What would a battery proposal change about your Merced County land?

Find the parcel’s zoning and any agricultural contract

Merced County’s zoning page directs owners to an interactive map where an assessor’s parcel number or address can be used to locate a property and its zoning layers. Start with the actual parcel. A mailing address or a nearby project name is not enough to establish which rules apply to the land.

Ask the developer to identify the General Plan designation as well as the zoning. Under the county’s application code, staff check plan consistency, whether the proposed use is allowed, the permit type and the legal status of the property. Have the company explain those checks before it assumes the proposal can proceed.

Agricultural zoning and a Williamson Act contract are separate matters. The county currently says it is not accepting applications to place new land under that program. That does not remove an existing contract from land already covered by one. If you have a contract or earlier notices, include them in the property review.

Have the company check the proposed battery use against the actual contract and current county procedure. Do not agree to change or end an agricultural arrangement based only on the equipment area. Ask what the change would mean for the remaining land and which decisions are still outstanding.

Reference: Merced County: zoning code and parcel lookup · Merced County: Chapter 18.112 application processing · Merced County: Williamson Act contracts and property-line adjustments

Ask how the county would classify the proposed battery use

The agricultural-zone use table lists energy-generation facilities and electrical distribution or transmission substations with different permit classifications. It does not provide a plainly labeled standalone battery-storage row in the chapter reviewed here. Ask the company to obtain the appropriate classification for its actual equipment and operation.

The county has published a 2024 review notice for a 252 MW battery proposal on North Tower Road, identified as Administrative Permit AA22-056. It describes a particular site near the PG&E Wilson substation, with agricultural zoning and a specified layout. That historical notice does not establish the permit type for your property.

The application code describes several levels of administrative review, depending on the proposal, location, potential impacts and other considerations. A term such as “administrative” should not be taken to mean an automatic approval or a guaranteed short process.

Ask for a written explanation of the permits and studies the company expects to need, who will handle them and which matters remain uncertain. Discuss how that work fits the option period, any extensions and the payments you would receive while land is being held.

Reference: Merced County: Chapter 18.10 agricultural zones · Merced County: Chapter 18.112 application processing · Merced County: 2024 Tower Road battery project review notice

Review the owner authorization before signing

Chapter 18.112 identifies eligible applicants for discretionary permits and zoning-map amendments. It includes owners, lessees meeting a stated lease requirement, and authorized agents with written owner consent. It also requires an owner signature or written owner authorization when a lessee or agent signs the application.

Ask what document the developer wants you to sign and what it authorizes. Review the named company, the parcel, the proposed use and the scope of the application. If the layout changes, decide how you would be notified and when new consent would be needed.

The same chapter includes applicant obligations for fees and for defending and indemnifying the county against certain challenges to discretionary approvals. Before agreeing to be an applicant, ask who would carry those duties and pay the associated costs. Review them alongside the company’s promises in the private agreement.

Keep permission to make an application separate from permission to enter, test or build on the property. The code describes county inspections during review and after approval. Discuss access arrangements and notice with the company, particularly where farming, tenants or other property uses must continue.

The county’s forms page now directs applicants to its online permitting system. Have the company confirm the current documents for the actual proposal. You do not need to open an application or sign an authorization just to ask Sunland about your land.

Reference: Merced County: Chapter 18.112 application processing · Merced County: application forms and online permitting

Follow the electrical route beyond the county site boundary

The Tower Road public-review study places the proposed battery containers and substation in unincorporated Merced County, while locating underground transmission work on North Tower Road in the City of Merced. It is a useful example of why the equipment footprint and electrical route need to be reviewed together.

Have the company show where its proposed line would run, which property owners or public agencies control that route and where the electrical connection would be made. Ask who obtains each permission and what happens if part of the route cannot be secured.

On your land, identify the permanent corridor, access for repairs and any temporary construction area separately. Show irrigation facilities, roads, gates and places where the route could interfere with the uses you want to retain. Discuss restoration and access after line work ends.

A nearby substation or another battery proposal does not establish available capacity for your tract. Ask about the actual connection studies and agreements. Keep any request for an expanded lease area or a different route subject to a clear discussion with you.

Reference: Merced County: August 2024 Tower Road battery public-review study

Check whether mitigation would involve other land

The August 2024 Tower Road draft proposes an agricultural easement as mitigation for farmland conversion. It describes land of equivalent quality and county review before a building permit. This is a proposed measure in that historical review document, not a universal requirement or confirmation of an adopted condition.

For your proposal, ask whether the company expects agricultural mitigation or another restriction involving land beyond the battery area. Have it identify the land, who would own or arrange it, and who would pay. Do not let a discussion about a small equipment footprint leave an additional permanent restriction unexplained.

If the company asks to use part of your retained land for mitigation, discuss the effect on future farming, sales and other uses before agreeing. Request the actual proposed documents and the explanation of who would hold and enforce the restriction.

Review project conditions as they become available. Separate measures proposed in a study from conditions actually imposed on the project, and have the developer explain how it will meet them. A favorable conclusion in another project’s draft study is not an assessment of your property.

Reference: Merced County: August 2024 Tower Road battery public-review study · Merced County: environmental documents

Consider the end of the project when discussing a partial sale

The agricultural-zone code sets minimum sizes for newly created parcels and describes conditional exceptions. Those parcel rules are not a stated minimum battery-site acreage. If the company proposes buying or dividing only part of your land, ask how it expects the transaction to comply.

One exception addresses specified utility or similar uses and includes recorded restrictions concerning residential use and what happens when the approved use ends. Whether a battery proposal qualifies is not established by the chapter alone. Have the county and your transaction advisers review the actual arrangement.

If that exception is proposed, review the required recorded terms alongside the deed and the company’s agreement. Ask how the provisions for reversion and combination with adjoining land would work, who would carry out the steps and how removal and restoration would be handled. Do not assume a partial sale simply leaves you with two unrestricted parcels.

The county’s Williamson Act page separately says a property-line adjustment on contracted land requires a contract revision and Board approval. A boundary change and a contract change therefore need to be considered together when the land is covered by that program.

Ask for a drawing of the land you would keep after the transaction, including its access and irrigation routes. Work through those practical uses before settling the sale boundary or giving authority for a map or contract change.

Reference: Merced County: Chapter 18.10 agricultural zones · Merced County: Williamson Act contracts and property-line adjustments

Send the location and the property uses you want to protect

Use the form on this page to send Sunland your contact details and the Merced County property location. An address, assessor’s parcel number or nearby road description can start the conversation. Let us know if you would consider a lease, sale or only a portion of the land.

Mention farming, irrigation, shared access, an agricultural contract or an existing company agreement. If another company has already given you a site drawing or requested your signature, tell us what it proposes. You can describe documents you have without arranging new studies first.

We can discuss what would need to be checked for a potential proposal. Submitting your information does not authorize a county application, site entry or a change to an agricultural contract. An option, lease, sale and related permissions would be addressed separately.

Reference: Merced County: application forms and online permitting