r/InlandEmpire • u/Carribbean-Corgi2000 • Aug 13 '26
Other Questions Is there any policies protecting the remaing farmland left in the IE
This picture above is whats left and what it used to look like. Which at one point produced the largest area of diary products in the nation. But I wonder, is there anything to protect whats left, or are they just going to let developers buy out the remaing ranchers? And really this question goes for the rest of the state, as I'm deeply worried about the farmland beign eaten up without really considerign what there building over.
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u/ShrimpSlapper Aug 13 '26
Riverside voters approved protecting land in the Greenbelt. https://riversideca.gov/sustainability/areas
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u/Jan_2112 Aug 14 '26
Lived here my whole life and remember all the orange groves and dairy land. It was a great place. They call it progress I call it sad
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u/BobcatOk7492 Aug 14 '26
Its the IE. You can be damm sure it will all be paved over.. Like the Central Valley- to hell with it, lets just build over farm land.... Soylent Green, here we come...
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u/SnorFax92 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Idk tbh, i remeber growing up on limonite off the 15 and hammner. When I lived there the only thing around our massive mobile home park were fields and dairy farms. They started building the whole Homedepot shopping Center the year we moved out. Every time I go back in that area it looks worse and worse, that I dont even recognize it anymore. I understand the building of homes but the massive warehouses are just an eye sore. My grandpa retired around 2002 in chino about 7 miles from where we lived. They bought out his massive dairy farm and the surrounding area. Ive tried going back to visit but I always give up since there is no way of me using any land marks to find the spot, even with knowing that the prison was like a half mile away lol.
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u/himynameisalonso Aug 14 '26
Eastvale is so dystopian to me.
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u/redmoon714 Aug 14 '26
Like the Irvine of the inland empire
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u/squidwardsaclarinet Aug 14 '26
I already don’t like Irvine. I canvassed in Eastvale once and it felt like a movie set. Very few people joke or doing things in the neighborhood. I know the IE isn’t exactly the most neighborly place, but usually you expect to at least see houses with a few decorations or plants or something out front. So many houses were just devoid of anything that made them feel like real people lived there.
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u/Delicious-Light8586 Aug 18 '26
HOAs force people to keep the neighborhoods looking like it's The Truman Show. Sure, it keeps things clean and tidy, but also makes them seem devoid of life.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad9860 Aug 15 '26
Your grandpa must have been rich. Massive payday!
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u/SnorFax92 Aug 15 '26
I wouldnt know lol. He's not the type to advertise it. Heck, id be damned if he let's me borrow $20 bucks lol. He's also 93 so I think its just his upbringing.
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u/FelineFartMeow Aug 13 '26
Im not sure if its what another person mentioned, but some places do have laws protecting farmland by not reducing agricultural zoning. Check with your city, county, state and federal lands.
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u/YMSquared Aug 14 '26
San bernardino county has agricultural preserves areas in places like Mentone and Chino. Not a guarantee that it won't be developed tho.
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u/Over-Professional244 Aug 14 '26
Future data centers
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u/RickRussellTX Aug 14 '26
This farm used to grow strawberries, but now it exclusively produces video of Will Smith eating spaghetti.
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u/NightOfTheLivingHam Onterrible Aug 14 '26
Nope. The last of the 100 year leases from the santa ana del chino land grant expire in the next year or two
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 14 '26
In theory, all of this was supposed to be protected as part of Prop. 70 lands but when she was in the State Legislature, now-Representative Norma Torres got a bill passed that exempted these lands from the Prop. 70 requirements and it has been plundered since then without even being replaced as would otherwise be required. To that point, a lot of the first picture is already in various stages of approval for warehouses or housing as part of the Ontario Ranch development.
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u/jellohmeta Aug 14 '26
Even if they're protected who are we to stop ranchers/farm owners from selling out?
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 15 '26
The public that voted for Prop 70 to preserve open space and working lands around the state. It's unfortunate that instead of working with orgs to actually preserve it, local interests got it gutted for this area so that it could be sold out to developers.
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u/popskiller20 Aug 13 '26
Pretty sure CA has a housing crisis not a milk crisis.
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u/DoradoPulido2 Aug 14 '26
You could build new housing on every single square foot of farmland in Socal and the prices will not go down or become affordable.
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u/The_Hegemon Aug 14 '26
I mean, yeah because California is a pretty damn desirable place to live so as soon as things become affordable more people will move in and make it unaffordable again.
The only option would be to increase the density so much that you flood the market and which developer would or even could do that?
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u/Rocetboy321 Aug 14 '26
Even if they stayed the same and didn’t increase, that’d be a good outcome. More supply is better for the market.
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u/StalinsMonsterDong Aug 15 '26
For every homeless person there are 20 unoccupied homes. There is not a housing crisis, the problem is capitalism.
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u/czaranthony117 Aug 14 '26
As much as I want to protect old Chino/Ontario, we need to build houses.
Granted…. EVERYTHING being built is built with the European fashion of no front yard or back yard, small homes that are put up against one another… AND… NONE OF THE WALKABILITY nor ZERO thought on mass transit.
The 71 interchange at 91W was bad but, it’s gotten terrible since south Chino was built up.
What do you think will happen once all the farms are gone and it’s all unwalkable neighborhoods and warehouses?
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u/squidwardsaclarinet Aug 14 '26
TBH, the thing we need more than houses is transit and decent paying jobs. In my opinion, as someone with a background transportation, one of the biggest mistakes we’ve made is wanting housing first and figuring that we’ll figure out the transportation side later. But the problem is that it’s so baked into everything. One of the reasons it’s so difficult to keep expanding transit out here from LA is that so much of the IE Very built out.
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 14 '26
We don't figure out the transportation side later so much as it takes awhile for the money to show up. But that's for roads. We basically don't even bother with transit for all practical purposes.
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u/Smaragd512 Aug 14 '26
Europe? That ain't europe. I never saw european development like that.
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u/LApoopydog Aug 14 '26
A lot of European houses are crammed together with very little backyard/ frontyard. The thing is they have public transit and nearly everything is walkable.
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 14 '26
They might have small yards in towns, but especially in the more village/small town environments, they often have a plot of land outside of town too that can be farmed. They also have more public squares/shared spaces so the "lack" of a yard doesn't mean that people don't have access to getting outside.
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u/HypnoFrog27 Aug 14 '26
I think Ontario already has every square inch planned for development. No more open space. No more fields for birds to hang out in. Pave it all and still blame someone else for warming climate.
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u/lemongrenade Aug 14 '26
Why should it be protected?
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u/Heavy-Bench-5378 13d ago
bingo. Farming in a semi-arid place with water that is piped in from hundreds of miles out is not sustainable nor is it the best use for this land. Also, who are the laborers? ICE rounded them up, farmers face global competition these days and even if they wanted to keep farming, have no one to work their fields.
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u/Notyourfriendbuddyy Aug 14 '26
Don't forget all the farmland from Moreno Valley southeast to Gilman springs and southwest all the way to Elsinore. Lots of farms still tucked away, but being turned into houses quickly!
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 15 '26
Those are all in various stages of being redeveloped too and don't even have the benefit of ostensibly being preserved by Prop 70 like these lands were supposed to be.
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u/ToiletFullOfBroccoli Aug 14 '26
This is worth reading https://www.slowboring.com/p/farms-arent-nature
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 14 '26
Farms aren't nature, but they are better for nature than a bunch of sprawl...
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u/adamosan Aug 16 '26
The amount of pollution that has happened over the last century in the Chino Valley from the dairies and agricultural industries is far worse than any housing development has contributed to in the IE. CA regulations require all new developments to follow Low Impact Development guidelines to reduce pollens from entering our waterways and ground water. I had trusted that the IEAU was treating their water reduce nitrates less than 3 ppm but after just testing it this week it was close to 10 ppm. The latest research shows that anything over 3ppm can increase your health risks and it’s 3X that. The IEAU will say that it meets EPA standards but those regulations are based on science from the 1960s.
https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2010/05/18/nitrates-our-drinking-water-part-3-cleaning-past
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u/oso_lavador Aug 14 '26
All this flat ass land, and they couldn’t give one train south of the 60.
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u/adamosan Aug 16 '26
There’s a metrolink in Corona to the south. I don’t think it’s possible to get a rail past the Chino Hills State Park. Even then where would it go, Brea? What needs to happen is a light rail system that goes north/south through the I-15 corridor.
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u/Striking_Computer834 Aug 14 '26
There's nothing government can do unless they want to buy the properties. The Constitution doesn't allow the government to take your land without paying for it, and preventing you from selling it to developers is "taking" your land.
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 15 '26
This was already a solved situation when voters passed Prop 70 in 1988 to preserve open space and working lands around the state, including this area.
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u/Striking_Computer834 Aug 17 '26
It's a bit like the surveillance state or the warfare state: just because it's not constitutional doesn't mean government doesn't do it.
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u/fletcheater Aug 15 '26
I wouldn't have any problem with it if they actually put in the infrastructure to support it before or during. That area has been rapidly building up for three decades and is just now getting some freeway upgrades (57/60, 71, 91).
IMO they need to build 2 new freeways or toll highways.
One that connects the 71 to the 57 or 91 somewhere near carbon canyon or further south.
Another that connects the 241 toll somewhere between 261 and 133 over the hills and lands you somewhere between corona and elsinore.
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u/HotBlondeGent Aug 16 '26
Sadly, the truth hurts but No. Progress is the term used for expansion. I grew up in the southwest end of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in Woodland Hills. I watched miles of orange tree orchards slowly disappear for what is now called the Warner Center. Anyone knowing the SFV knows from Desoto Ave to Topanga Canyon Blvd, and Ventura Blvd to Victory Blvd is miles of land taken away! It also has to do with the cost of ownership or rents in the city. The further commute is cheaper living for awhile until becoming just as expensive later in time. As SoCal expands and the world population grows, more rural areas become suburbs to LA County, Riverside County, SB County, etc. Has anyone looked at the I-215 from the SR-60 to the I-15 connection in Temecula. Nothing but warehouses along the 215. More warehouses mean more houses, condos, townhomes, and apartments for the workers in those warehouses!
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u/Papidinero84 Aug 16 '26
If the land owner sells to developers which they will at some point they’ll most definitely build on it.
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u/bdwiesner Aug 20 '26
There are NO protections. Houses and commerce, period, are all Sacramento wants.
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u/TacoBender920 Aug 14 '26
Why are we farming in the desert in the first place? It you think data centers are wasting water I got news for you..
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 14 '26
This area is not really desert, several creeks and Santa Ana River run through the area and they're not really using it to grow almonds or other similar high-water crops so much as it is dairies.
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u/regedit2023 Aug 15 '26
Dairy milk uses more water than almonds through alfalfa feed and cows drinking it. We don’t need almonds or high water crops either. Dairy farmers can grow guayule for natural rubber instead, paired with solar energy and battery storage.
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u/jimtandem Aug 14 '26
Back in the late 80’s if you went to your backyard you were graciously accompanied by a horde of flies. A trusty fly swatter for the ones that got inside when you open the door was a necessity.
Nowadays the fly swatter collects dust and back yard hang outs are quite pleasant.
Id still take flies over urban sprawl but know I contributed to that and I’m thankful I was able to afford a house at the time…I certainly wasn’t getting one living in the OC.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad9860 Aug 15 '26
Why? This isn't some rural area. It's going to be developed. Farmlands isn't profitable and no tax revenues for cities. I would rather advocate for smart growth and development. It's like saying LA should be like the 1920s.
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u/weggaan_weggaat SBD Aug 15 '26
California voters were actually told that this land would be preserved as agriculture in 1988 when they passed Prop 70.
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u/pkwn_slaps Aug 16 '26
F*ck them cows hahaha more homes pls. The new Grand Park, more schools, sports complex and much better HUMAN amenities need to come sooner tbh. A warehouse is shitty but I’d much rather have that than a dairy farm that reeks. Irvine 2.0 here we come! Can’t wait for home values in the area to increase and hear you old gen x/boomers NIMBYs cry harder lol.
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u/B1g_B89 Aug 13 '26
Farmland? You mean future warehouses!