Section 51282 Of Article 5. Cancellation From California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 5. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 5.
51282
. (a) The landowner may petition the board or council for
cancellation of any contract as to all or any part of the subject
land. The board or council may grant tentative approval for
cancellation of a contract only if it makes one of the following
findings:
(1) That the cancellation is consistent with the purposes of this
chapter.
(2) That cancellation is in the public interest.
(b) For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) cancellation
of a contract shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter
only if the board or council makes all of the following findings:
(1) That the cancellation is for land on which a notice of
nonrenewal has been served pursuant to Section 51245.
(2) That cancellation is not likely to result in the removal of
adjacent lands from agricultural use.
(3) That cancellation is for an alternative use which is
consistent with the applicable provisions of the city or county
general plan.
(4) That cancellation will not result in discontiguous patterns of
urban development.
(5) That there is no proximate noncontracted land which is both
available and suitable for the use to which it is proposed the
contracted land be put, or, that development of the contracted land
would provide more contiguous patterns of urban development than
development of proximate noncontracted land.
As used in this subdivision "proximate, noncontracted land" means
land not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter, which is
sufficiently close to land which is so restricted that it can serve
as a practical alternative for the use which is proposed for the
restricted land.
As used in this subdivision "suitable" for the proposed use means
that the salient features of the proposed use can be served by land
not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter. Such
nonrestricted land may be a single parcel or may be a combination of
contiguous or discontiguous parcels.
(c) For purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) cancellation
of a contract shall be in the public interest only if the council or
board makes the following findings: (1) that other public concerns
substantially outweigh the objectives of this chapter; and (2) that
there is no proximate noncontracted land which is both available and
suitable for the use to which it is proposed the contracted land be
put, or that development of the contracted land would provide more
contiguous patterns of urban development than development of
proximate noncontracted land.
As used in this subdivision "proximate, noncontracted land" means
land not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter, which is
sufficiently close to land which is so restricted that it can serve
as a practical alternative for the use which is proposed for the
restricted land.
As used in this subdivision "suitable" for the proposed use means
that the salient features of the proposed use can be served by land
not restricted by contract pursuant to this chapter. Such
nonrestricted land may be a single parcel or may be a combination of
contiguous or discontiguous parcels.
(d) For purposes of subdivision (a), the uneconomic character of
an existing agricultural use shall not by itself be sufficient reason
for cancellation of the contract. The uneconomic character of the
existing use may be considered only if there is no other reasonable
or comparable agricultural use to which the land may be put.
(e) The landowner's petition shall be accompanied by a proposal
for a specified alternative use of the land. The proposal for the
alternative use shall list those governmental agencies known by the
landowner to have permit authority related to the proposed
alternative use, and the provisions and requirements of Section
51283.4 shall be fully applicable thereto. The level of specificity
required in a proposal for a specified alternate use shall be
determined by the board or council as that necessary to permit them
to make the findings required.
(f) In approving a cancellation pursuant to this section, the
board or council shall not be required to make any findings other
than or in addition to those expressly set forth in this section,
and, where applicable, in Section 21081 of the Public Resources Code.
(g) A board or council shall not accept or approve a petition for
cancellation if the land for which the cancellation is sought is
currently subject to the process specified in Section 51250, unless
the cancellation is a part of the process specified in Section 51250.