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Ms. Kathy Allen May 26, 2005 Page 2 of 3 agricultural use of the land (Government Code §66474.4(a)). A parcel of five acres is conclusively presumed to be too small to sustain its agricultural use pursuant to section 66474.4(b)(1). Exceptions listed in section 66474.4(c)(1)(2) do not appear to apply in this case. Even if a subdivided parcel were to meet the presumptive minimum size, it may be found that the subdivision will result in residential development not incidental to the commercial agricultural use of the land, in which case the Board must deny approval of the tentative map or parcel map. In addition, the subdivision of Williamson Act land for residential purposes is contrary to the Act as describe below. The overarching purpose of the Williamson Act is to curb "the rapid and virtually irreversible loss of agricultural land to residential and other developed uses" Sierra Club v. City of Hayward (1981) 28 Cal. 3d 840, 850) and to protect farmland from conversion into "scattered, low density, single family subdivisions" (Honey Springs Homeowners Assn. v. Board of Supervisors (1984) 157 Cal. App. 3d 1122, at 1139). The Legislature, through enactment of Senate Bill 985, Chapter 1018, Statutes of 1999, Section 15, concurred with several Attorney General opinions and made declaratory of existing law the following: "In enacting Section 14 of this act . . .clarifying that a landowner's right to subdivide is subject to the Williamson Act . . . therefore, the subdivision of enrolled lands for residential purposes is prohibited by both the Williamson Act and by Section 66474.4 of the Government Code . . .." The Williamson Act's prohibition against subdividing contracted lands is not limited by its presumptive parcel size minimums. A subdivision's primary purpose of residential development and its negative impact on agricultural land use are more determinant factors. In one case, the Attorney General concluded, " . . . the division of a 1308-acre preserve into 29 lots of varying acreage from 20 to 185 acres would constitute a violation of the Williamson Act . . ." (62 Ops. Att'y Gen 233, 241). "The subdivision of land which is subject to a Williamson Act contract would generally not serve the primary goal of the Williamson Act to promote the conservation of agricultural land"(Ops. Att'y Gen. No 92-708 (Dec. 1992), at 9, citing Government Code §51222; 62 Ops. Att'y Gen. 233, 241-242). This proposed subdivision appears to be in conflict with the Williamson Act, as well as the aforementioned provision of the Subdivision Map Act. It may be important to note in this regard that requirements of the Williamson Act supersede local requirements unless those requirements are more restrictive (section 51240). If the landowner and County desire to develop buildable lots, we recommend that application approval be postponed until the land is out of contract. It is the County's responsibility to ensure that subdivision of Williamson Act land for residential purposes not occur. To address this issue, some counties have included "no build" provisions for Williamson Act parcel splits, and others have included agricultural income requirements for adequately sized parcels before additional houses could be built. Such conditions may protect both the property owner and the county from potential Williamson Act violations.