BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 715|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 715
Author: Wolk (D), et al
Amended: 5/28/09
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 5/6/09
AYES: Wiggins, Cox, Kehoe, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad
SUBJECT : Agricultural land: Williamson Act
SOURCE : County of Yolo
DIGEST : This bill reforms the Williamson Act by
increasing local enforcement authority over contract
compliance and conditioning the subdivision of land for
development if the land is under contract.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/28/09 require landowners to
furnish local officials with information regarding their
compliance with the Williamson Act, and make technical
changes.
ANALYSIS : Current law, known as the Williamson Act,
allows landowners to sign contracts with cities and
counties that enforceably restrict their land to
agricultural production, open space, and compatible uses.
In return, county assessors must reassess the contracted
property to reflect its use value instead of its market
value. Current law requires landowners to furnish local
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officials with information that the local officials need to
determine whether the land is eligible for Williamson Act
contracts.
This bill requires city councils and county boards of
supervisors to deny the proposed subdivision of Williamson
Act contracted land unless they find that each resulting
parcel:
1. Is consistent with the Williamson Act contract.
2. Is consistent with the city or county's local Williamson
Act rules.
3. Is capable of sustaining commercial agricultural use,
open space use, or both.
4. Has an existing commercial agricultural use, an open
space use, or both, the improvements needed for those
uses, or a feasible plan for achieving any needed
improvements.
If local officials make these four findings, they can
impose reasonable and necessary restrictions on the new
residential uses or buildings to ensure compliance with the
Williamson Act contract, local rules, or the new statutory
requirements.
This bill requires landowners to furnish local officials
either initially or on an on going basis with information
that directly relates to the landowners' compliance with
the Williamson Act that the local officials need to
determine whether the land is eligible for Williamson Act
contracts.
This bill requires county assessors to start raising the
assessed valuation on Williamson Act contracted lands
immediately, if a county or city nonrenews a Williamson Act
contract "for cause." This bill defines "for cause" as a
landowner's documented failure to comply with the
Williamson Act, local Williamson Act rules or ordinances,
or the terms of a Williamson Act contract.
Comments
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3
The California Constitution allows for the preferential
assessment of open space lands for property tax purposes
when the land is enforceably restricted. This is the
constitutional basis for the Williamson Act's scheme for
giving landowners property tax breaks. Some supporters of
the Williamson Act fear that the courts may overturn these
preferential assessments if they perceive that the
contracts are insufficiently restrictive. If landowners
can subdivide and build houses on contracted land and still
keep their tax breaks, then a court may bring down the
whole scheme. Subdivisions and development that displaces
commercial agricultural operations and open space uses
threatens the Williamson Act's constitutional integrity.
This bill adds more conditions on the subdivision of
contracted land.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/1/09)
County of Yolo (source)
California State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
AGB:do 6/1/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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