Delano Municipal Code Ch. 15.04 Agricultural Preserve Procedures

The intent of this chapter is to authorize the City of Delano to designate suitable areas of the city as agricultural preserves by resolution of the city council pursuant to the Williamson Act of 1965 (Government Code Section 51200 et seq.) for the purpose of establishing agricultural and compatible land uses.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

Agricultural preserves shall be administered pursuant only to those portions of the Williamson Act of 1965 that apply to the preservation of agricultural lands, as now enacted or hereafter amended, and pursuant to the uniform rules, as defined under this chapter, which shall apply in all agricultural preserves now or hereafter established. Other aspects of the legislation, as defined by Section 51205 of the Government Code, can be included only if they are secondary to the primary agricultural use of the land.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

A. Agricultural Uses.

1. Agricultural and horticultural uses, including, but not limited to, greenhouse, orchard, the raising of field, tree, vine, berry, and bush crops, vegetables, flowers, and other plants;

2. Harvesting, curing, processing, packaging, and storage incidental to such agricultural uses; shipping of agricultural products produced upon the premises, or where such activity is carried on in conjunction with or as a part of an agricultural use in the immediate vicinity;

3. Farms devoted to the grazing of cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, or other farm stock, including the supplementary feeding thereof, but not including slaughter houses;

4. Farms or establishments for the selective or experimental breeding of cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, or other farm stock;

5. Farms devoted to the hatching, breeding, raising, butchering, processing, and shipping of chickens, turkeys, or other fowl or poultry, including eggs;

6. Dairies and the production of dairy products from milk produced on the premises, excluding retail sales therefrom;

7. Contract harvesting and agricultural services where such use is incidental and secondary to the use of the premises for agricultural purposes.

B. Compatible Uses.

1. Farm dwellings, mobile homes, and other residential uses occupied by the owner/operator or help employed on the premises, including accessory buildings and farm buildings incidental to the farming operation on the premises;

2. Labor camps intended for use by and occupied as housing for laborers employed directly on the farmland upon which the labor camp is located;

3. Recreational uses subordinate to the primary agricultural use;

4. Oil and gas drilling and production in accordance with the provisions of the state and local standards and ordinances;

5. The erection, construction, alteration, operation, and maintenance of gas, electric, water, and communication utility facilities and similar public service facilities by corporations and companies under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California and by public agencies;

6. Any use not conforming to the agricultural or compatible uses specified in this chapter, which use preexisted the date the land was included within an agricultural preserve (such use discontinued for two years shall not be resumed unless it then constitutes an agricultural or compatible use permitted under the uniform rules);

7. Any use required to be permitted by any amendment to the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 which may be hereafter adopted;

8. Any use determined to be a compatible use in all agricultural preserves established by the city council after public hearing or published notice and such other notice, if any, as the council may specify;

9. Any use of a specific parcel of land in an agricultural preserve which is determined to be a compatible use as related to differences in the location and circumstances of the owners of land in agricultural or compatible uses within an agricultural preserve and which is based on character, location, or other particular circumstances of the specific parcel which are not applicable generally to other lands within that agricultural preserve (such determination may be made by the city council only after public hearing or published notice and such other notice, if any, as the council may specify).

C. Additional Uses Permitted in Specific Preserves as Approved by the City Council.

1. The conservation, development, and use of water resources located within the lands covered by this preserve, and exploration conducted by scientific means on the lands located within this preserve for the purpose of determining the existence, location, and extent of any commercial mineral deposits;

2. Uses related to or incidental to the construction, operation, and maintenance of public or private transmission or conveyance facilities;

3. Uses related to or incidental to the establishment, maintenance, and repair of routes for ingress and egress over and through the lands included within this preserve;

4. Any use required to be permitted by any amendment to the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 which may be hereafter adopted;

5. Commercial fish farms and fishponds and accessory buildings.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

To terminate the automatic renewal of a contract, an application for a notice of nonrenewal shall be obtained from the city's community development department. This notice will be reviewed for correctness by the department before being recorded. Once it is recorded, the land conservation contract to which it pertains will not be renewed. A notice of nonrenewal on a portion of property within an agricultural preserve will require approval by the city council after a noticed public hearing prior to recordation.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

A. An application for cancellation of a land conservation contract, consisting of the city's form entitled "Petition for Cancellation of Land Conservation Contracts" and the accompanying "Environmental Information Form" are to be filed with the city's community development department.

B. The petition shall be accompanied by a proposal for a specified alternative use of the land.

C. Tentative approval of the petition for cancellation shall be withheld if the proposed alternative land use is not approved by the city council. The proposed alternate land uses are also contingent upon approval of the cancellation of the contract. Approval of the petition for cancellation, with proposed alternative land uses, shall be considered by the city council at a noticed public hearing.

D. Final approval of cancellation of the contract shall be conditioned upon finalization of the alternative land use (such as recordation of a tentative tract map) and the payment of a penalty fee. The penalty fee shall be twelve and one-half percent of the cancellation valuation of the property (assessment value of the land as though it was free of the contractual restriction). An additional penalty fee may be levied pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 51283.1 by resolution of the city council.

E. No contract shall be canceled until after the city council has given notice and has held a public hearing on the matter. Notice of the hearing shall be published pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code and shall be mailed to every owner under contract, any portion of which is situated within one mile of the exterior boundary of the land upon which the contract is proposed to be canceled.

1. Within thirty days of tentative cancellation of the contract, the city, as required by Government Code Section 51284, shall comply with the following:

a. Deliver a copy of the public notice of the decision (including findings made pursuant to Government Code Section 51282) to the director of the department of conservation;

b. Advertise in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the city, in a minimum display size of one-eighth of a newspaper page.

F. The city council may grant tentative approval for cancellation of a contract only after making one of the following findings:

1. That the cancellation is consistent with the purposes of the Williamson Act. Consistency with the Williamson Act is found only if the city council makes all of the following findings:

a. That the cancellation is for land on which a notice of nonrenewal has been served;

b. That cancellation is not likely to result in the removal of adjacent lands from agricultural use;

c. That cancellation is for an alternative use which is consistent with the applicable provisions of the city general plan;

d. That cancellation will not result in discontinuous patterns of urban development;

e. That there is no proximate noncontracted land which is available and suitable for proposed use of the contracted land, or, that development of the contracted land would provide more contiguous patterns of urban development than development of proximate noncontracted land.

2. Cancellation is in the Public Interest. The cancellation is determined to be in the public interest only if the city council makes the following findings:

a. That other public concerns substantially outweigh the objectives of the Williamson Act; and

b. That there is no proximate contracted land which is both available and suitable for the use to which it is proposed in contracted land to be put, or that development of the contracted land would provide more contiguous patterns of urban development than development of proximate noncontracted land.

G. Unless the penalty fee is paid, or a final certificate of cancellation is issued within one year from the date of the recording of the certificate of tentative cancellation, the penalty fee will be recomputed as of the date of the applicant's notice to the city council that all the conditions of the certificate of tentative cancellation have been satisfied.

H. The land conservation contract will stay in effect until all conditions of the certificate of tentative cancellation have been met and a final certificate of cancellation has been adopted by the city council and has been recorded with the Kern County Recorder's Office.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

Diminishment or cancellation of an agricultural preserve may be approved by resolution of the city council pursuant to the Williamson Act of 1965.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

A. Application for entering into a contract, nonrenewal, diminishment, or cancellation of an agricultural preserve shall be made to the city's community development department on forms provided by that department. The applicant shall set forth complete data required to satisfy all the requirements of this Code and other applicable laws. The completed application shall be submitted to the city council for public review.

B. The city council shall investigate the facts bearing on each case and shall verify information necessary to assure action consistent with the intent and purpose of this Code.

C. A person may not file and the community development director shall not accept an application which is the same as or substantially the same as an application upon which final action has been taken by the City of Delano within twelve months prior to the date of such application, unless accepted by a motion of the city council.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).

Fees under this chapter shall be established and adjusted from time to time by a resolution of the city council.

(Ord. 1132 §1(part), 2005).