The Williamson Act of 1965 may be one of the most important forms of protection for Sonoma County Ag Lands. Designed to encourage long term commitments to keeping ranch and farmland in operation, the Williamson Act based property taxes on a land’s ability to generate income. About fifteen million acres of farmland or about half of California’s farmlands are in the program.

Property owners who signed a contract are committed to keeping the land active in some form of agriculture for a period of ten years. The contract automatically renews itself each year. The property owner can elect to phase out of the contract, whereby property taxes are proportionally increased each year until they return to the full market value in the tenth and final year. Or, property owners can pay the difference in back taxes and remove the land from the contract immediately. Typically this is the case when farmlands are sold to a developer who chooses to develop the property immediately.

The State of California has provided the county with the missing reduced tax revenues known as subvention payments. Now that the State of California has terminated the subvention payments, each individual county in the state will have to determine if the county will absorb the loss. Under these circumstances, in this economy, contract holders are hoping the state economy will recover soon; otherwise, there are nine years left before the contracts expire.

Ever wonder what “dead” agriculture looks like? Travel down Interstate 5 toward Bakersfield and see the dead orchards and farm fields becoming “dust bowls.” Whether it be a lack of water or the inability to make a profit, when farming dies, so does an important piece of the economy.

I know of no other program here in California and Sonoma County that has played such an important role in preserving agriculture, open space, community separators, groundwater recharge areas, and making high quality food available to local consumers.

The County of Sonoma cannot allow this program to fail.

Signed,

John E. King