ABSTRACT
Urban influences can be blatant or subtle depending on the community and the distance from the urban boundary. Throughout Southern California, many different planning regulations and political tools have been employed to mitigate urban impacts on agriculture. The success of each has been limited, and their effectiveness is often short lived as regulations or rule-making bodies change with time, and as economic forces interact with land use planning. This chapter reviews the economic issues involved with farming in the proximity of urban areas in the Oxnard Plain, southern Ventura County, California. It identifies and quantifies some external costs associated with farming in these areas and reviews mechanisms used by landowners to cope with these costs. The chapter explores the phenomenon of urban conversion of agricultural lands and reviews the public planning tools designed to limit or restrict conversion.
