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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) is a term used to define an approach <br />for rating the relative quality of land resources based upon specific measurable features. <br />The formulation of a California Agricultural LESA Model is the result of Senate Bill 850 <br />(Chapter 812 /1993), which charges the Resources Agency, in consultation with the <br />Governor's Office of Planning and Research, with developing an amendment to Appendix <br />G of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines concerning agricultural <br />lands. Such an amendment is intended "to provide lead agencies with an optional <br />methodology to ensure that significant effects on the environment of agricultural land <br />conversions are quantitatively and consistently considered in the environmental review <br />process" (Public Resources Code Section 21095). <br />The California Agricultural LESA Model is composed of six different factors. Two <br />Land Evaluation factors are based upon measures of soil resource quality. Four Site <br />Assessment factors provide measures of a given project's size, water resource availability, <br />surrounding agricultural lands, and surrounding protected resource lands. For a given <br />project, each of these factors is separately rated on a 100 point scale. The factors are then <br />weighted relative to one another and combined, resulting in a single numeric score for a <br />given project, with a maximum attainable score of 100 points. It is this project score that <br />becomes the basis for making a determination of a project's potential significance, based <br />upon a range of established scoring thresholds. This Manual provides detailed instructions <br />on how to utilize the California LESA Model, and includes worksheets for applying the <br />Model to specific projects. <br />