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DRAFT/March 27,2026 <br /> in 2017 to 8821 acres in 2022 (Figure 1 ). During this period, acres in <br /> development increased from 33,526 to 40,812. <br /> Figure 1. Land in crops in northern and southern Orange County, 2017-2022. The data are based <br /> on land cover as assessed by satellite imagery and land categorizations delineated by the US <br /> Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Cropland Data Layer. <br /> Grassland and forestland are excluded. <br /> Acres <br /> 25,000 <br /> 20,000 <br /> 15,000 <br /> 10,000 <br /> 5,000 <br /> 5,299 <br /> 0 <br /> 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 <br /> ■ North ■South <br /> *Grassland and forestland excluded <br /> The high rate of farmland loss reflected in the satellite-imagery data and the <br /> Census aligns with Orange County farmer/landowner perceptions. In a 2023 <br /> Orange County Farmer and Landowner Survey conducted by the Farmland <br /> Stewardship Subcommittee, respondents overwhelmingly considered the most <br /> important threat to farming in Orange County to be farmland conversion to <br /> development (Appendix 1 for summary). They described low-density residential <br /> development, in particular, as a threat (Figure 2). Low-density residential <br /> development is characterized by few dwelling units on a large land area (low <br /> population density). Low-density residential development most often takes the <br /> form of single-family suburban homes with large lots and large green spaces <br /> between homes. <br /> 11 <br />