Agricultural preserves: Williamson Act.

The California Land Conservation Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Williamson Act, authorizes a city or county to contract with a landowner to limit the use of agricultural land located in an agricultural preserve designated by the city or county, whereby the landowner agrees to continue using the property for that purpose, and the city or county agrees to value the land accordingly for purposes of property taxation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the cancellation of a Williamson Act contract under certain circumstances, as provided. Under the act, the board of supervisors or city council may grant tentative approval for a cancellation by petition of a landowner as to all or any part of land subject to a contract, as specified. Prior to any action by the board or council giving tentative approval to the cancellation of any contract, the county assessor is required to determine the current fair market value of the land as though it were free of the contractual restriction, and requires the assessor to send the fair market value to the Department of Conservation, hereafter department, at the same time the assessor sends the value to the landowner. Existing law provides for a certificate of tentative cancellation upon tentative approval of a petition by a landowner accompanied by a proposal for a specified alternative use of the land, as provided. Existing law requires the board of supervisors or city council to provide notice to the department related to cancellation of the contract as well as in other specified instances. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to no longer require the assessor to provide notice to the department and to require the board of supervisors or city council to provide notice to the department if the certificate of tentative cancellation is withdrawn, as specified. The bill would remove various other requirements to provide the department with notice, except as provided. Under existing law, if either the landowner or the city or county desires in any year not to renew the contract, that party is required serve written notice of nonrenewal of the contract upon the other party in advance of the annual renewal date of the contract under specified timelines. The city or county is required to serve notice on the department, as specified, in the case of nonrenewal by a landowner or expiration of a contract. This bill would, similarly, remove the requirement to serve notice on the department of nonrenewal by a landowner or expiration of a contract. Existing law authorizes the department and the landowner to agree on a cancellation value of the land and requires the agreement to be transmitted to the county board of supervisors or the city council as specified. This bill would remove that provision. Existing law requires the department to submit a report to the Legislature on or before May 1 of every other year regarding the implementation of the act, and containing specified information required to be provided to the Legislature. This bill would revise and recast that provision to require the department to, on or before May 1, post information regarding the implementation of the act on its internet website instead of providing a report to the Legislature, and would revise the specified information required. Existing law requires each city or county in which an agricultural preserve is located to provide the department with a map of the location of all agricultural preserves. This bill would revise and recast that provision to instead require the city or county to provide the department with GIS data files, by January 30 of each year, of all agricultural preserves and Williamson Act contracted land. Existing law requires that a board of supervisors or city council provide the director of the department with a sample of a form contract when a new contract is used. This bill would remove that provision. Existing law authorizes the department to approve cancellation of a farmland security contract, as provided. This bill would remove that provision. Existing law authorizes enforcement of certain provisions of the act by mandamus proceedings by the local governing body or by the department. The bill would remove the reference to the department. Existing law provides that if the landowner wishes to pay a cancellation fee when a formal review has been requested, that the landowner pay the fee required in the current certificate of cancellation and provide security determined to be adequate by the department for 20% of the cancellation fee based on the assessor's valuation. The bill would remove the reference to the department. This bill would make other conforming changes.