Williamson Act: cancellation: fees.

The Williamson Act authorizes a landowner to petition the board or council of a city or county to cancel a contract entered into under the act, and requires the landowner to pay a cancellation fee, as specified. A board or council is authorized to grant tentative approval of the cancellation after the county assessor of the county in which the land is located has determined the current fair market value of the land as though it were free of the contractual restriction, and the board or council calculates the cancellation fee. Existing law sets the cancellation fee at 12.5% of the cancellation value of the property. This bill would require a landowner that has petitioned the board or council of a city or county to cancel a contract to pay 5% of the total cancellation fee within 30 days of the board's or council's decision to grant tentative approval of the cancellation. The bill would require the payment to be applied toward the total cancellation fee, as specified. The bill would require the payment to be returned to the landowner if the contract is not canceled.