Ledger-Dispatch

By Jerry Budrick (jbudrick@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Agricultural land along Turner Road = with=20 shimmering white Quartz Mountain in the distance has been = historically=20 used for grazing.

Photo by: Jerry=20 Budrick
A 44-year-old state law continues = to add=20 wrinkles with age, as counties can take different avenues to = implementing it,=20 creating confusion for some landowners.

Rising above California's = statewide battles over land use, water storage, animal cruelty and = myriad other=20 sources of political and economic controversy is what can rather safely = be=20 called a universal desire to preserve scenic countrysides. One major = tool on the=20 preservationists' workbench is the 1965 California Land Conservation = Act,=20 familiarly known as the Williamson Act.

Simply stated, the = Williamson Act=20 allows owners of agricultural land to voluntarily enter into a contract = with the=20 county where the land is located. By terms of the contract, the owner = promises=20 to keep the land agricultural and the county reciprocates by lowering = the=20 property tax for the duration of the contract. Williamson Act contracts = are for=20 10 years and are self-renewing every year. Removal of property from the = contract=20 requires notice of non-renewal and the passage of 10 years to=20 accomplish.

Not so simple is the situation created when the state = left=20 many of the details up to the individual counties. This has led to = differences=20 in regulations among the counties, one of which has a local landowner = steamed up=20 over what he considers unfairness bordering on = unconstitutionality.

The=20 state mandates that a parcel of land accepted into a Williamson Act = contract be=20 at least 100 acres, unless a particular county chooses to allow smaller = parcels,=20 which must then be proven to be sufficiently unique agriculturally. Such = smaller=20 parcels are generally either vineyards or orchards, and sometimes = permanent=20 pasture.

Amador County allows parcels of at least 40 acres and El = Dorado=20 County allows parcels as small as 20 acres. Some counties, including = Yuba, Del=20 Norte and San Francisco, don't allow any land to be placed under=20 contract.

According to the Division of Land Resource Protection = of the=20 California Department of Conservation, "The Williamson Act is estimated = to save=20 agricultural landowners from 20 percent to 75 percent in property tax = liability=20 each year."

Near Amador County's northern border, on the east = side of=20 Latrobe Road, Jim Taylor and other members of his family own nearly 300 = acres of=20 land that once was entirely under a Williamson Act contract. Thirty = years ago,=20 Taylor's parents deeded parcels of approximately 50 acres each to Taylor = and his=20 sister, Patricia. At that time, Taylor had no difficulty placing his 47 = 1/2=20 acres under a Williamson Act contract.

In 2005, the parents' = remaining=20 192 acres were deeded to the younger generation, prompting them to apply = to the=20 county for a boundary line adjustment that would effect an equitable = division=20 between the siblings. After some time had passed and curious about why = the=20 process was dragging on, Taylor inquired at the county, where he = discovered that=20 the adjustment had found its way to the planning = department.

According to=20 Taylor, planning director Susan Grijalva informed him that, in order to = get=20 planning department approval of division of the property into four = parcels,=20 there first needed to be a filing for non-renewal of the Williamson Act=20 contract. Taylor filed for the non-renewal and subsequently was approved = for the=20 boundary line adjustment.

Once in the status of non-renewal, = Taylor said,=20 the property taxes began to rise incrementally, leading him to inquire = about=20 reinstatement in the Williamson Act.

To his surprise, Amador = County's=20 requirements for contracting with landowners under the Williamson Act = are not=20 what they were 30 years ago and Taylor feels that he was railroaded into = filing=20 for non-renewal without being adequately informed of the changes that = have=20 occurred.

In order to qualify for the Williamson Act today, a = parcel of=20 land must be proven capable of earning agricultural income of $4,982 and = must=20 have agricultural improvements in place worth at least $24,912. Taylor = has=20 looked into this matter and has discovered that the counties of = Calaveras and=20 Placer require only $2,000 in agricultural income, an amount much more = likely to=20 be derived from the grazing that has been the historical use of his=20 property.

In October, Taylor went before the Amador County Board = of=20 Supervisors to request some explanation of what he considers a major = inequity.=20 So far, Taylor's only satisfaction has come from conversations with = District 5=20 Supervisor Brian Oneto, who Taylor describes as "a guy who's trying to = do what's=20 right and who's running into opposition from the other board=20 members."

Since its passage, more than 16 million acres of = California=20 land have been placed in the agricultural preserves authorized by the = act. In=20 Amador County, approximately 94,000 acres are under contract. = Neighboring=20 Calaveras County has 137,000 acres in Williamson Act = contracts.

One major=20 area of contention in today's cash-strapped economy is the state's = payment of=20 subvention monies to the counties that offer Williamson Act contracts.=20 Subvention has traditionally been paid to the counties to at least = partially=20 reimburse funds lost through taxes lowered on contracted = properties.

In=20 recent years, the state of California has threatened to withhold = subvention to=20 such a degree that the counties have countered with threats of their own = to=20 withdraw from participation in the state's Williamson Act. Amador County = customarily receives approximately $110,000 in = subvention.

California's=20 Legislative Analyst's Office has been working on ways to cure the = state's budget=20 woes. Recently, the LAO has recommended that the governor begin to phase = out=20 subvention payments to the counties. The first reduction would be 10 = percent, or=20 $3.9 million of the anticipated $39 million, which would leave $35 = million,=20 softening the blow.

Jerry = Budrick