KERN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY OWNER Re: Agricultural Preserve Program The following information is furnished in response to your request regarding the Agricultural Preserve Program: CALIFORNIA LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM The California State Legislature, in formulating the California Land Conservation Program, found that preservation of a maximum amount of the limited supply of agricultural land is necessary to the conservation of the State's economic resources and is necessary not only to the maintenance of the agricultural economy of the State but also for the assurance of adequate, healthful, and nutritious food for future residents of the State and Nation. The Program, referred to locally as the "Agricultural Preserve Program," is enforced through the provisions of the Government Code of the State of California relating to the California Land Conservation Act (Williamson Act), as well as local ordinances, policies, and procedures which have been or may be adopted and/or modified from time to time. The Program is indicative of the widespread concern of the people of the State of California and their legislators for the preservation of agriculture as the State's prime economic activity and the preservation of agricultural land for the production of food and fiber for future generations. John C. Williamson, an Assemblyman from Kern County at the time he authored the Act, stated that his bill was drafted "to guarantee the future agricultural use of our best agricultural land and that farmers who are willing to provide the public with such a guarantee are entitled to protection from forces that might otherwise drive them out of agriculture." The basis for preferential taxation is justified since the farmer who voluntarily chooses to enter into a land use contract guarantees the continued use of his land for agricultural or open space activities. Contrary to the opinion of some, both within and outside the agricultural community, preferential tax treatment is a valid concept since it results in the perpetuation of agriculture in an era of rapidly rising property values and prevents premature urbanization and the need to provide public services comparable to those required in urban or metropolitan areas. HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM IN KERN COUNTY The California Land Conservation Act became law in 1965, but it was not until 1967 that an amendment of the State Revenue and Taxation Code established preferential tax procedures for lands subject to land use contracts or agreements. (This is commonly known as Constitutional Amendment XXVIII.) FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 1 of 7)
On December 19, 1967, the Board of Supervisors established the first agricultural preserve in Kern County. Soon thereafter, the Board completed the establishment of 25 large-scale preserves within which they would consider land use contracts or agreements. On February 11, 1969, the Board voted to disestablish Preserves Number 15, Number 20, Number 21, Number 23, and Number 25. The disestablishment of these preserves occurred because of lack of interest by owners of agricultural lands in the desert regions of eastern Kern County in placing their lands under contract or agreement. Beginning in 1968, two types of agricultural preserve instruments were approved for use: 1. Land Use Contract: Only owners of "prime agricultural land," as defined in Section 51201 of the Government Code, were offered the land use contract. 2. Land Use Agreement: Only owners of "nonprime agricultural land," described as marginal grazing, were offered the land use agreement, the contents of which are identical to those of a contract. In February 1968, the first land use contracts and agreements were approved by Kern County. A total of 318 land use contracts and agreements, covering 57,392 acres of prime lands and 557,471 acres of nonprime lands, represented an initial-year total of 614,863 acres of agricultural lands. At that time, the Program was supervised by the Kern County Assessor's Office. Since February 28, 1970, the land use contract has been the only document executed by Kern County. At present it is used for both prime and nonprime lands. CURRENT APPLICABLE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES The California Land Conservation Act is permissive legislation, and the policies and procedures adopted by local entities may be more but not less restrictive than the State legislation. Although the Administrator of the Agricultural Preserve Program in Kern County is the Director of the Planning Department, all policies and procedures for administering the Program are initiated, developed, and amended by the Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of the Director of the Planning Department. Kern County has adopted only those portions of the Act that apply to the preservation of agricultural lands. The many other aspects of the legislation, such as recreational uses, wildlife habitat, open space easements, wetland areas, salt ponds, etc., can be included only if they are secondary to the primary agricultural use of the land. FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 2 of 7)
I. DEFINITIONS Following are excerpts from the Government Code of the State of California relating to the Agricultural Preserve Program as administered in Kern County: Section 51230 Section 51240 Section 51243 An agricultural preserve shall consist of no less than 100 acres. Any 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 in the contract. Every such contract shall: (a) Provide for the exclusion of uses other than agricultural, and other than those compatible with agricultural uses, for the duration of the contract. (b) Be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, all successors in interest of the owner. Whenever land under a contract is divided, the owner of any parcel may exercise, independent of any other owner of a portion of the divided land, any of the rights of the owner in the original contract, including the right to give notice of nonrenewal and the right to petition for cancellation. Section 51244 Section 51245 Section 51251 Section 51281 Each contract shall be for an initial term of no less than ten years. Each contract shall provide that on the anniversary date of the contract or such other annual date as specified by the contract, a year shall be added automatically to the initial term unless notice of nonrenewal is given as provided in Section 51245. If either the landowner or the 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. (In Kern County, the contract becomes null and void on its tenth anniversary date following the notice of nonrenewal.) The County or landowner may bring any action in court necessary to enforce any contract, including, but not limited to, an action to enforce the contract by specific performance or injunction. A contract may not be canceled except pursuant to a request by the landowner, and as provided in Article 5, Government Code. Section 51282 (a) The landowner may petition the Board (Board of Supervisors) for cancellation of any contract as to all or any part of the subject land. The Board may grant tentative approval for cancellation of a contract only if it makes one of the following findings: (1) That the cancellation is consistent with the purposes of this chapter; or (2) That cancellation is in the public interest. FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 3 of 7)
(b) For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), cancellation of a contract shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter only if the Board makes all of the following findings: (1) That the cancellation is for land on which a notice of nonrenewal has been served pursuant to Section 51245; (2) That cancellation is not likely to result in the removal of adjacent lands from agricultural use; (3) That cancellation is for an alternative use which is consistent with the applicable provisions of the County General Plan; (4) That cancellation will not result in discontiguous patterns of urban development; and (5) That there is no proximate, noncontracted land which is both available and suitable for the use to which it is proposed the contracted land be put, or, that development of the contracted land would provide more contiguous patterns of urban development than development of proximate, noncontracted land. As used in this subdivision, "proximate, noncontracted land" means land not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter which is sufficiently close to land which is so restricted that it can serve as a practical alternative for the use which is proposed for the restricted land. As used in this subdivision, "suitable" for the proposed use means that the salient features of the proposed use can be served by land not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter. Such nonrestricted land may be a single parcel or may be a combination of contiguous or discontiguous parcels. (c) For purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), cancellation of a contract shall be in the public interest only if the Board makes the following findings: (1) That other public concerns substantially outweigh the objectives of this chapter; and (2) That there is no proximate, noncontracted land which is both available and suitable for the use to which it is proposed the contracted land be put, or, that development of the contracted land would provide more contiguous patterns of urban development than development of proximate, noncontracted land. As used in this subdivision, "proximate, noncontracted land" means land not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter which is sufficiently close to land which is so restricted that it can serve as a practical alternative for the use which is proposed for the restricted land. FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 4 of 7)
As used in this subdivision, "suitable" for the proposed use means that the salient features of the proposed use can be served by land not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter. Such nonrestricted land may be a single parcel or may be a combination of contiguous or discontiguous parcels. (d) For purposes of subdivision (a), the uneconomic character of an existing agricultural use shall not by itself be sufficient reason for cancellation of the contract. The uneconomic character of the existing use may be considered only if there is no other reasonable or comparable agricultural use to which the land may be put. (e) The landowner's petition shall be accompanied by a proposal for a specified alternative use of the land. The proposal for the alternative use shall list those governmental agencies known by the landowner to have permit authority related to the proposed alterative use, and the provisions and requirements of Section 51283.4 shall be fully applicable thereto. The level of specificity required in a proposal for a specified alternative use shall be determined by the Board as that necessary to permit them to make the findings required. (f) In approving a cancellation pursuant to this section, the Board shall not be required to make any findings other than or in addition to those expressly set forth in this section, and, where applicable, in Section 21081 of the Public Resources Code. Section 51283 In the event the Board approves a cancellation, a fee of 12 1/2 percent of the full assessed value of the parcel will be assessed as a penalty fee. This fee, when collected, shall be transmitted by the County treasurer to the State Controller. (In addition, the Kern County Board of Supervisors has levied a $990 administrative filing fee for consideration of a request to cancel a contract or any portion thereof.) II. CONTRACT PROCEDURES From January 1 through October 1, inclusive, is the time period set to file a property status report. The property status report must be completed on the form provided by the County and returned to the Kern County Planning Department, 2700 "M" Street, Suite 100, Bakersfield, California 93301, accompanied by a $265 filing fee to defray the cost involved in making the necessary studies. Separate property status reports must be filed for discontiguous lands. Upon receipt of a timely filed and properly completed property status report, the Staff will conduct an investigation and a field study of the property relative to the following categories: A. Preserve Status: The land must be within an existing agricultural preserve; if it is not, the necessary petition for inclusion form will be mailed to you. This petition must be completed and returned to the Planning Department, along with the appropriate fee, on or before October 1. FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 5 of 7)
B. Zoning: The land must be within an Exclusive Agriculture (A) District; if it is not, the necessary application for zone change form will be mailed to you. This application must be properly completed and returned to the Planning Department, along with the appropriate fee, on or before October 1. C. Conformity with the Standard Uniform Rules: The land must be consistent with the Agricultural Preserve Standard Uniform Rules as adopted from time to time by the Board of Supervisors (see enclosure). (Special Note: Upon execution of a land use contract, the use of the contracted land must remain within the limits specified in the Standard Uniform Rules.) D. Land Use: The land must be used for the production of agricultural commodities or devoted to the grazing of livestock for commercial purposes described in the Government Code as follows: Section 51201 (a) - "Agricultural commodity" means any and all plant and animal products produced in this State for commercial purposes. Section 51201 (b) - "Agricultural use" means use of land for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity for commercial purposes. E. Consistency with the General Plan: The land must be classified as Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, or Open Space on the Land Use, Open Space, and Conservation Element of the Kern County General Plan. F. Soil Classification: The soil classification must be determined. III. CONTRACT DATES Upon completion of the investigation and the field study, you will receive, by personal service or by mail, the relevant contract forms and instructions. These items may include the following: 1. Two sets of the Land Use Contract 2. Consent by Secured Party 3. Power of Attorney 4. Application for Zone Change 5. Petition for Inclusion Within the Boundaries of an Agricultural Preserve 6. Staff Recommendations 7. Instruction Sheet to Landowner Entering Into a Land Use Contract FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 6 of 7)
Each owner of land who seeks to enter into a land use contract with the County shall file such contract, along with all other necessary documents, properly completed according to an instruction sheet to landowners, together with the correct contract fees, on or before November 1. Only one contract is required for lands under the same ownership. IV. CONTRACT FEES 0-10 Assessor Parcels... $590.00 11-20 Assessor Parcels... $740.00 21 or more Assessor Parcels... $1035.00 After receipt and review of your contract by Staff, you will be billed for the appropriate recording fees. No contract shall be considered unless the property status report, the land use contract, and the appropriate fee have been timely received. V. CONTRACT EXECUTION All acceptable and timely filed land use contracts will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval and execution by the Board Chairman. Upon execution, the contracts will be duly recorded with the Kern County Recorder, and a fully executed copy will be returned to the applicant by regular mail. Contracts must be recorded prior to January 1 in order to be effective for the following tax year. VI. ASSESSMENT After completion of the contract procedures, and following execution of the contract by the Board of Supervisors, the contract will begin its term with the upcoming fiscal year. The tax assessment on the newly contracted land will shift from a market-approach method to a capitalization-of-income method as determined by the Kern County Assessor. No property tax reduction is guaranteed, and tax estimates cannot be given by this office. For information concerning tax assessment procedures, please contact: Kern County Assessor's Office, Rural Division 1115 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 Telephone (661) 868-3485 If at any time you have questions regarding Agricultural Preserves or Contracts, please call this office at (661) 862-8600. Very truly yours, TED JAMES, AICP, Administrator Agricultural Preserve Program By James E. Ellis, AICP Planning Operations Division Chief Enclosure FORM81.docx (7/09) (page 7 of 7)