CHAPTER 7. Agricultural Land

Chapter 7 added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1443.

§§ 51200–51297.4 · 97 sections

1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 51200–51207 · 6 sections

   • § 51200 This chapter shall be known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 or as the Williamson Act.
   • § 51201 As used in this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Agricultural commodity” means any…
   • § 51205 Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter to the contrary, land devoted to recreational use or land within a scenic highway corridor, a wildlife habitat…
   • § 51205.1 Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter to the contrary, land within a scenic highway corridor, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51201, shall,…
   • § 51206 The Department of Conservation may meet with and assist local, regional, state, and federal agencies, organizations, landowners, or any other person or entity…
   • § 51207 (a) On or before May 1 of every other year, the Department of Conservation shall post on its internet website the following information: (b) The information…
2. ARTICLE 2. Declaration §§ 51220–51223 · 5 sections

   • § 51220 The Legislature finds: (a) That the preservation of a maximum amount of the limited supply of agricultural land is necessary to the conservation of the state’s…
   • § 51220.5 The Legislature finds and declares that agricultural operations are often hindered or impaired by uses which increase the density of the permanent or temporary…
   • § 51221 The Legislature further declares that the expenditure of public funds under the provisions of this chapter is in the public interest and is necessary to the…
   • § 51222 The Legislature further declares that it is in the public interest for local officials and landowners to retain agricultural lands which are subject to…
   • § 51223 (a) A city council or board of supervisors, as the case may be, shall, prior to rescinding a contract for the purpose of restricting the same land by an…
3. ARTICLE 2.5. Agricultural Preserves §§ 51230–51239 · 17 sections

   • § 51230 Beginning January 1, 1971, any county or city having a general plan, and until December 31, 1970, any county or city, by resolution, and after a public hearing…
   • § 51230.1 (a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent the transfer of ownership from one immediate family member to another of a portion of land which is…
   • § 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…
   • § 51231 (a) For the purposes of this chapter, the board or council, by resolution, shall adopt rules governing the administration of agricultural preserves, including…
   • § 51232 In the event any proposal to disestablish or to alter the boundary of an agricultural preserve will remove land under contract from such a preserve, notice of…
   • § 51233 When a county proposes to establish, disestablish, or alter the boundary of an agricultural preserve it shall give written notice at least two weeks before the…
   • § 51234 Any proposal to establish an agricultural preserve shall be submitted to the planning department of the county or city having jurisdiction over the land. If…
   • § 51235 An agricultural preserve shall continue in full effect following annexation, detachment, incorporation or disincorporation of land within the preserve. Any…
   • § 51236 The effect of removal of land under contract from an agricultural preserve shall be the equivalent of notice of nonrenewal by the city or county removing the…
   • § 51237 Whenever an agricultural preserve is established, and so long as it shall be in effect, a map of such agricultural preserve and the resolution under which the…
   • § 51237.5 On or before January 30 of each year, each city or county in which any agricultural preserve is located shall provide the Department with geographical…
   • § 51238 (a) (1) Notwithstanding any determination of compatible uses by the county or city pursuant to this article, unless the board or council after notice and…
   • § 51238.1 (a) Uses approved on contracted lands shall be consistent with all of the following principles of compatibility: (1) The use will not significantly compromise…
   • § 51238.2 Mineral extraction that is unable to meet the principles of Section 51238.1 may nevertheless be approved as compatible use if the board or council is able to…
   • § 51238.3 (a) The requirements of Sections 51238.1 and 51238.2 shall not apply to compatible uses for which an application was submitted to the city or county prior to…
   • § 51238.5 (a) If an owner of land agrees to permit the use of his or her land for free public recreation, the board or council may agree to indemnify the owner against…
   • § 51239 The board or council may appoint an advisory board, the members of which shall serve at the pleasure of the board or council and may be paid their expenses.…
4. ARTICLE 3. Contracts §§ 51240–51257.5 · 27 sections

   • § 51240 Any city or county may by contract limit the use of agricultural land for the purpose of preserving such land pursuant and subject to the conditions set forth…
   • § 51241 If such a contract is made with any landowner, the city or county shall offer such a contract under similar terms to every other owner of agricultural land…
   • § 51242 No city or county may contract with respect to any land pursuant to this chapter unless the land: (a) Is devoted to agricultural use. (b) Is located within an…
   • § 51243 Every contract shall do both of the following: (a) Provide for the exclusion of uses other than agricultural, and other than those compatible with agricultural…
   • § 51243.5 (a) This section shall apply only to land that was within one mile of a city boundary when a contract was executed pursuant to this article and for which the…
   • § 51243.6 The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) The enforceability of contracts entered into pursuant to this article is necessary to permit the…
   • § 51244 (a) Each contract shall be for an initial term of no less than 10 years. Each contract shall provide that on the anniversary date of the contract or such other…
   • § 51244.3 (a) This section shall apply to properties under a 9-year or 18-year contract, as the case may be, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51244.…
   • § 51244.5 Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 51244, if the initial term of the contract is for more than 10 years, the contract may provide that on the…
   • § 51245 If either the landowner or the city or county desires in any year not to renew the contract, that party shall serve written notice of nonrenewal of the…
   • § 51246 (a) If the county or city or the landowner serves notice of intent in any year not to renew the contract, the existing contract shall remain in effect for the…
   • § 51247 The landowner shall furnish the city or county with such information as the city or county shall require in order to enable it to determine the eligibility of…
   • § 51248 No later than 20 days after a city or county enters into a contract with a landowner pursuant to this chapter, the clerk of the board or council, as the case…
   • § 51248.5 Whenever any city or county is required to record any contract by this chapter, it may file a fictitious contract. Thereafter, any of the provisions of such…
   • § 51250 (a) The purpose of this section is to identify certain structures that constitute material breaches of contract under this chapter and to provide an alternate…
   • § 51251 The county, city, or landowner may bring any action in court necessary to enforce any contract, including, but not limited to, an action to enforce the…
   • § 51252 Open-space land under a contract entered into pursuant to this chapter shall be enforceably restricted within the meaning and for the purposes of Section 8 of…
   • § 51253 Any contract or agreement entered into pursuant to this chapter prior to the 61st day following final adjournment of the 1969 Regular Session of the…
   • § 51254 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the parties may upon their mutual agreement rescind a contract in order simultaneously to enter into a new…
   • § 51255 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the parties may upon their mutual agreement rescind a contract in order simultaneously to enter into…
   • § 51255.1 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the parties may, upon their mutual agreement, rescind a contract for a parcel or parcels of land that,…
   • § 51256 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a city or county, upon petition by a landowner, may enter into an agreement with the landowner to rescind…
   • § 51256.1 No agreement entered into pursuant to Section 51256 shall take effect until it is approved by the Secretary of Resources. The secretary may approve the…
   • § 51256.2 (a) One or more cities or counties may adopt a plan for implementing the provisions of Section 51256 with respect to multiple transactions within one or more…
   • § 51256.3 For the purposes of facilitating long-term agricultural land conservation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, an agricultural conservation easement located…
   • § 51257 (a) To facilitate a lot line adjustment, pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 66412, and notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the parties may…
   • § 51257.5 (a) If the state fails to make payments to a city or county pursuant to Section 16142 or 16142.1, or if the state provides a reduced subvention, a city or…
5. ARTICLE 5. Cancellation §§ 51280–51287 · 16 sections

   • § 51280 It is hereby declared that the purpose of this article is to provide relief from the provisions of contracts entered into pursuant to this chapter under the…
   • § 51280.1 As used in this chapter, the finding of a board or council that “cancellation and alternative use will not result in discontiguous patterns of urban…
   • § 51281 A contract may not be canceled except pursuant to a request by the landowner, and as provided in this article.
   • § 51281.1 The board or council may require the payment of a reasonable application fee to be made at the time a petition for cancellation is filed.
   • § 51282 (a) The landowner may petition the board or council for cancellation of any contract as to all or any part of the subject land. The board or council may grant…
   • § 51282.3 (a) The landowner may petition the board or council, pursuant to Section 51282, for cancellation of any contract or of any portion of a contract if the board…
   • § 51282.5 The owner of any land which has been zoned as a timberland production pursuant to Section 51112 or 51113, and that zoning has been recorded as provided in…
   • § 51283 (a) Prior to any action by the board or council giving tentative approval to the cancellation of any contract, the county assessor of the county in which the…
   • § 51283.1 (a) The assessor shall determine the current fair market value of the land as if it were free of the contractual restriction pursuant to Section 51283. The…
   • § 51283.4 (a) Upon tentative approval of a petition accompanied by a proposal for a specified alternative use of the land, the clerk of the board or council shall record…
   • § 51283.5 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that cancellation fees should be calculated in a timely manner and disputes over cancellation fees should be resolved…
   • § 51284 No contract may be canceled until after the city or county has given notice of, and has held, a public hearing on the matter. Notice of the hearing shall be…
   • § 51284.1 When a landowner petitions a board or council for the tentative cancellation of a contract and when the board or council accepts the application as complete…
   • § 51285 The owner of any property located in the county or city in which the agricultural preserve is situated may protest such cancellation to the city or county…
   • § 51286 (a) Any action or proceeding which, on the grounds of alleged noncompliance with the requirements of this chapter, seeks to attack, review, set aside, void, or…
   • § 51287 The city or county may impose a fee pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 66016) of Division 1 of Title 7 for recovery of costs under this article.…
6. ARTICLE 6. Eminent Domain or Other Acquisition §§ 51290–51295 · 11 sections

   • § 51290 (a) It is the policy of the state to avoid, whenever practicable, the location of any federal, state, or local public improvements and any improvements of…
   • § 51290.5 As used in this chapter, “public improvement” means facilities or interests in real property, including easements, rights-of-way, and interests in fee title,…
   • § 51291 (a) As used in this section and Sections 51292 and 51295, (1) “public agency” means any department or agency of the United States or the state, and any county,…
   • § 51291.5 The notice requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 51291 shall not apply to the acquisition of land for the erection, construction, or alteration of gas,…
   • § 51292 No public agency or person shall locate a public improvement within an agricultural preserve unless the following findings are made: (a) The location is not…
   • § 51293 Section 51292 shall not apply to: (a) The location or construction of improvements where the board or council administering the agricultural preserve approves…
   • § 51293.1 Any public agency or person requiring land in an agricultural preserve for a use which has been determined by a city or county to be a “compatible use”…
   • § 51294 Section 51292 shall be enforceable only by mandamus proceedings by the local governing body administering the agricultural preserve. However, as applied to…
   • § 51294.1 After 30 days have elapsed following its action, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51291, advising the local governing body of a county or city…
   • § 51294.2 If any local governing body administering an agricultural preserve within 90 days after receiving a request pursuant to Section 51294.1 has not approved or…
   • § 51295 When any action in eminent domain for the condemnation of the fee title of an entire parcel of land subject to a contract is filed, or when that land is…
7. ARTICLE 7. Farmland Security Zones §§ 51296–51297.4 · 15 sections

   • § 51296 The Legislature finds and declares that it is desirable to expand options available to landowners for the preservation of agricultural land. It is therefore…
   • § 51296.1 A landowner or group of landowners may petition the board to rescind a contract or contracts entered into pursuant to this chapter in order to simultaneously…
   • § 51296.2 Both of the following shall apply to land within a designated farmland security zone: (a) The land shall be eligible for property tax valuation pursuant to…
   • § 51296.3 Notwithstanding any provision of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000)), a local…
   • § 51296.4 Notwithstanding any provision of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000)), a local…
   • § 51296.5 Notwithstanding Article 5 (commencing with Section 53090) of Chapter 1 of Division 2 of Title 5, a school district shall not render inapplicable a county…
   • § 51296.6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school district shall not acquire any land that is within a designated farmland security zone.
   • § 51296.7 The board shall not approve any use of land within a designated farmland security zone based on the compatible use provisions contained in subdivision (c) of…
   • § 51296.8 Sections 51296 to 51297.4, inclusive, shall only apply to land that is designated on the Important Farmland Series maps, prepared pursuant to Section 65570 as…
   • § 51296.9 Nonrenewal of a farmland security zone contract shall be pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 51240), except as otherwise provided in this article.
   • § 51297 A petition for cancellation of a farmland security zone contract created under this article may be filed only by the landowner with the city or county within…
   • § 51297.1 All of the provisions of Article 6 (commencing with Section 51290) shall apply to farmland security zones created pursuant to this article except as…
   • § 51297.2 No state agency, as defined in Section 65934, or local agency, as defined in Section 65930, shall require any land to be placed under a farmland security zone…
   • § 51297.3 Sections 51296.3 and 51296.4 shall not apply during the three-year period preceding the termination of a farmland security zone contract.
   • § 51297.4 Nothing in Sections 51296 to 51297.4, inclusive, shall be construed to limit the authority of a board to rescind a portion or portions of a Williamson Act…