BILL NUMBER: AB 494 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Caballero
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to amend Sections 51230.2 and 66474.4 of, and to add
Section 65852.12 to, the Government Code relating to local planning.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 494, as amended, Caballero. Local planning: farmworker housing.
(1) The Williamson Act authorizes any city or county to enter into
a contract with the owner of agricultural land for the purpose of
preserving that land in accordance with the conditions established by
that contract and the act. The act authorizes a landowner to
subdivide land subject to a Williamson Act contract to
subdivide not more than 5 acres of land under contract to be sold or
leased to a nonprofit organization, a city, a county, a housing
authority, or a state agency and used for farmworker housing for at
least 30 years, as specified, and for the purpose of
providing farmworker housing if specified criteria regarding the
parcel and the transaction are met, including the
criterion that the parcel is be
within a city or is in an unincorporated territory
or sphere of influence that is contiguous to one or more parcels
that are already zoned residential, commercial, or industrial and
developed with existing residential, commercial, or industrial uses.
This bill instead would authorize a
landowner subject to a Williamson Act contract to subdivide not more
than 10 acres of land under a Williamson Act contract to be sold or
leased to a nonprofit organization, a city, a county, a housing
authority, or a state agency and used for farmworker housing for at
least 30 years, as specified, and modify that
criterion so that the parcel is would
be required to be within a city or in an unincorporated
territory or sphere of influence that is contiguous to one or more
parcels that are already zoned residential, commercial, or industrial
and developed with existing residential, commercial, or industrial
uses, or has access to existing drinking water and
sanitary sewer service.
(2) The Planning and Zoning Law provides for the adoption and
administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations by
a city, county, or city and county.
This bill would prohibit a city, county, or city and county, when
an applicant proposes to subdivide land for the purposes of
developing farmworker housing, as specified, from enforcing or
imposing any local ordinance, regulation, or development standard
that requires a minimum parcel size. The development of
farmworker housing on a parcel created pursuant to this section would
be required to be considered an agricultural use of the land,
provided the density is consistent with specified densities.
The bill would establish specified
requirements for a parcel proposed to be developed as farmworker
housing pursuant the above provisions, and would require the
development of farmworker housing on a parcel pursuant to these
provisions to be considered an agricultural use of the land. The bill
would provide that these provisions do not apply if at the time of
application greater than 100 acres of land within the jurisdiction
have bee n developed with farmworker housing pursuant to
these provisions.
(3) The Subdivision Map Act requires the legislative body of a
city or county to deny approval of a tentative map or a parcel map
for land subject to an open-space easement, an agricultural
conservation easement, or conservation easement if the resulting
parcels would be too small to sustain their restricted agricultural
use.
This bill would exempt from these provisions farmworker housing on
agricultural land that is subject to a Williamson Act contract or
farmworker housing that meets specified conditions. By adding to the
duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 51230.2 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
51230.2. (a) Except as provided in Section 51238, and
notwithstanding Section 51222 or 66474.4, a landowner may subdivide
land that is currently designated as an agricultural preserve if all
of the following apply:
(1) The parcel to be sold or leased is no more than 10
five acres.
(2) The parcel shall be sold or leased to a nonprofit
organization, a city, a county, a housing authority, or a state
agency. A lessee that is a nonprofit organization shall not sublease
that parcel without the written consent of the landowner.
(3) The parcel to be sold or leased shall be subject to a deed
restriction that limits the use of the parcel to agricultural laborer
housing facilities for not less than 30 years. That deed restriction
shall also require that parcel to be merged with the parcel from
which it was subdivided when the parcel ceases to be used for
agricultural laborer housing.
(4) There is a written agreement between the parties to the sale
or lease and their successors to operate the parcel to be sold or
leased under joint management of the parties, subject to the terms
and conditions and for the duration of the contract executed pursuant
to Article 3 (commencing with Section 51240).
(5) The parcel to be sold or leased is (A) within a city or (B) in
an unincorporated territory or sphere of influence that is
contiguous to one or more parcels that are already zoned residential,
commercial, or industrial and developed with existing residential,
commercial, or industrial uses, or the parcel has access to existing
water and sewer service. drinking water and
sanitary sewer service.
(b) The agricultural labor housing project shall be designed to
abate, to the extent practicable, impacts on adjacent landowners'
agricultural husbandry practices. The final plan for the housing
shall include an addendum that explains what features will be
included to meet this goal.
(c) A subdivision of land pursuant to this section shall not
affect any contract executed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with
Section 51240). The parcel to be sold or leased shall remain subject
to that contract.
SEC. 2. Section 65852.12 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65852.12. (a) When Notwithstanding
Section 66474.4, when an applicant proposes to subdivide land
for the purposes of developing farmworker housing that meets the
requirements of subdivision (b), the city, county, or city and county
shall not enforce or impose any local ordinance, regulation, or
development standard that requires a minimum parcel size.
(b) Farmworker housing proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
meet all of the following:
(1) The parcel to be created is on land currently zoned for
agricultural use or on land zoned for open space but currently in
agricultural use , provided the land is not subject to an
open-space easement .
(2) The parcel to be sold or leased is 10
five acres or smaller.
(3) The parcel shall be sold or leased to a nonprofit
organization, a city, a county, a housing authority, or a state
agency. A lessee that is a nonprofit organization shall not sublease
that parcel without the written consent of the landowner.
(4) The parcel to be sold or leased shall be subject to a deed
restriction that limits the use of the parcel to farmworker housing
facilities for not less than 30 years. That deed restriction also
shall require that parcel to be merged with the parcel from which it
was subdivided when the parcel ceases to be used for farmworker
housing.
(c) The development of farmworker housing on a parcel created
pursuant to this section shall be considered an agricultural use of
the land, provided the density is consistent with the
densities specified in clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2. the land.
(d) This section shall not apply if at the time of application
more than 100 acres of land within the jurisdiction have been
developed with farmworker housing pursuant to this section.
SEC. 3. Section 66474.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:
66474.4. (a) Except as provided in Sections 51230.2 and
65852.12, the The legislative body of a city or
county shall deny approval of a tentative map, or a parcel map for
which a tentative map was not required, if it finds that either the
resulting parcels following a subdivision of that land would be too
small to sustain their agricultural use or the subdivision will
result in residential development not incidental to the commercial
agricultural use of the land, and if the legislative body finds that
the land is subject to any of the following:
(1) A contract entered into pursuant to the California Land
Conservation Act of 1965 (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200)
of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5), including an easement entered
into pursuant to Section 51256.
(2) An open-space easement entered into pursuant to the Open-Space
Easement Act of 1974 (Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 51070) of
Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5).
(3) An agricultural conservation easement entered into pursuant to
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 10260) of Division 10.2 of the
Public Resources Code.
(4) A conservation easement entered into pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 815) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil
Code.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, land shall be conclusively
presumed to be in parcels too small to sustain their agricultural use
if the land is (A) less than 10 acres in size in the case of prime
agricultural land, or (B) less than 40 acres in size in the case of
land that is not prime agricultural land.
(2) For purposes of this section, agricultural land shall be
presumed to be in parcels large enough to sustain their agricultural
use if the land is (A) at least 10 acres in size in the case of prime
agricultural land, or (B) at least 40 acres in size in the case of
land that is not prime agricultural land.
(c) A legislative body may approve a subdivision with parcels
smaller than those specified in this section if the legislative body
makes either of the following findings:
(1) The parcels can nevertheless sustain an agricultural use
permitted under the contract or easement, or are subject to a written
agreement for joint management pursuant to Section 51230.1 and the
parcels that are jointly managed total at least 10 acres in size in
the case of prime agricultural land or 40 acres in size in the case
of land that is not prime agricultural land.
(2) One of the parcels contains a residence and is subject to
Section 428 of the Revenue and Taxation Code; the residence has
existed on the property for at least five years; the landowner has
owned the parcels for at least 10 years; and the remaining parcels
shown on the map are at least 10 acres in size if the land is prime
agricultural land, or at least 40 acres in size if the land is not
prime agricultural land.
(d) No other homesite parcels as described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) may be created on any remaining parcels under
contract entered into pursuant to the California Land Conservation
Act of 1965 (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Division 1
of Title 5) for at least 10 years following the creation of a
homesite parcel pursuant to this section.
(e) This section shall not apply to land that is subject to a
contract entered into pursuant to the California Land Conservation
Act of 1965 (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Division 1
of Title 5) when any of the following has occurred:
(1) A local agency formation commission has approved the
annexation of the land to a city and the city will not succeed to the
contract as provided in Sections 51243 and 51243.5.
(2) Written notice of nonrenewal of the contract has been served,
as provided in Section 51245, and, as a result of that notice, there
are no more than three years remaining in the term of the contract.
(3) The board or council has granted tentative approval for
cancellation of the contract as provided in Section 51282.
(f) This section shall not apply during the three-year period
preceding the termination of a contract described in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).
(g) This section shall not be construed as limiting the power of
legislative bodies to establish minimum parcel sizes larger than
those specified in subdivision (a).
(h) This section does not limit the authority of a city or county
to approve a tentative or parcel map with respect to land subject to
an easement described in this section for which agriculture is the
primary purpose if the resulting parcels can sustain uses consistent
with the intent of the easement.
(i) This section does not limit the authority of a city or county
to approve a tentative or parcel map with respect to land subject to
an easement described in this section for which agriculture is not
the primary purpose if the resulting parcels can sustain uses
consistent with the purposes of the easement.
(j) Where an easement described in this section contains language
addressing allowable land divisions, the terms of the easement shall
prevail.
(k) The amendments to this section made in the 2002 portion of the
2001-02 Regular Session of the Legislature shall apply only with
respect to contracts or easements entered into on or after January 1,
2003.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.