(A) Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to create the city of Taft urban growth boundary (Taft UGB). The Taft UGB has the following objectives:
1. To encourage efficient growth patterns, discourage sprawl development and premature conversion of agricultural lands and open space to urban use and protect the city's quality of life by concentrating future development within the adopted urban growth boundary;
2. To promote on lands outside the Taft UGB ongoing agricultural, oil and gas, and other natural resource and open space uses such as preservation of natural resources, and protection of environmentally sensitive habitats, public and private outdoor recreation, uses that foster public health and safety, and productive investment for agricultural and oil and gas enterprises;
3. To manage the city's growth in a manner that fosters and protects the character of the city while encouraging appropriate economic development in accordance with the city's unique local conditions and general plan;
4. To allow the city to continue to meet its obligation to provide its fair share of regional housing needs for all economic segments of the population by directing the development of housing into areas where services and infrastructure are more efficiently available; and
5. To promote stability in long term planning for the city by establishing a cornerstone policy within the general plan designating the geographic limits of long term urban development and allowing sufficient flexibility within those limits to respond to the city's changing needs over time.
(B) Findings:
1. The protection of existing agricultural, oil and gas, open space, and other lands surrounding the city is of critical importance to present and future residents of the city.
2. Continued urban encroachment into agricultural, oil and gas, or open space areas may impair agriculture and oil and gas land uses and threaten the public health, safety and welfare by causing increased traffic congestion, and associated air pollution. Such urban encroachment would require both the unnecessary, expensive extension of public services and facilities and inevitable conflicts between urban, agricultural, oil and gas, and open space uses.
3. The unique character of the city and quality of life of city residents depend on the protection of a substantial amount of open space, rural, agricultural, and oil and gas land uses outside of the city's urban area. The protection of such lands not only ensures the continued viability of agriculture and oil and gas operations, but also protects the limited available water supply to surrounding communities and contributes to the protection of wildlife, environmentally sensitive areas, and irreplaceable natural resources.
4. This measure ensures that the important goals and policies of the 2010 general plan are inviolable against transitory and short term decisions and that agricultural, oil and gas, and open space lands are not prematurely or unnecessarily converted to nonagricultural or nonopen space uses without adequate public debate and a vote of the people. Accordingly, the city shall restrict the provision of urban services, or creation of urban uses, other than in certain circumstances and according to specific procedures set forth in this measure, within the territory of the Taft UGB as set forth and depicted as figure 1 on file in the city. (Ord. 817-16, 6-21-2016)