Bill Text: CA SB170 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Agricultural lands: cancellation of Williamson Act

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB170 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB170-Introduced.html

---

BILL NUMBER: SB 170	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Florez

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2009

   An act to add Section 51282.15 to the Government Code, relating to
agricultural lands.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 170, as introduced, Florez. Agricultural lands: cancellation of
Williamson Act contracts.
   Existing law authorizes a landowner to petition a county board or
supervisors or a city council for cancellation of any Williamson Act
contract for all or part of the subject land. The board or council is
authorized to grant tentative approval for cancellation of a
contract if it finds that cancellation is in the public interest. For
these purposes, the board or council is required to find that other
public concerns substantially outweigh the objectives of the
Williamson Act and that either there is no proximate noncontracted
land that 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.
   This bill would establish a rebuttable presumption that where a
Native American tribe or tribal group has petitioned for a contract
cancellation that tribal cultural centers, infrastructure, and
housing are alterative uses that are public concerns that
substantially outweigh the objectives of the act and that for tribal
cultural centers, infrastructure, and housing, land contiguous to
existing tribal land would provide more contiguous patterns of urban
development than development of proximate noncontracted land.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 51282.15 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
   51282.15.  Where a Native American tribe or tribal group has
petitioned for a contract cancellation pursuant to this article, a
rebuttable presumption exists that tribal cultural centers,
infrastructure, and housing are alterative uses that are public
concerns that substantially outweigh the objectives of this chapter
for the finding required pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c)
of Section 51282, and that for tribal cultural centers,
infrastructure, and housing, land contiguous to existing tribal land
would provide more contiguous patterns of urban development than
development of proximate noncontracted land for the finding required
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 51282. This
section shall not be interpreted to narrow the circumstances under
which a board or council may approve a petition pursuant to Section
51282 where one or both of the presumptions do not apply or have been
rebutted.