What if a landowner desires to terminate a contract prior to the nine year nonrenewal period?
Williamson Act contract cancellation is an option under limited circumstances and conditions set forth in Government Code (GC) §51280 et seq. In such cases, landowners may petition a board/council for Williamson Act contract cancellation. The board/council may grant tentative cancellation only if it makes required statutory findings (GC §51282(a)). If the required findings are met, the landowner is required to pay a cancellation fee equal to 12.5 percent of the cancellation valuation (unrestricted fair market value) of the property (GC §51283(b)). In some cases, the contract specifies a higher cancellation fee and if the land is restricted by a Farmland Security Zone Contract, the cancellation fee is 25 percent.
