Two parcels for sale on Highway 246 at opposite ends of Solvang — one zoned for large-lot homes and the other for agriculture — may have less development potential than their multimillion-dollar price tags suggest.

Each of the flat, vacant properties is just outside city limits and subject to land-use designations and policies within the Santa Ynez Valley Community Plan, a long-range planning blueprint that is being updated by Santa Barbara County.

The revised plan is due to be reviewed by planning commissioners and county supervisors next spring and summer.

The draft of the plan proposes no change in the one-acre residential zoning on 7.3 acres now for sale at the southeastern corner of Refugio Road and Highway 246, which means the property is zoned for seven homes on seven acres.

Marilyn Elam and Associates is listing that property — catty-corner from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, across Refugio Road from the Christian Academy, and across Highway 246 from the YMCA — for just under $4 million.

The site had previously been considered for a Christian Academy expansion and later for a church and community center, but neither proposal came to fruition.

The community plan would also retain the agricultural zoning for the 188 acres just west of the city where the Solvang Farmer produce stand and Halloween corn maze operated for many years before recently shutting down.

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The proposed plan also has policies aimed at preserving an existing greenbelt of agriculture and open space between Solvang’s western border and Buellton eastern one, planners said, and the Solvang Farmer parcel has been in that greenbelt area.

Those 188 acres, just west of Skytt Mesa on both sides of 246, are being listed for $11.75 million by Santa Ynez Valley Real Estate Company.

Could a buyer make enough profit from agriculture to offset such a high land cost? Opinions are divided.

“We priced it comparably with other agricultural properties that have sold in the valley,” said Dave Salgado, the broker associate for that listing. “There are lots of things they could do under the ag zoning,” he said, such as operating a winery or raising horses.

Despite its proximity to city limits and Skytt Mesa, where the first phase of a 169-home housing tract is under construction, Salgado said he would advise potential buyers against trying to rezone the property.

“If someone wanted to buy, and that was their goal, I would highly discourage it,” he said. “It’s not going to become a Skytt Mesa, I guarantee that. It’s agricultural and I have not seen any land (under county jurisdiction) converted from agricultural to residential, period.”

Some agriculturalists doubt that any type of agriculture could make enough profit to warrant paying nearly $12 million for that land, though.

“Absolutely not,” said Kevin Merrill, president of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. “It would be very hard to make it come out ahead with farming. I don’t know what crops you’re going to grow to give you a 10 percent return on $12 million, which is what people (investors) are looking for.”

To spend that much, a buyer would probably be hoping to develop the property for residential or commercial use, Merrill and others said.

Getting the land rezoned would be difficult, however, because both the county and city want to maintain the greenbelt in that area.

“There are a lot of policies in the (county’s) comprehensive plan that say something designated as agriculture should remain agriculture,” said Derek Johnson, deputy director of long-range planning for the county.

By proposing that the land along 246 between Solvang and Buellton be kept as open space or agriculture, the Valley Plan Advisory Committee sought “to maintain the distinct rural character” of the area separating those two cities, he said.

That same goal is embodied in a Solvang City Council resolution passed in August 2000.

“It is in the overall best interests of the communities, the county and the state to retain those lands in agriculture or open space,” the resolution states. It also declares that none of that area will be “annexed by the City of Solvang.”

That includes the 188 acres listed for sale, owned by the granddaughters of the late Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonalds restaurant chain. “I don’t ever see (that property) being annexed into the city of Solvang,” Salgado said.

East of Solvang, the seven-acre parcel at 246 and Refugio is land that some believe warrants more intensive use than seven homes. The current zoning is residential but requires at least one acre per dwelling.

“That zoning’s been in place for hundreds of years,” according to Marilyn Elam, the listing broker for the property. “It’s a prime piece of property that should be zoned differently than it is, but no one has taken it through the process” to try to get it rezoned.

Because of its central location, fronting on two major roadways, it could better be used for retail stores, a school, professional buildings, or a retirement center, she contended.

However, county supervisors have decided not to consider zoning changes for properties within the community plan area before that document is adopted next year — unless there is “a significant community benefit” warranting a change.

If the seven acres stay residential, as proposed, it would be up to whoever owns the property to decide after the plan is finalized whether to apply for general-plan and zoning changes, Johnson said.

In Santa Barbara County, seeking a land-use change can be a long and expensive process, with no guarantees of a successful outcome.

January 9, 2009