Source: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1564
Timestamp: 2018-12-14 23:04:55
Document Index: 467574365

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1']

Bill Text - AB-1564 Agricultural preserves: Williamson Act.
AB-1564 Agricultural preserves: Williamson Act.(2017-2018)
An act to amend Sections 1091, 16142.5, 16144, 16147, 16154, 51200, 51201, 51207, 51230, 51231, 51238, 51243.5, 51245, 51246, 51249, 51253, 51254, 51256, 51256.2, 51257, 51281, 51283.5, 51284, 51296.8, 51297, 53312.8, 56426.6, 56856.5, 66474.4, and 66606.6 of, and to repeal Sections 16148, 51256.1, and 51282.5 of, the Government Code, to amend Sections 29430, 29433, 29723, and 29766 of the Public Resources Code, to amend Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and to amend Section 26625.1 of the Water Code, relating to local government.
AB 1564, as amended, Arambula. Agricultural preserves: Williamson Act.
(1) 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. Existing law, with certain exceptions, provides that any commercial, industrial, or residential building constructed on a parcel subject to an agricultural land conservation contract that is not permitted by the contract or by local uniform rules or ordinances, and is not related to an agricultural use or compatible use, is a material breach of contract.
This bill would instead provide that the act name is the Williamson Act, and would make conforming changes. The bill would also make various nonsubstantive changes to provisions of the act, delete obsolete provisions, and make various conforming changes.
(2)Existing law contains various references to the Secretary of the Resources Agency with regard to the administration of the Williamson Act. Existing law also contains various references to the Director of Conservation.
This bill would change those references to the Department of Conservation.
(2) Existing law provides that an agricultural preserve must consist of no less than 100 acres. In order to meet this requirement, two or more parcels may be combined if they are contiguous or if they are in common ownership. Land zoned as timberland production may also be taken into account in order to meet that requirement.
This bill would eliminate the authorization to use land zoned as timberland production to meet the requirement that an agricultural preserve consist of no less than 100 acres, and make conforming changes.
(3) Existing law requires the county board of supervisors or city council, by resolution, to adopt rules governing the administration of agricultural preserves, including procedures for initiating, filing, and processing requests to establish preserves.
This bill would also require the county board of supervisors or city council to, by resolution, adopt rules governing the procedures for partial cancellations, and partial nonrenewal of contracts.
(4) Existing law authorizes the parties to, upon their mutual agreement, rescind a contract in order to simultaneously enter into a new contracts, as specified.
This bill would also authorize the parties, upon mutual agreement, to rescind a portion of the contract. contract, as specified.
(5) Existing law authorizes a city or county, upon petition by a landowner, to enter into an agreement with the landowner to rescind a contract pursuant to specified procedures in order to simultaneously place other specified land under contract, if the county board of supervisors or city council finds, among other things, that the proposed agricultural conservation easement is evaluated pursuant to eligibility and selection criteria under the Agricultural Land Stewardship Program Act of 1995. Existing law specifies that the county board of supervisors or city council should pay particular attention to specified criteria under that program.
This bill would instead require that the county board of supervisors or city council utilize only specified criteria under the Agricultural Land Stewardship Program Act of 1995.
(6) Existing law provides that no agreement to rescind a contract and simultaneously place other specified land under contract may take effect until it is approved by the Secretary of Resources, as specified.
(9) That of a person subject to the provisions of Section 1090 in any contract or agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions of the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5).
(10) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 1091.5, that of a director of, or a person having an ownership interest of, 10 percent or more in a bank, bank holding company, or savings and loan association with which a party to the contract has a relationship of borrower or depositor, debtor debtor, or creditor.
Section 16142.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
No payment to a city or county shall increase or reduce the amount that was paid in the prior fiscal year in excess of an amount that is equal to the property tax derived from a levy at the rate of three cents ($0.03) per hundred dollars of assessed value for the fiscal year, except as affected by an increase or a reduction in the acreage assessed under Section 423, 423.3, or 423.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
SEC. 3.Section 16144 of the Government Code is amended to read:
On or before October 31 each year, the governing body of each county, city, or city and county shall report to the Department of Conservation the number of acres of land under its regulatory jurisdiction which qualify for state payments pursuant to the various categories enumerated in Section 16142, together with supporting documentation as the department by regulation may require. The department, after reviewing the report and determining the eligibility of the local government to receive payment and the actual amount to which it is entitled, shall certify that amount to the Controller for payment, and the Controller shall make the payment on or before June 30, but no earlier than April 20, of each year.
The department may make supplemental reports to the Controller as deemed necessary throughout the year to give effect to new or additional information received from local governing bodies, correct errors, and dispose of contested or conditional situations. Upon receiving the reports, the Controller shall pay any amount certified therein, and may withhold and deduct any certified overpayment from the amount that would otherwise be paid to the local government in the next succeeding year, including any cancellation fees that have not been collected and transmitted pursuant to Section 51283.
SEC. 4.Section 16147 of the Government Code is amended to read:
The Department of Conservation may request the Attorney General to bring any action in court necessary to enforce any enforceable restriction as defined in Section 422 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, upon land for which the department has certified payment of state funds to the local governing body during the current or any preceding fiscal year. That action may include, but is not limited to, an action to enforce the contract by specific performance or injunction.
Section 16148 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 6.Section 16154 of the Government Code is amended to read:
In addition to the report required by Section 16144, the Department of Conservation shall require from local government agencies any other information relative to lands valued pursuant to Section 8 of Article XIII of the California Constitution as is necessary for the proper administration of the provisions of Sections 16142 through 16153, inclusive, and for periodic review of the policies established by those sections.
Section 51200 of the Government Code is amended to read:
This chapter shall be known and cited as the Williamson Act. Act, otherwise known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965.
(a) “Agricultural commodity” means any plant and animal products produced in this state for commercial purposes, including, but not limited to, plant products used for producing biofuels.
(2) Land that qualifies for rating 80 through 100 in the Storie Index Rating.
(3) Land that supports livestock used for the production of food and fiber and that has an annual carrying capacity equivalent to at least one animal unit per acre as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture.
(4) Land planted with fruit- or nut-bearing trees, vines, bushes, or crops that have a nonbearing period of less than five years and that will normally return during the commercial bearing period on an annual basis from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant production not less than two hundred dollars ($200) per acre.
(5) Land that has returned from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant products an annual gross value of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) per acre for three of the previous five years.
(d) “Agricultural preserve” means an area devoted to either agricultural use, as defined in subdivision (b), recreational use use, as defined in subdivision (n), or open-space use use, as defined in subdivision (o), or any combination of those uses and that is established in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(e) “Compatible use” is any use determined by the county or city administering the preserve pursuant to Section 51231, 51238, or 51238.1 or by this act to be compatible with the agricultural, recreational, or open-space use of land within the preserve and subject to contract. “Compatible use” includes agricultural use, recreational use use, or open-space use unless the board or council finds after notice and hearing that the use is not compatible with the agricultural, recreational recreational, or open-space use to which the land is restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter.
(f) “Board” means the board of supervisors of a county that establishes or proposes to establish an agricultural preserve or that enters or proposes to enter into a contract on land within an agricultural preserve pursuant to this chapter.
(g) “Council” means the city council of a city that establishes or proposes to establish an agricultural preserve or that enters or proposes to enter into a contract on land within an agricultural preserve pursuant to this chapter.
(i) A “scenic highway corridor” is an area adjacent to, and within view of, the right-of-way of either of the following:
(1) An existing or proposed state scenic highway in the state scenic highway system established by the Legislature pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 260) of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the Streets and Highways Code and which has been officially designated by the Department of Transportation as an official state scenic highway.
(A) The scenic highway is included in an adopted general plan of the county or city.
(B) The scenic highway corridor is included in an adopted specific plan of the county or city.
(j) A “wildlife habitat area” is a land or water area designated by a board or council, after consulting with and considering the recommendation of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, as an area of importance for the protection or enhancement of the wildlife resources of the state.
(k) A “saltpond” is an area that, for at least three consecutive years immediately prior to being placed within an agricultural preserve pursuant to this chapter, has been used for the solar evaporation of seawater in the course of salt production for commercial purposes.
(l) A “managed wetland area” is an area that may be an area diked off from the ocean or any bay, river, or stream to which water is occasionally admitted, and that, for at least three consecutive years immediately prior to being placed within an agricultural preserve pursuant to this chapter, was used and maintained as a waterfowl hunting preserve or game refuge or for agricultural purposes.
SEC. 9.Section 51207 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a)On or before May 1 of every other year, the Department of Conservation shall report to the Legislature regarding the implementation of this chapter by cities and counties.
(b)The report shall contain, but not be limited to, the number of acres of land under contract in each category and the number of acres of land which were removed from contract through cancellation, eminent domain, annexation, or nonrenewal.
(c)The report shall also contain the following specific information relating to not less than one-third of all cities and counties participating in the Williamson Act program:
(1)The number of contract cancellation requests for which notices of hearings were mailed to the Department of Conservation pursuant to Section 51284 that were approved by boards or councils during the prior two years or for which approval is still pending by boards or councils.
(2)The amount of cancellation fees payable to the county treasurer as deferred taxes and that are required to be transmitted to the Controller pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 51283 that have not been collected or that remain unpaid.
(3)The total number of acres covered by certificates of cancellation of contracts during the previous two years.
(4)The number of nonrenewal and withdrawal of renewal notices received pursuant to Section 51245 and the number of expiration notices received pursuant to Section 51246 during the previous two years.
(5)The number of acres covered by nonrenewal notices that were not withdrawn and expiration notices during the previous two years.
(d)The department may recommend changes to this chapter which would further promote its purposes.
(e)The Legislature may, upon request of the department, appropriate funds from the deferred taxes deposited in the General Fund pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 51283 in an amount sufficient to prepare the report required by this section.
Section 51230 of the Government Code is amended to read:
Any county or city that has a general may, by resolution, and after a public hearing, establish an agricultural preserve. Notice of the hearing shall be published pursuant to Section 6061, and shall include a legal description, or the assessor’s parcel number, of the land that is proposed for inclusion within the preserve. The preserves shall be established for the purpose of defining the boundaries of those areas within which the city or county will be willing to enter into contracts pursuant to this act. An agricultural preserve shall consist of no less than 100 acres. In order to meet this requirement two or more parcels may be combined if they are contiguous or if they are in common ownership.
(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the board or council, by resolution, shall adopt rules governing the administration of agricultural preserves, including procedures for initiating, filing, and processing requests to establish preserves, and for partial cancellation and partial nonrenewal of contracts.
(b) Rules related to compatible uses shall be consistent with the provisions of Sections 51238 and 51238.1.
(c) Rules governing the administration of agricultural preserves shall be applied uniformly throughout the preserve. The board or council may require the payment of a reasonable application fee. The same procedure that is required to establish an agricultural preserve shall be used to disestablish or to enlarge or diminish the size of an agricultural preserve. In adopting rules related to compatible uses, the board or council may enumerate those uses, including agricultural laborer housing that are to be considered to be compatible uses on contracted lands separately from those uses that are to be considered to be compatible uses on lands not under contract within the agricultural preserve.
Section 51238 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a) (1) Unless the board or council after notice and hearing makes a finding to the contrary, the erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance of gas, electric, water, communication, or agricultural laborer housing facilities are hereby determined to be compatible uses within any agricultural preserve.
SEC. 13.SEC. 9.
Section 51243.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a) This section shall only apply to contracts executed prior to January 1, 1991, for land that was within one mile of a city boundary when the contract was executed pursuant to this article.
Section 51245 of the Government Code is amended to read:
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 contract upon the other party in advance of the annual renewal date of the contract. Notice of nonrenewal may be for all or any portion of the land under contract. contract provided the nonrenewal is for a legally severable parcel. Unless written notice is served by the landowner at least 90 days prior to the renewal date or by the city or county at least 60 days prior to the renewal date, the contract shall be considered renewed as provided in Section 51244 or Section 51244.5.
Once received, the owner may make a written protest of the notice of nonrenewal. The county or city may, at any time prior to the renewal date, withdraw the notice of nonrenewal.
Within 30 days of the receipt of a notice of nonrenewal from a landowner, the service of a notice of nonrenewal upon a landowner, or the withdrawal of a notice of nonrenewal, the city or county shall deliver a copy of the notice or a notice of withdrawal of nonrenewal to the Department Director of Conservation.
Section 51246 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(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 balance of the period remaining since the original execution or the last renewal of the contract, as the case may be. Within 30 days of the expiration of the contract, the county or city shall deliver a notice of expiration to the Department Director of Conservation.
(b) No city or county shall enter into a new contract with respect to timberland zoned as timberland production.
SEC. 16.Section 51249 of the Government Code is amended to read:
Within 30 days after a form of contract is first used, the clerk of the board or council shall file with the Department of Conservation a sample copy of each form of contract and any land use restrictions applicable thereto.
SEC. 17.Section 51253 of the Government Code is amended to read:
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 Legislature may be amended to conform with the provisions of this act as amended at that session upon the mutual agreement of all parties. Approval of these amendments to a contract by the Department of Conservation shall not be required.
SEC. 18.SEC. 12.
Section 51254 of the Government Code is amended to read:
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the parties may upon their mutual agreement rescind a contract, or portion of a contract, in order simultaneously to enter into a new contract pursuant to this chapter, which new contract would enforceably restrict the same property for an initial term at least as long as the unexpired term of the contract being rescinded but not less than 10 years. This action may be taken notwithstanding the prior serving of a notice of nonrenewal relative to the former contract.
SEC. 19.SEC. 13.
Section 51256 of the Government Code is amended to read:
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 a contract in accordance with the contract cancellation provisions of Section 51282 in order to simultaneously place other land within that city, the county, or the county where the contract is rescinded under an agricultural conservation easement, consistent with the purposes and, except as provided in subdivision (b), the requirements of the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act pursuant to Division 10.2 (commencing with Section 10200) of the Public Resources Code, provided that the board or council makes all of the following findings:
(b) The proposed agricultural conservation easement is evaluated pursuant to the selection criteria in subdivisions (a), (c), (e), (f), and (h) of Section 10252 of the Public Resources Code, and the board or council makes a finding that the proposed easement will make a beneficial contribution to the conservation of agricultural land in its area.
Section 51256.1 of the Government Code, as added by Section 6 of Chapter 1018 of the Statutes of 1999, is repealed.
SEC. 21.SEC. 15.
Section 51256.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(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 specific areas, and submit the plan to the director for approval. The plan may be approved only upon a determination by the director that it is consistent with the provisions of Section 51256. Thereafter individual transactions shall be approved if they are consistent with the approved plan.
SEC. 22.SEC. 16.
SEC. 23.SEC. 17.
Section 51281 of the Government Code is amended to read:
A contract may not be canceled except by request of the landowner, and as provided in this article.
SEC. 24.SEC. 18.
Section 51282.5 of the Government Code is repealed.
SEC. 25.Section 51283.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
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 before a city or county approves a tentative cancellation. However, the city or county may approve a tentative cancellation notwithstanding an assessor’s formal review or judicial challenge to the cancellation value or fee.
(b)If the valuation changes after the approval of a tentative cancellation, the certificate of tentative cancellation shall be amended to reflect the correct valuation and cancellation fee.
(c)If the landowner wishes to pay a cancellation fee when a formal review has been requested, he or she may pay the fee required in the current certificate of cancellation and provide security determined to be adequate by the Department of Conservation for 20 percent of the cancellation fee based on the assessor’s valuation. The board or council shall hold the security and release it immediately upon full payment of the cancellation fee determined pursuant to Section 51203.
(d)The city or county may approve a final cancellation notwithstanding a pending formal review or judicial challenge to the cancellation valuation or fee. The certificate of final cancellation shall include the following statements:
(1)That formal review or judicial challenge of the cancellation valuation or fee is pending.
(2)That the fee may be adjusted, based upon the outcome of the review or challenge.
(3)The identity of the party who will be responsible for paying any additional fee or will receive any refund.
(4)The form and amount of security provided by the landowner or other responsible party and approved by the Department of Conservation.
(e)Upon resolution, the landowner or the party identified in the certificate shall either pay the balance owed to the county treasurer, or receive from the county treasurer or the controller any amount of overpayment, and shall also be entitled to the immediate release of any security.
(f)(1)If a party does not receive the notice required pursuant to Section 51203, 51283, 51283.4, or 51284, a judicial challenge to the cancellation valuation may be filed within three years of the latest of the applicable following events:
(A)The board or council certification of the fee pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51283, or for fees recomputed pursuant to Section 51283.4, the execution of a certificate of cancellation under that section.
(B)The date of the assessor’s determination pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 51203.
(C)The service of notice to the Department of Conservation of the board or council’s recorded certificate of final cancellation.
(2)If a party did receive the required notice pursuant to Section 51203, 51283, 51283.4, or 51284, a judicial challenge to the cancellation valuation may be filed only after the party has exhausted his or her administrative remedies through the formal review process specified in Section 51203, and only within 180 days of the latest of the applicable following events:
(A)The board or council certification of the fee pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51283 or for fees recomputed pursuant to Section 51283.4, the execution of a certificate of cancellation under that section.
(C)The service of notice to the Department of Conservation or the board or council’s recorded certificate of final cancellation.
SEC. 26.Section 51284 of the Government Code is amended to read:
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 published pursuant to Section 6061 and shall be mailed to every owner of land under contract, any portion of which is situated within one mile of the exterior boundary of the land upon which the contract is proposed to be canceled. In addition, at least 10 working days prior to the hearing, a notice of the hearing and a copy of the landowner’s petition shall be mailed to the Department of Conservation. Within 30 days of the hearing on the tentative cancellation of the contract, the city or county shall do both of the following:
(a)Publish a notice of its decision, including the date, time, and place of the public hearing, a general explanation of the decision, the findings made pursuant to Section 51282, and a general description, in text or by diagram, of the land under contract, as a display advertisement of at least one-eighth page in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the city or county. The publication shall be for informational purposes only, and shall create no right, standing, or duty that would otherwise not exist with regard to the cancellation proceedings.
(b)Deliver a copy of the published notice of the decision, as described above, to the Department of Conservation.
SEC. 27.SEC. 19.
Section 51296.8 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(b) Farmland of statewide importance.
SEC. 28.SEC. 20.
Section 51297 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a) The city or county shall make both of the findings specified in subdivision (a) of Section 51282, based on substantial evidence in the record. Subdivisions (b) to (e), inclusive, of Section 51282 shall apply to the findings made by the city or county.
(d) The Director of Conservation approves the cancellation. The director may approve the cancellation after reviewing the record of the tentative cancellation provided by the city or county, only after making both of the following findings:
(e) A finding that no authorized use may be made of a remnant contract parcel of five acres or less left by public acquisition pursuant to Section 51295, 51295 may be substituted for the finding in subdivision (a).
SEC. 29.SEC. 21.
Section 53312.8 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(1) Land under a contract entered into pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1) included in a community facilities district for which a tentative map may be filed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 66474.4 or for which a tentative cancellation has been approved.
(4) A farmland security zone contract created pursuant to (Article Article 7 (commencing with Section 51296) of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 1), 1, except as otherwise provided in Section 51296.4.
SEC. 30.SEC. 22.
Section 56426.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a) The commission shall not approve a change to the sphere of influence of a local government agency of territory that is subject to a contract entered into pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1) if that local government agency provides, or would provide, facilities or services related to sewers, nonagricultural water, or streets and roads to the territory, unless these facilities or services benefit land uses that are allowed under the contract and the landowner consents to the change to the sphere of influence.
SEC. 31.SEC. 23.
(a) The commission shall not approve or conditionally approve a change of organization or reorganization that would result in the annexation to a city or special district of territory that is subject to a contract entered into pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1), other than a contract entered into pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 51296) of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 1, if that city or special district provides or would provide facilities or services related to sewers, nonagricultural water, or streets and roads to the territory, unless these facilities or services benefit land uses that are allowed under the contract.
(1) The city or county that would administer the contract after annexation has adopted policies and feasible implementation measures applicable to the subject territory ensuring the continuation of agricultural use and other uses allowable under the contract on a long-term basis.
SEC. 32.SEC. 24.
Section 66474.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(1) A contract entered into pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5), including an easement entered into pursuant to Section 51256.
(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 Williamson Act (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 Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Division 1 of Title 5) when any of the following has occurred:
SEC. 33.SEC. 25.
Section 66606.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:
66606.6.
Nothing in this title shall deny the right of private property owners and local governments to establish agricultural preserves and enter into contracts pursuant to the provisions of the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5).
The commission, within six months after the effective date of this section, shall institute an affirmative action program to encourage local governments to enter into contracts under the Williamson Act with owners of property to which the provisions of that act may be applicable.
SEC. 34.SEC. 26.
Section 29430 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
(a) Any person who owns land within the marsh that is being used for the purpose of agriculture or wildlife habitat on January 1, 1978, or that is used for such a purpose at any time after that date, may petition the local government having jurisdiction over the land to enter into a contract pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code) or a wildlife habitat contract, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
SEC. 35.SEC. 27.
Section 29433 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 51282, 51283, 51283.3, and 51285 of the Government Code, no contract with any person concerning land within the marsh and entered into by any local government pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code) or pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code may be canceled, nor shall a notice of nonrenewal of any such contract by any local government be effective, without the consent of the commission, if such contract was in effect on or after September 27, 1974.
(b) The commission may not consent to the cancellation or notice of nonrenewal of any such contract unless the commission finds that such cancellation or nonrenewal is consistent with the provisions of this division and the protection plan.
(c) Other than as expressly provided herein, this section does not affect the right of any person or local government relating to the renewal or nonrenewal of any such contract.
SEC. 36.SEC. 28.
Section 29723 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
(3) The construction, repair, or maintenance of farm dwellings, buildings, stock ponds, irrigation or drainage ditches, water wells, or siphons, including those structures and uses permitted under the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code).
SEC. 37.SEC. 29.
Section 29766 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
Nothing in this division shall deny the right of private or public property owners and local governments to establish agriculture preserves and enter into contracts pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code) or apply other enforceable restrictions or zoning within the primary zone or the secondary zone.
SEC. 38.SEC. 30.
Section 421 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:
(a) “Agricultural preserve” means an agricultural preserve created pursuant to the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code).
(b) “Contract” means a contract executed pursuant to the Williamson Act.
(c) “Agreement” means an agreement executed pursuant to the California Land Conservation Act prior to the 61st day following the final adjournment of the 1969 Regular Session of the Legislature and that, taken as a whole, provides restrictions, terms terms, and conditions that are substantially similar or more restrictive than those required by statute for a contract.
(d) “Scenic restriction” means any interest or right in real property acquired by a city or county pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 6950) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, where the deed or other instrument granting such right or interest imposes restrictions that, through limitation of their future use, will effectively preserve for public use and enjoyment, the character of open spaces and areas as defined in Section 6954 of the Government Code.
(e) “Open-space easement” means an open-space easement granted to a county or city pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 51050) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code if the easement is acquired prior to January 1, 1975, or an open-space easement granted to a county, city, or nonprofit organization pursuant to Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 51070) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code if the easement is acquired after January 1, 1975, or an open-space easement granted to a regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district under Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3 of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code.
(f) “Wildlife habitat contract” means any contract or amended contract or covenant involving, except as provided in Section 423.8, 150 acres or more of land entered into by a landowner with any agency or political subdivision of the federal or state government limiting the use of lands for a period of 10 or more years by the landowner to habitat for native or migratory wildlife and native pasture. These lands shall, by contract, be eligible to receive water for waterfowl or waterfowl management purposes from the federal government.
(g) “Open-space land” means any of the following:
(h) “Typical rotation period” means a period of years during which different crops are grown as part of a plant cultural program. Typical rotation period does not mean the rotation period of timber.
(i) “Wildlife” means waterfowl of every kind and any other undomesticated mammal, fish, or bird, or any reptile, amphibian, insect, or plant.
(j) “Endangered species” means any species or subcategory thereof, as defined in the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code) or the federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), that has been classified and protected as an endangered, threatened, rare, or candidate species by any entity of the state or federal government.
SEC. 39.SEC. 31.
Section 26625.1 of the Water Code is amended to read:
26625.1.
If If, in the Madera Irrigation District, the county assessment roll reflects assessed value based on the Williamson Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code) for any parcel, then, upon the request of the Madera Irrigation District, that parcel shall also be assessed by the county assessor pursuant to Section 401 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The assessed value for such parcel thus determined shall be entered on a supplemental assessment roll for district assessment purposes only and shall be used by the assessor for district assessments. The Madera Irrigation District shall reimburse the county for any increased cost incurred in making such additional assessment.