Dunnigan
Dunnigan Citizens Advisory Committee
Planning Commission
Yolo County Department of Community Services- Environmental Health, Natural Resources, and Public Works divisions
Office of County Counsel
Yolo County Office of General Services, Parks Division
Dunnigan Fire Protection District
Pierce Joint Unified School District
California Department of Transportation
Yolo County Local Agency Formation Commission
California American Water Company
EPS Group with Cunningham Engineering Corporation
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board