Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Sullivan <br /> Page 2 <br /> development is pro ted by the Williamson Act. (See, 62 Ops. <br /> Att'y Gen. 233 (1979) ; 54 ps. n.e0 (1971) . ) Both of <br /> these opinions dealt with proposed rural low density <br /> subdivisions, similar to what is proposed here. In one case, the <br /> Attorney General concluded as follows. <br /> Unless the single family residences proposed for each of the <br /> subdivided lots are incidental to the use of the lot for the <br /> purpose of producing agricultural commodities for commercial <br /> purposes, the division of a 1308 acre preserve into 29 lots <br /> of varying acreage from 20 to 185 acres would constitute a <br /> violation of the Williamson Act contract binding on that <br /> land. <br /> If the primary use of the land is not agricultural use, the <br /> construction of a single family home would, in our opinion, <br /> violate the contract. (62 Ops. Att'y Gen.d at 233 , 241, <br /> emphasis added. ) <br /> In the other instance, the Attorney General considered a proposed <br /> subdivision of Williamson Act lands into 20 acre "home sites. " <br /> What is proposed here does violence to the letter and spirit <br /> of the Williamson Act. If it were permitted, then there <br /> actually could be a conversion of approximately 2 square <br /> miles of farm land into a rural subdivision containing sixty <br /> homes, with no commercial agricultural enterprises. It is <br /> apparent that to give such parcels special treatment under <br /> Section 423 of the Revenue and Taxation Code would be <br /> inequitable to the county and the State in that each is <br /> deprived of the chief benefit of the contract, namely the <br /> preservation of agricultural land. (54 Ops. Att'y Gen. at <br /> 92 , emphasis added. ) <br /> In addition to the Attorney General 's specific conclusions, the <br /> courts have consistently recognized that the paramount purpose of <br /> the Williamson Act is "to conserve agricultural land and prevent <br /> conversion to urban uses" (Dorcich v. Johnson (1980) 110 <br /> Cal.App.3d 487 , 489, emphasis added; see also; County of Orange <br /> v. Cory (1979) 97 Cal.App.3d 760; etc. ) The residential <br /> development proposed for Buckeye ranch is not compatible with the <br /> current contracted status of the land. <br /> Government Code Section 51220.5 includes the legislative finding <br /> that "agricultural operations are often hindered or impaired by <br /> uses which increase the density of the permanent or temporary <br /> human population of the agricultural area". Consistent with this <br /> finding, the Legislature requires that cities and counties shall <br /> determine the types of uses to be deemed compatible in a manner <br /> which recognizes these population impacts on agricultural lands. <br /> The NOP states that " (r)esidents will be subject to spray drift <br />