Contra Costa County Grand Jury • 2022-2023

Contra Costa County Department of Conservation & Development (dcd)

Published: May 04, 2023 16 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 8 findings

F1
There is no formal procedure for the evaluation and approval of agricultural contracts in Contra Costa County by the DCD.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The grand jury recommends that the DCD establish a written and publicized process for agricultural contracts, similar to what our comparison county has implemented,
F2
The current process to review and approve an agricultural contract takes over three years.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
We recommend that the DCD establish a well-publicized deadline for all agricultural contract applications (e.g., October 1), process all agricultural contracts together and preschedule a standing item on the planning commission’s agenda (if required) and the board of supervisor’s agenda in late November or early December, with contract approval on or before December 31 of the same year, striving to approve agricultural contracts
F3
An agricultural contract has not been approved since 2018.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
We recommend that the DCD include an in-person or video teleconference meeting with the applicant to clearly define the required paperwork and the deadline for application submittal.
F4
Delays in approving agricultural contracts require applicants to continue to pay higher property tax payments while awaiting approval.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
We recommend that the DCD agricultural contract process be agreed upon and shared with all involved entities, such as county counsel, the planning commission, public works, adjacent cities, LAFCO, and the assessor's office, to gain agreement on the process by all involved entities. Recommended date of agreement is October 1, 2023.
F5
The DCD ePermit online tool provides an overly broad status on agricultural contracts. As of April 2023, the status of all agricultural contract applications is “hearing prep”. This could indicate the application is under an environmental quality review or being prepared for the board of supervisors for approval.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
We recommend that the DCD update the ePermit status for agricultural contracts, within 48 hours of a status change, as the application progresses through the involved entities.
F6
Our interviews found that one planner is trained to work on agricultural contracts and is often compelled to spend a majority of their time on other tasks such as the general plan.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
We recommend that the DCD train additional planners to process agricultural contracts in order to eliminate the current backlog by October 1, 2023 and meet the 90 day agricultural contract approval interval target for future applications.
F7
Inquiries for status via email and voicemail by agricultural contract applicants to the DCD are often not responded to.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
We recommend that the DCD review and adhere to their stated goal that calls and emails from applicants be returned within two business days.
F8
When applicant email inquiries are responded to, they often provide a progress status that fails to materialize and/or is overly optimistic.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
We recommend that the DCD implement an escalation process for agricultural contracts so that the applicant can request management intervention if key milestones and deadlines are in jeopardy of being missed.

Additional Recommendations 1

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office