Conduct a public hearing and take the following actions regarding Zone Amendment 16-004, Casey (Big Bend area), which would rezone a parcel on the east side of Kosk Creek Road approximately 1.25 miles northwest of the intersection of Hawkins Creek Road and Summit Lake Road from the Timberland (TL) zone district to the Timber Production (TP) zone district for the purpose of promoting the conservation, management, and utilization of the property:  (1) Find the project to be statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15264 "Timberland Preserves,"; (2) adopt the rezoning findings as set forth in Planning Commission Resolution 2016-023; and (3) introduce, waive the reading of, and adopt the ordinance to amend the Zoning Plan of the County of Shasta identified in Zone Amendment 16-004, Casey.

The project site is a 183.9-acre parcel in the Big Bend area located on the east side of Kosk Creek Road (U.S. Forest Service Road 37N79) approximately 1.25 miles northwest of the intersection of Hawkins Creek Road and Summit Lake Road (Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 021-100-031 and 021-120-040). The request is for a rezone from the Timberland (TL) zone district to the Timber Production (TP) zone district for the purpose of promoting the conservation, management, and utilization of the property for commercial forest management. 

The Planning Commission reviewed this application on September 8, 2016 and recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve the Zone Amendment.

General Plan & Zoning - The property is located within the County’s “Eastern Forest” planning area, Timberlands (T) General Plan land use designation, and the TL zone district. The County General Plan identifies timberlands as "one of Shasta County's most valuable resources..." (p.6.2.01 "findings"), and encourages the preservation of lands suitable for commercial timber production. The proposal is consistent with the objectives and policies of the T land use designation and standards of the TP zone district. Access & Services - The project site is accessed from Kosk Creek Road and Hawkins Creek Road. The Shasta County Fire Department provides fire suppression and emergency services to the area. The project does not require other services.

Project Analysis – The project site is undeveloped timberland. Adjacent properties are primarily undeveloped commercial timberland except for a ranch located adjacent to the western property line. Timberland within the property is composed of a mixed conifer stand interspersed with a few small oak-pine woodland stands.

The Planning Commission determined that the owner's application sufficiently demonstrates that the property meets the eligibility requirements for rezoning to the TP zone district, including that that property is: 1) in the ownership of one person; 2) meets the minimum parcel size of not less than 60 acres of Class II timberland; 3) will be subject to a Forest Management Plan prepared by a Registered Professional Forester (RPF), which provides for the eventual harvest of timber within a reasonable amount of time; and 4) meets the minimum stocking standard of 75 square-feet of basal area per acre for mixed conifer forest stands. In this case the landowner's management objectives include an initial harvest within five years and future harvesting on a sustained yield basis with a harvest planned every 10 to 15 years. The RPF who prepared the management plan for the property estimates annual volume growth within the timber stand to be 400 to 500 board-feet per acre per year. If the stand is managed to sustain this level of growth, approximately 720,000 to 1.35 million board feet of growth would potentially be available for harvest every 10 to 15 years. Effective management and improvement of overstocked areas and the stand as a whole may result in increased annual volume growth.

Environmental Determination - This project has been determined to be Categorically Exempt from CEQA under CEQA Guidelines Section 15264, which includes Timberland Preserves. Issues -  No unusual issues have been identified with respect to this project.  To date, no public comments have been received.

The following alternatives are available:

1) Recommend a modification of the zone district boundaries or recommend placement of the property within a different zone district; 2) Continue the public hearing to request additional information; or 3) Deny the Zone Amendment. 

N/A

Rezoning the property to Timber Production may reduce short term property tax revenues to the County; however, any reduction would likely be offset by timber yield tax applied to timber harvested from the property over time.