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There's a wrinkle with landmark easement


Saturday, August 18, 2007 6:57 AM PDT

Comments (17 comment(s))

At the city's request, a local developer has delivered, as promised, an agricultural easement for 160 acres.

The easement means this ground won't turn into duplexes or strip malls. It is the first such agreement in the city's history, a landmark of sorts.

Hooray for farmland preservation, right?

Well, not so fast.

There's a wrinkle.

The ground is 30 miles away. It is near the sleepy agrarian hamlet of Linden. And the parcel being preserved is not exactly a dynamic and steaming engine of agricultural productivity.

It is, in fact, pastureland. It is reportedly being converted into walnut cultivation.

Right about now, we expect the folks in Linden are praising the citizens of Lodi for their generosity of vision.

Or maybe just our generosity.

After all, the local developer, Tom Doucette, has to pay for this somehow.

So the cost of the homes Mr. Doucette is building will nudge upward in Lodi while somewhere near Linden, a pasture or walnut orchard — at least something green and growing — will be locked into a state of blissful agrarian perpetuity.

Under his development deal with the city, Doucette must deliver more farmland easements in the future. So too will the developers of Reynolds Ranch, the mix of homes, offices and shopping on Harney Lane that will be the new site of Lodi's Blue Shield operation.

Those agreements do not, we repeat — DO NOT — require developers to preserve land between Lodi and Stockton. Yet this is where most Lodians would like to see vineyards safeguarded, an urban buffer established, and the growing wine and tourist industry supported.

So it is fair to ask a simple question:

What's the point?

Why should we force developers to scour hill and dale until they find a farmer somewhere on the far periphery who will take money to keep farming?

Just call us skeptics. We wonder whether these easements will largely protect marginal land, well away from the path of development, land that wouldn't be coated with stucco and concrete for many, many years, if at all.

If the idea is to merely preserve farmland, why not just buy it in Kansas?

Or why not just make Mr. Doucette cut a check to the Central Valley Farmland Trust, instead of schlepping his shopping cart up and down the county's farmland easement aisle? Should this job even fall to developers?

We bet many Lodians had a different expectation when the city started asking for these agreements.

We bet they expected the land to be close to Lodi. We don't think that's being unduly self-interested or geo-centric. We think it only reasonable.

True, preserving land closer to Lodi won't be easy. Land speculation in the Stockton-Lodi buffer zone is active, and the costs of land or easements will be high.

When all is said and done, though, it may be better to make a hard and costly bit of progress where it really counts.

Lodi's general plan is being reopened and revised. Consultants are being paid princely sums to examine all manner of growth options for our community.

How about this: Let's place on the General Plan to-do list this prickly issue of saving farmland, preferably in a place where Lodians care about it being saved.

In the meantime, we are hoping for at least a thank you note from the good folk of Linden.

And in a few years, a box of walnuts.

— The Lodi News-Sentinel

Reader Feedback

Whoa Nellie! wrote on Aug 24, 2007 8:40 PM:

" "To Hmmmm" - so what? I'm glad to hear of an enterprising person making some big bucks and an honest living. FYI, it's called CAPITALISM. As for these easements, they sound good in theory but unless the land is located between 99 & I-5, at about Armstrong Road, I see now value. 160 acres near Linden? That's not in the spirit of the agreement I would think. "

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sam wrote on Aug 21, 2007 5:03 PM:

" Didn't Lodi CC just sell Lodi's developmental rights for the polluted land around the leaky sewer plant? Talk about a rip off. This land easement deal is a joke designed for a few to make a buck off the citizens of Lodi. "

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To HHmmm wrote on Aug 21, 2007 7:54 AM:

" Yes I know, a Realtor friend of mine bought six of them while they were still building. He started sellin them when the had none to sell. He made over $1 million on the deal and never moved into any of them. This the game of Real estate. Its not the intrinsic value of the house, but what people are convinced its worth that matters. This yilds big profits. "

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More veggies wrote on Aug 20, 2007 7:43 PM:

" I think I know whats up? Bob will be planting beans on one of those parcels. "Bob and the beanstalk". Where will he put the drum dryer for the beans? "

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Last time I checked wrote on Aug 20, 2007 7:39 PM:

" Last time I checked, the grapes I bought at Raleys came from Chile. And the cherries I bought at Safeway came from Washington, apples from New Zealand, oranges from Florida, and asparagus from New Mexico. Come on Lodi. "

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Friend wrote on Aug 20, 2007 4:18 PM:

" Good point confused. Nothing like being a newspaper owner to be an expert in just about every subject under the sun. "

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To: Hey wrote on Aug 20, 2007 3:32 PM:

" Don't you know that the farming community does NOT want to have their land designated "agricultural" in perpetuity. It's always so interesting that non-farmers know what's best for my property. "

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Hey wrote on Aug 20, 2007 11:57 AM:

" Why don't they buy land close to the city limit (like what Delta is purchasing) and put that 160 acres into perpituity. That at least would help keep the 'farming' community of Lodi. "

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Tuity-Fruity wrote on Aug 20, 2007 11:39 AM:

" Anybody besides the LNS Editors think that all fruit, nuts and veggies come from a 1-mile greenbelt around Lodi? Check out our grocery stores and Lodi's own Farmer's Market and you will see tons of fresh LINDEN ag products grown for us Lodians (and we like it that way). Hats off to FCB, Citizens for Open Govt. and the City to deal with the issue of ag mitigation in our County. Now, if you are looking for a community separator, just say so and then get ALL the responsible parties at the table to resolve that (completely different) issue. "

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Hmmmm wrote on Aug 20, 2007 10:35 AM:

" I live in an FCB home and I am thrilled with it. So are my neighbors. A couple of minor problems were immediately taken care of. Quit popping off if you don't know what you're talking about. "

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name says it all wrote on Aug 20, 2007 8:48 AM:

" Just look who the party is and you can already see why it looks like a very unethical and questionable deal. I wonder if the mayor apprsaised this property himself or had one of his lap dog high estimators do the appraisal. Mr. Doucette has lost any, of which he had very little to begin with, respect even amongst other builders. FCB is a now failing builder that has stooped as low as they can go to convince the RE community they REALLY know how to build a home. Thanks for your cherry there in Linden, Tom! "

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Tricia wrote on Aug 20, 2007 8:17 AM:

" Dear Sir Edmond, This is not a screw job as you put it. There is a fixed amount of land in the Lodi area, we can agree on that. We are taking out valuable farmland to build more houses. We can agree on that. There is an impact and that needs to be recognized. Unless you can show me where they are making more land in the city of Lodi, this loss needs to be mitigated. "

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Mark wrote on Aug 20, 2007 8:04 AM:

" This is why you need a policy that spells this out. The city managers needed to contact other municipalities that have similar programs to see what the criteria of how land is chosen to protect. Most have the intention of protecting land within 2 miles of the subject property not who can I get to sell it to me the cheapest. There are plenty of good examples of how this works in Yolo County. "

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WHAT THE--? wrote on Aug 19, 2007 4:46 PM:

" You said a "name"....that I dont trust. I already smell a stench. Drain the septic tank, put on your high boots and gloves HERE it comes. This guy sounds like conniver. Whats the APN number? We would like to check out this swamp. I know another parcel like this under water most the year, adjacent to the RR tracks near Jack Tone road? Oh yes, I promise to NOT to build on this swamp land. It goes from 12 acres in the summer to 1 -2 acres above water in the winter. "

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patton wrote on Aug 19, 2007 9:59 AM:

" The LNS knows why ag easments are purchased far away from cities. You need a willing seller after all. This article is fear mongering and sensational. LNS should point out a better solution or save their ink. "

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Sir Edmond Haverhill wrote on Aug 18, 2007 8:42 PM:

" i cannot believe the city council nor citizens believe in this crap. i feel i am undereducated but your stupity puts me on a very high pedistal. this is simply a screw job on our children and friends who want to move into Lodi. "

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Confused wrote on Aug 18, 2007 6:33 PM:

" Maybe the LNS is aware of 160 acres of land for sale in the Lodi area. It would be helpful if you let everybody know where this land is. Do your homework! "

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Comments on this story are now closed.

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