Agricultural Advisory Committee October 26, 2017 Item V. 2018 New Williamson Act Applications MONTEREY COUNTY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY Carl P. Holm, AICP, Director LAND USE & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES PARKS 1441 Schilling Place, South 2nd Floor Salinas, California 93901-4527 MEMORANDUM (831)755-4800 www.co.monterey.ca.us/rma Date: October 18, 2017 To: Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) From: Nadia Amador, Associate Planner Subject: 2018 Williamson Act Application- For review at the October 26, AAC Meeting cc: File No. PLN170038; 2018 Williamson Act Application applicants; Agricultural Preserve Review Committee Requested Action: Staff is requesting your recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on the 2018 Williamson Act Applications. The Board of Supervisor s public hearing on this item is scheduled for December 5, 2017. The full list of applications is detailed in Attachment 1. Staff is particularly seeking your input and recommendation on one (1) application, which the Agricultural Preserve Review Committee is recommending denial on: Ag Preserve (AgP) Application No. 2018-007 (Work): APNs: 424-161-020; 424-181-022; 424-181-002 for 618 acres. Reason for denial: Incomplete application. See Summary section for detailed information. Summary: Each calendar year, the Board of Supervisors must consider Williamson Act Agricultural Preserve (Ag P) and Farmland Security Zone (FSZ) contract applications pursuant to the Land Conservation Act of 1965. A Williamson Act contract is an agreement between a property owner and the County whereby the landowner may receive a reduced property tax assessment by agreeing that their property is to be utilized solely for commercial agricultural production and potentially, a limited number of compatible uses. Property under these contracts (10 or 20-year revolving term) may receive a lower assessed tax valuation if the property owner agrees to restrict their lands to commercial agricultural activity, and a limited number of compatible uses. This year, a total of seven (7) applications will be considered. See Attachment 1. Board action is required to establish AgP and FSZ status for those selected applications pursuant to Board Resolution No. 01-486 (Attachment 2) and Board Resolution No. 03-383 (Attachment 3).
Farmland Security Zone (FSZ)- An Application to Create a Farmland Security Zone and enter into an FSZ Contract must meet the requirements of California Government Code Section 51296 et. seq. (Farmland Security Zones) and Board Resolution No. 01-486. Government Code Section 51296.8 requires that Farmland Security Zones shall only apply to land that is designated on the Important Farmland Series maps, prepared pursuant to Government Code Section 65570, as predominately one or more of the following. Contracted areas must also be of at least 100 acres in size, although contracts of 40 acres or larger may be considered by the Board of Supervisors for inclusion in the event that they meet the following criteria: (a) Prime Farmland [or producing unprocessed agricultural plant production of not less than $200 per acre pursuant to Government Code Section 51201 (c) (4)]. (b) Farmland of statewide significance. (c) Unique Farmland. (d) Farmland of local importance The property in each of the applications must meet the minimum gross income requirement of not less than $8,000 from the production of animals and/or unprocessed agricultural plant products during three of the last five years, or in the case of recently improved lands, the subject property has the potential during the next succeeding year of producing a gross income of $8,000 from the production of animals and/or unprocessed agricultural plant products. Agricultural Preserves and Contracts (AgP)- Applications for Agricultural Preserves and Contracts must meet the same criteria as FSZ s, with the exception that they need not be comprised of predominately Prime farmland. Results from the Agricultural Preserve Review Committee (APRC), October 18, 2017- The Agricultural Preserve Review Committee (APRC), comprised of representatives from the Planning Department, Office of the County Counsel, Assessor s Office and the Ag Commissioner s Office, have reviewed all of the applications and will be recommending approval to the Board of Supervisors, except for the following applications (categories: continued and denial ): Recommendation to continue the following applications to 2019 round of Williamson Act Applications: FSZ Application No. 2018-001 (Miller) FSZ Application No. 2018-005 (Borchard) FSZ Application No. 2018-006 (DeSantiago) See Attachment 1 for full description of reasons for continuing to the 2019 Williamson Act applications. By continuing these items to the next years round of Williamson Act applications, the County can reserve the application fees without requiring the applicants to reapply and pay additional fees. Recommendation to Deny AgP Application No. 2018-007 (Work): This application has been continued since 2015 (for the 2016 round of Williamson Act applications) because it lacked complete ownership information and legal descriptions from the applicants. Staff has continuously requested the applicant submit a title company lot book report with ownership interests 2
and legal descriptions for processing of their application. To date, the information has not been submitted, the same issues remain and the application remains incomplete. Therefore, staff is recommending denial of this application. Conclusion: Staff is requesting an Agricultural Advisory Committee recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding all seven (7) Williamson Act 2018 Applications, particularly your input and recommendation on Ag Preserve (AgP) Application No. 2018-007 (Work), recommended to deny by the Agricultural Preserve Review Committee. Attachments: 1. 2018 Williamson Act Application (table) 2. Board Resolution No. 01-486- Amending Procedure for the Creation of FSZs and Contracts 3. Board Resolution No. 03-383- Amending Procedure of Agricultural Preserves 3
Agricultural Advisory Committee October 26, 2017 Item V. 2018 New Williamson Act Applications App. No. Planning Area(s) Applicant 18-001 North County Area Plan 18-002 South County Area Plan 18-003 Central Salinas Valley 18-004 North County LUP and North County Area Plan Attachment 1 2018 WILLIAMSON ACT APPLICATIONS FOR CONSIDERATION Clinton F. Miller, Jr. and Karen V. Miller, Trustees of the Miller Family Trust AgP Acreage (approx.) Hamman 80 Mechanics Bank, Sole Successor Trustee of the Edie Westphal Herold Trust 18-005 Greater Salinas Thomas M. Borchard and Katherine V. Borchard Blackie Road Holdings, LLC 1,165 133-013-001 133-013-002 133-013-003 FSZ Acreage (approx.) APN(s) APRC* Recommendations to Board of Supervisors 74.50 117-411-012 Continue to 2019-117-411-024 Applicant requests a continuance in order to allow the applicant s additional time for estate planning. Recommend Approval- 423-151-059 423-151-060 Adding 80 acres to existing AgP Contract No. 74-15 539.9 223-061-023 Recommend Approval Recommend Approval- The property is currently under AgP Contract No. 77-59-1. The approval of the FSZ would rescind this portion of land from the existing AgP contract and establish a new FSZ contract. 269.10 253-011-006 Continue to 2019- Current Planning Application for Lot Line Adjustment in condition compliance status. Conditions of approval must be satisfied to create new property legal descriptions. Applicant is working with Planning staff to fulfill conditions of approval. 18-006 Central Salinas Valley Linda S. DeSantiago Living Trust dated December 21, 1998 178 165-101-006* 165-101-008 *Requesting FSZ over existing AgP Contract Continue to 2019 Minor Subdivision (PLN030214) has not been recorded. Minor Subdivision must be completed to create compatible parcels. Applicant is working with Planning staff to record map before April
2019. 18-007 South County Ben Work, et al 618 424-161-020 424-181-022 424-181-002 Deny This application has been continued since 2015 (for the 2016 round of Williamson Act applications) because it lacked complete ownership information and legal descriptions from the applicants. Staff has continuously requested the applicant submit a title company lot book report with ownership interests and legal descriptions for processing of their application. To date, the information has not been submitted, the same issues remain and the application remains incomplete. Therefore, staff is recommending denial of this application. ** Agricultural Preserve Review Committee (APRC) Comprised of representatives from Planning Department, Assessor s Office, County Counsel and Agricultural Commissioner s Office
Agricultural Advisory Committee October 26, 2017 Item V. 2018 New Williamson Act Applications - Attachment 2
Agricultural Advisory Committee October 26, 2017 Item V. 2018 New Williamson Act Applications - Attachment 3
Agricultural Advisory Committee October 26, 2017 Item V. 2018 New Williamson Act Applications - Attachment 3