Yolo County Municipal Code Art. 1 Right to Farm: Dispute Resolution: Notice to Purchasers of Nearby Properties

As used in this article the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Agricultural Land” means those land areas of the County specifically classed and zoned as Agricultural Preserve (A-P), Agricultural Exclusive (A-E), and Agricultural General (A-1), as those zones are defined in the Yolo County Zoning Ordinances.

(b) “Agricultural activity, operation, or facility or appurtenances thereof” means and includes, but is not limited to, the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, irrigation, frost protection, cultivation, growing, harvesting, and processing of any commercial agricultural commodity, including timber, viticulture, agriculture or horticulture, the raising of livestock, fur-bearing animals, fish or poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as incident to or in conjunction with such operations, including the application of pesticides, use of farm equipment, storage or preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market, or to carriers for transportation to market. (§ 2, Ord. 1133, eff. January 2, 1992)

(a) No agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, conducted or maintained on agricultural lands for commercial purposes, and in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards, as established and followed by similar agricultural operations in the same locality, shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, due to any changed condition in or about the locality, after the same has been in operation for more than three (3) years if it was not a nuisance at the time it began.

(b) Subsection (a)of this section shall not apply if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway.

(c) This section shall not invalidate any provision contained in the Health and Safety Code, Fish and Game Code, Food and Agricultural Code, or Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code, if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, constitute a nuisance, public or private, as specifically defined or described in any such provision.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no action, alleging that an agricultural operation has interfered with private property or personal well-being, shall be maintained unless the plaintiff has sought and obtained a decision of the agricultural grievance committee provided in Section 10-6.104 of this chapter or a decision has been sought but no decision is rendered within the time limits provided in said section. This subsection shall not prevent a public agency from enforcing the provisions of other applicable laws without first resorting to the grievance procedure. (§ 2, Ord. 1133, eff. January 2, 1992)

This chapter shall take precedence over all ordinances or parts of ordinances or resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith. (§ 2, Ord. 1133, eff. January 2, 1992)

(a) Should any controversy arise regarding any inconveniences or discomfort occasioned by agricultural operations which cannot be settled by direct negotiation of the parties involved, either party may submit the controversy to a grievance committee as set forth below in an attempt to resolve the matter prior to the filing of any court action.

(b) Any controversy between the parties shall be submitted to the grievance committee within thirty (30) days of the later of the date of the occurrence of the particular activity giving rise to the controversy or the date a party became aware of the occurrence.

(c) The grievance committee shall consist of five (5) members appointed from the community at large by the Board of Supervisors, and serving at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors, two (2) of whom shall be engaged in the commercial practice of agriculture, two (2) of whom shall have no financial interest in any agricultural property or operation, and one of whom shall have knowledge of and expertise in agricultural production practices. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum of the grievance committee, and no decision shall be valid or binding unless taken upon a majority vote of the members present. The Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner shall be the Secretary who shall call meetings as the need arises and shall maintain minutes of each meeting. The committee shall adopt rules of procedure governing the conduct of its meetings. Members of the committee shall receive no compensation for carrying out these duties.

(d) The effectiveness of the grievance committee as a forum for resolution of disputes is dependent upon full discussion and complete presentation of all pertinent facts concerning the dispute in order to eliminate any misunderstandings. The parties are encouraged to cooperate in the exchange of pertinent information concerning the controversy.

(e) The controversy shall be presented to the committee by written request of one of the parties within the time limits specified. Thereafter the committee may investigate the facts of the controversy but must, within twenty-five (25) days, hold a meeting to consider the merits of the matter and within five (5) days of the meeting render a written decision to the parties. At the time of the meeting both parties shall have an opportunity to present what each considers to be pertinent facts. No party bringing a complaint to the committee for settlement or resolution may be represented by counsel unless the opposing party is also represented by counsel. The time limits provided in this subsection for action by the committee may be extended upon the written stipulation of all parties in a dispute.

(f) Any reasonable costs associated with the functioning of the grievance committee process shall be borne by the participants. The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution, prescribe fees to recover those costs. (§ 2, Ord. 1133, eff. January 2, 1992)