The Plumas County Planning Commission opened a review of the Agriculture and Forestry element of the countys 2035 General Plan, reading goals and policies aloud and asking planning staff about implementation, zoning constraints and post‑Dixie Fire implications for agricultural and timber lands.

Commissioners reviewed goals that emphasize protecting agriculture as a productive use of resource lands and preventing conversion to nonagricultural uses. Staff explained distinctions among zoning categories discussed in the element: Agriculture Preserve (AP), General Agriculture (AG), and Timberland Production Zone (TPZ), and noted minimum parcel sizes that apply in those zones (examples discussed included 40‑ to 160‑acre thresholds for different zones).

Residents who spoke at the meeting urged commissioners to incorporate post‑fire realities into implementation. Elisha Adler said she was "one of the authors of that plan years ago" and asked the commission to consider how the Dixie Fire changed wind, exposed soils and other conditions that affect farming; she asked the county to account for those long‑term changes when protecting agricultural lands. Selena Heyo, another Genesee resident, told commissioners: "The right to farm and farming, has changed since the Dixie Fire," and urged the commission to balance regenerative farming approaches with neighboring ranchesneeds and to avoid creating new nuisances.

Staff and commissioners discussed several policy topics that appear in the element and its appendix materials: the Williamson Act (contracts that reduce property tax in exchange for maintaining agricultural uses), Timberland Production Zone rules, the countys existing right‑to‑farm notice/ordinance and mapping from the State Department of Conservation (which currently maps farmland in Sierra Valley but not all other local valleys). Staff said the county will provide the right‑to‑farm notice and the ordinance language to commissioners at a future meeting on request.

Commissioners and staff also discussed the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Planning staff said a CWPP update work plan is being prepared by the Plumas County Fire Safe Council and partners; the planning commission was advised that the Fire Safe Council will lead that update and that the commission has no direct authority to adopt countywide CWPP content but can comment and coordinate.

Implementation and next steps: The commission proceeded policy by policy and will continue the element review at later meetings. Staff noted multiple follow-up items across the general plan update process: updating implementation measures where policies are not yet enforced, examining zoning code changes to align with plan goals and preparing future information items from public comments (including the Genesee Valley Special Management Area Plan, which staff plans to pull into the record for review where applicable). Staff also listed related code work the department intends to bring forward in the coming months (noise ordinance, SMARA updates, flood ordinance, employee/caretaker housing, temporary structures and other code amendments).

Why it matters: The Agriculture and Forestry element frames how the county will approach land‑use decisions for farms, timberland and rural communities for the next decade. Commissioners said they will weigh post‑fire conditions, federal and state mapping and program rules (Williamson Act, TPZ) as they consider implementation measures and possible recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.