SURFACE MINING-RELATED ZONING AND COUNTY CODE AMENDMENTS

Inquire about the availability of documents in alternate formats.
See below for hearing dates and links to review documents.

The Board of Supervisors approved the code amendments in a final action on June 11, 2008.

• Mining-Related Zoning Code (Title II, Chapter 35, Article 3) These amendments will take effect 30 days after approval.
• Mining-Related County Code (Chapter 20.04, Title 20) These amendments are effective immediately upon approval.

Project Summary:  The project amended the surface mining-related sections of the County Zoning Code and the County Code.  See below for documents containing details of the changes.

Surface Mining of River Aggregates in Sacramento County

Regulation of Surface Mining in Sacramento County

 Policy and Regulation.  Surface mining is regulated by Sacramento County primarily through three documents.  The General Plan contains language and policy that provides general guidance on how and where mining should occur in the County.  Most mining policies are in the Conservation Element and Open Space Elements.  The Zoning Code contains regulations which provide details of how mining should occur and addresses the impacts of mining to surrounding uses and include topics such as traffic, air pollution including dust, noise, and visual impacts.  The Zoning Code also directs the details of information needed for mining use permit applications, and provides regulations that relate to various legal procedures.  Title 20 of the County Code is on Environmental Protection and Chapter 20.04 addresses Reclamation Plans for mines.

Conditional Use Permit.  The General Plan, Zoning Code and County Code provide much of the guidance needed by the Board of Supervisors when considering applications for mining use permits and reclamation plans.  The conditional use permit for each mining operation contains numerous conditions of approval which define the specific mining methods, mitigation methods and timing for a particular mining operation.  Likewise, each mining operation has its own reclamation plan which specifies the vegetation, pit slope angles, surface elevations and other regulations when the Board of Supervisors has sufficient cause to make findings for a condition inconsistent with the Codes.

Current Amendment Processes.  All three documents have recently been, in separate amendment processes. The Mineral resource-Related General Plan Amendments were approved by the Board of Supervisors on August 22, 2007.  The mining related sections of the Zoning Code and County Code were approved on June 11, 2008.

Zoning Code Amendments.

An early effort to amend the mining-related sections of the Zoning Code was initiated in the late 1990’s.  That effort produced a set of guidelines intended to help the Board of Supervisors evaluate applications in which proposed mining would be near to residential and other sensitive uses.  In 2005 a draft of mining-related Zoning Code Amendments was compiled reflecting the efforts of the initial effort in addition to more current proposed changes.  That document, the “Public review Draft”, was distributed for comment through meetings at the Southeast, Cordova, Cosumnes and Vineyard Community Planning Advisory Councils (CPACs). In response to the comments received, staff produced the Staff Recommendation Draft which was circulated in September, 2007 for review and heard by the Project Planning Commission on December 10, 2007.

The Planning Commission forwarded the amendments to the Board for consideration with only minor modifications.  The Commission also directed DERA to evaluate an additional use, concrete products manufacturing, in a Revised Initial Study and Negative Declaration.  This would allow the Board of Supervisors to consider such uses at the Board hearing on January 23, 2008. 

The Board first heard the amendments on January 23, 2008, took public testimony, and directed the Planning Department to prepare a revised and reorganized draft of the amendments for presentation to relevant CPACs for public input.  Additionally, the Board requested that the Planning Department provide additional information on specific aspects of the proposed amendments.  One of the key questions related to the possible inclusion of concrete products manufacturing (e.g. pipe, tile) as an ancillary use in the SM zone.  The project was initially continued to April 2, 2008, but to provide more preparation time the date was extended to April 23, 2008.

On April 23, 2008 the Board again heard the amendments, taking extensive public testimony.  The Board tentatively adopted the bulk of the amendments proposals, as recommended by the Planning Department, and directed the Planning Department to make several non-substantive changes for possible final adoption at the next hearing.  The Board did not include the concrete products manufacturing in the amendments, opting to consider them at a later date in the context of Granite Construction’s Walltown Quarry application.


Some of the key amendments that the Board tentatively approved, and were considered for final adoption on June 11, 2008, are:

1.   Expanding the list of allowable uses in the Surface Mining (SM) Combining Zone to include concrete and asphalt production and recycling. These new uses would be considered “ancillary uses” which would require a Use Permit and specific conditions.  (Note that the Board opted to defer consideration of the addition of “concrete products manufacturing” (e.g. pipe, tile) in the SM zone as an ancillary use until they hear Granite Construction’s application for the Walltown Quarry, at a future date.

2.   Allowing expanded haul-out and operating hours, with justification, under the Use Permit.

3.   Adding guidelines for mining setbacks when near to residential uses.

4.   Adding regulations to address hard rock mining.

5.   Modifying regulations regarding fencing, landscaping and berms to allow more design flexibility.

6.   Allowing mining under existing Special Planning Areas that list mining as an allowable use.

On June 11, 2008 the Board of Supervisors approved the Zoning Code Amendments without major modifications to the key changes listed above. Please see the final adopted text for details.

County Code Amendments

Mining-related sections of the County Code were also updated through a process running parallel to the Zoning Code Amendments. The amendments incorporate updates from the most recent Model Ordinance provided by the State Mines and Geology Board.  Most of the proposed language was unchanged from the existing code or based on the Model Ordinance.  Other changes moved sections to the Zoning Code, combined some sections, deleted sections that are no longer necessary, and added sections that would revise or clarify the reclamation plan approval process.

Contact:

 Please address questions, and requests, for placement on the project mailing list to:

Michael Winter, Senior Planner                           Jeff Gamel, Senior Planner
Sacramento County Planning & Development       Sacramento County Planning & Development
827 7th Street, Room 230,                                  827 7th Street, Room 230
Sacramento, CA 95814                                      Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone #: (916) 874-5849                                     Phone #: (916) 874-5835
Email:                                                               Email:
winterm@SacCounty.net                                    gamelj@SacCounty.net

Adopted Documents:

As approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 11, 2008:

• Mining-Related Zoning Code (Title II, Chapter 35, Article 3)
• Mining-Related County Code (Chapter 20.04, Title 20)

Past Board Hearing Videos on SacCounty TV

To view the action summary or a video of the January 23, 2008  or April 23, 2008 Board hearing go to the following site, click on "Wednesday Board Meetings" scroll down to the meeting date and click on the appropriate link, go to agenda item # 11(1/23/08), #19(4/23/08), #7 (6/27/08)

Saccounty TV Live

Past Hearing Documents:

• Revised Initial Study and Negative Declaration
• Letters received after submission of addendum #2 to the Clerk of the Board  
• Addendum # 3 (June 11, 2008 Board Hearing)
  • May28, 2008 Draft of Zoning Code (Attachment A to Add. #3)
• Addendum # 2 (April 23, 2008 Board Hearing)
  • Reorganized Draft of Zoning Code (Attachment A to Add. #2)
  • Public Comment Letters (Attachment B to Add. #2)
  • Example of Road funding language (Attachment C to Add. #2)
• Addendum # 1 (January 23, 2008 Board Hearing, no attachments)
• Staff Report Text
• Attachment A Proposed Sacramento County Zoning Code Section 235 on Surface Mining: Staff Recommendation in Strikeout/bold format. (Public Review Draft showing the Staff Recommendation in Strikeout/bold format.)
• Attachment B Proposed Sacramento County Zoning Code Section 235 on Surface Mining: Staff recommendation “clean copy”. (i.e. Staff Recommendation with strikeout/bold removed.)
• Attachment C Summary of Public Comments on Public Review Draft of Zoning Code Section 235 on Surface Mining.
• Attachment D Proposed Sacramento County Code Title 20, Chapter 20.04 on Surface Mining and Reclamation.
• Attachment E Detailed Discussion of Issues on Proposed Zoning Code Amendments with Planning Department Responses. (Note: This includes recent comments on, and Reponses to, the Staff Recommendation Draft.
• Attachment F Comment Letters Regarding the Staff Recommendation
• Attachment G Outline of Proposed Reorganization of Article 4.

Historic Planning Documents:

• Cover Letter to Community Planning Advisory Councils
• Public Review Draft of Zoning Code Amendment Language (Attachment A)
• Public Review Draft of County Code Amendment Language (Attachment B)
• Public Review Draft of County Code Amendment Language (Attachment C)
• Zoning Code Amendment Environmental Document (Public Review December 13, 2005 to January 2, 2006)
• Courtesy Notice: Community Planning Advisory Councils for Zoning and County Code Amendments.
• March 9, 2005 Staff Report to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
• Attachment A – 1999 Board Initiation Resolution

Other Documents of Interest:

• Existing Sacramento County Zoning Code, Section 235, Article 4 on Surface Mining
• Existing Sacramento County Code, Title 20 on Environmental Protection, Chapter 20.04 on Surface Mining and Reclamation
• Model SMARA Ordinance (State Mining and Geology Board)

Links of Interest:

• Planning Home Page
• Surface Mining Special Projects
• Community Planning Advisory Councils (Community Areas Map, CPAC chairpersons List, CPCA Meeting Schedules & Agendas)

California State Department of Conservation

• Office of Mine Reclamation

• State Mining and Geology Board