Ventura County Municipal Code Art. 3 Mediation Services

The purpose of this Article is to provide for mediation by the office of the Commissioner of disputes between persons conducting agricultural operations in the unincorporated territory of the County and persons owning or occupying property affected by such operations, respecting any and all of the issues listed in Section 9132.

The following issues are subject to mediation under this Article:

a. Whether the operation that is the subject of the dispute—

(1) is an "agricultural activity, operation, or facility";

(2) is "conducted or maintained for commercial purposes"; or

(3) is conducted or maintained "in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards, as established and followed by similar agricultural operations in the same locality"—

within the meaning of Section 3482.5 of the Civil Code and Section 8114-2.1.1 and 8183-4.1 of this Code.

b. Such other and related issues as may be within the special expertise of the office of the Commissioner.

Any two or more parties to a dispute respecting one or more issues listed in Section 9132 may apply to the Commissioner for mediation of the dispute between and amongst the applicants. The application shall be made on such form as the Commissioner may prescribe; provided, however, that the application shall include a partial waiver of confidentiality, signed by all the applicants, in the form specified in Section 9134. The Commissioner shall grant an application only if, in his or her judgment, the dispute appears to include one or more of the issues listed in Section 9132 and the office of the Commissioner has adequate resources to provide the requested mediation services.

The application form shall be signed by all the applicants and shall contain the following statement:

"The applicants understand that the Agricultural Commissioner has responsibility for the enforcement of various laws, regulations and ordinances pertaining to agricultural operations and that such responsibility may be inconsistent with the maintenance of full confidentiality with respect to matters disclosed in mediation. Accordingly, the applicants agree that the Agricultural Commissioner and any other employee of the office of the Agricultural Commissioner may, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 703.5, 1152.5 and 1152.6 of the Evidence Code, testify in any subsequent civil proceeding about, and otherwise disclose to any person, any communication or document obtained in the course of the mediation to the extent such testimony or other disclosure is reasonably necessary for the proper performance of the Agricultural Commissioner's duties."

The mediator shall be the Commissioner or an employee of the office of the Commissioner who is acceptable to the applicants and, in the opinion of the Commissioner, available and competent to provide the requested mediation services.

Mediation is a process in which a neutral mediator facilitates communication between disputants to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution of the dispute. The mediation shall be conducted in such manner as the mediator deems efficacious. The applicants are expected to cooperate in the exchange and presentation of pertinent information. If jointly requested by the all the applicants, the mediator shall, within 15 calendar days of the joint request, render a written opinion as to how the issues in dispute should be resolved. Any written opinion rendered by the mediator shall be nonbinding upon any applicant who does not consent to be bound by it. The applicants may mutually agree to enter into a written settlement agreement respecting the dispute. If a written settlement agreement so provides, it shall be binding on the parties and be enforceable in a court of law.

For services rendered by the office of the Commissioner pursuant to this Article, the Commissioner shall charge the applicable fee, if any, adopted by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Section 9112.