WHAT IS THE WILLIAMSON LAND CONSERVATION ACT?
It is an Act passed by the California Legislature in 1965 to preserve agricultural and other open space lands. It was originally drafted to slow the loss of prime agricultural land, regardless of soil quality. In addition, it now provides protection for wild life habitats, marshlands, salt flats and certain scenic highways. The Act authorized local governments and property owners to commit land to specified uses of ten years or more under a binding contract. Once committed, the land is to be valued as open space land pursuant to open space valuation laws (Revenue & Taxation Code Sections 421, et seq.) enacted pursuant to the Open Space Amendment of the California Constitution.
