The Williamson Act of the US state of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
(officially, the California Land Conservation Act of 1965) is a California law that provides relief of
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
to owners of farmland and open-space land in exchange for a ten-year agreement that the land will not be
developed or otherwise converted to another use. The motivation for the Williamson Act is to promote voluntary
land conservation
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the Continent, continents and v ...
, particularly
farmland conservation
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
. In 2010, legislation was passed by the California State Senate and State Assembly and sent to the governor for signing in the form of Senate Bill 1142. This bill was created to provide a relief stream of funding for the Williamson Act.
See also
*
Agricultural conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gover ...
References
External references
Williamson Act Program(California Department of Conservation)
California code section 51200(California Land Conservation Act of 1965)
California statutes
Act
1965 in California
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