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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 23-001152 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
03/26/24 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
3 |
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SUBMITTING Agency/Department: |
OC
Public Works (Approved) |
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Department contact person(s): |
Justin
Kirk (714) 667-1627 |
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Cindy
Salazar (714) 667-8870 |
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Subject: Approve
Cancellation of Williamson Act Contract at 11091 Coronel Road, Santa Ana
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ceo CONCUR |
County Counsel Review |
Clerk of the
Board |
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Concur |
Approved Resolution to Form |
Public Hearing |
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3 Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current
Year Cost: N/A |
Annual
Cost: N/A |
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Staffing
Impact:
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No |
#
of Positions: |
Sole
Source: N/A |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 1/21/1970 |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
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1. |
Find that the proposed project is
categorically exempt from CEQA, Class 5 (Minor Alterations in Land Use
Limitations) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15305. |
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2. |
Open the Public
Hearing on the request to cancel Williamson Act Contract under PA23-0070,
receive public testimony as appropriate and close the Public Hearing. |
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3. |
Adopt Resolution finding that the
cancellation of Williamson Act Contract No. 70-136 for 11091 Coronel Road,
Santa Ana, CA 92705, meets all required findings pursuant to California
Government Code Section 51282. |
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4. |
Grant tentative approval to cancel
Williamson Act Contract No. 70-136 for 11091 Coronel Road, Santa Ana, CA
92705, and direct OC Public Works to record a Certificate of Tentative
Approval of Cancellation with the OC Clerk-Recorder. |
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5. |
Authorize the Director of OC Public
Works or designee to execute the Certificate of Cancellation of Williamson
Act Contract No. 70-136 once the conditions and contingencies as set forth in
the Certificate of Tentative Approval of Cancellation have been satisfied and
record the Certificate of Cancellation of Williamson Act Contract No. 70-136
with the OC Clerk-Recorder. |
SUMMARY:
The Board of
Supervisors must make the required findings under California Government Code
Section 51282 to effectuate the cancellation of the Williamson Act Contract for
the property located at 11091 Coronel Road, Santa Ana, CA 92705, resulting in
the property no longer being restricted to agricultural or related open space
uses and allow for use of the site consistent with the “E4 – Small Estates”
zoning designation.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
The subject
property at 11091 Coronel Road, Santa Ana, CA 92705 (Site), is located within
the community of North Tustin in unincorporated Orange County. The Site is
located south of Arroyo Avenue at the corner of Arroyo Avenue and Coronel Road.
Surrounding properties to the north, east and west are located within the E4
“Small Estates” District with single-family residential uses. The property to
the south of the Site is an existing educational institution. The Site is zoned
E4 and is comprised of three separate parcels with Assessor Parcel Numbers
(APN) 503-071-01, 503-071-02 and 503-071-11. The lots collectively total 11.02
acres in size and have a maximum width of 594 feet and a depth of approximately
768 feet. The Site faces Arroyo Avenue and has two existing structures, a
two-story single-family residence on APN 503-071-01 and a single-story
single-family residence on APN 503-071-02. The third parcel with APN 503-071-11
is a vacant narrow lot, limited to landscaping and is approximately 0.37 acres.
Agricultural lands
under Williamson Act Contracts are governed by the California Land Conservation
Act of 1965, also known as the Williamson Act, enacted to promote farmland
conservation. Williamson Act Contracts provide property tax relief to owners of
farmland in exchange for a minimum ten-year agreement restricting a specific
parcel of land to agricultural uses. Williamson Act Contracts automatically
renew indefinitely until they are non-renewed and cancelled.
All three parcels
at the Site are enrolled in Williamson Act Contract No. 70-136 (Contract). The
Contract was entered into on January 21, 1970, pursuant to Board of Supervisors
(Board)-approved Resolution No. 69-1441. The Contract was intended to restrict
the three parcels to agricultural use for avocados and citrus fruit. A Notice
of Non-Renewal for all three parcels was recorded on September 6, 2019. The
Non-renewal of the Contract became effective on January 21, 2020. Once a
Williamson Act Contract is Non-renewed, the contractual provisions and restrictions
continue to apply until the property owner applies for cancellation.
The property
owners have requested the cancellation of the Contract, which will provide
relief from the provisions of the Contract, allowing for development of the
properties consistent with E4 “Small Estates” zoning designation. Cancellation
of the Contract does not approve any development of the Site but removes the
current restrictions on the property pertaining to agricultural use and will
allow the property owners flexibility with respect to potential future
development consistent with the existing zoning and general plan designations
that is not agricultural in nature.
The California
Department of Conservation specifies criteria to be considered when evaluating
a Williamson Act Contract cancellation. The Board may tentatively approve the
cancellation of the Contract if all the required findings are made. The
findings as required by California Government Code (GC) Section 51282 are set
forth and discussed below, based on the information included in the applicant’s
request for the cancellation.
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1. |
The
cancellation is consistent with the purposes of the Williamson Act Contract
and the cancellation is in the public interest. To make the consistency
finding, the Board must make all the following findings pursuant to GC
Section 51282(a) – the facts supporting the finding in this case are
italicized below: |
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a. |
The cancellation
is for land on which a notice of Non-renewal has been served pursuant to GC
Section 51245. A
Notice of Non-renewal California Land Conservation Contract was recorded with
the County of Orange (County) OC Clerk-Recorder on September 6, 2019. |
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b. |
Cancellation is
not likely to result in the removal of adjacent lands from agricultural use. The surrounding
land uses and existing uses are all single-family residential, with an
educational institution to the south of the Site. There are no adjacent lands
that have agricultural uses. Since there are no existing agricultural uses
adjacent to the Site, the cancellation will not result in the removal of
adjacent lands from agricultural use. |
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c. |
Cancellation is
for an alternative use which is consistent with the applicable provisions of
the County General Plan. The proposal does not include any development of
the Site – simply removal of the agricultural restrictions on the subject
site. The existing single-family residences located on two of the subject
parcels are consistent with the base zoning and general plan designations,
therefore consistent with the County General Plan. |
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d. |
Cancellation
will not result in discontiguous patterns of urban development. The Site’s
zoning designation, E4 “Small Estates,” is consistent with the surrounding
zoning designations of the adjacent sites. Absent an application for a zone
change (which would require public hearings and separate consideration), any
future development would be subject to the same development standards as the
surrounding and adjacent properties. Additionally, the existing development
on site – two single-family residences – is consistent with the existing E4
“Small Estates” zoning designation for the surrounding area. Thus, the
cancellation will not result in discontiguous patterns of urban development. |
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e. |
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. Surrounding
properties within a 1,000-foot radius of the Site have already been developed
with single-family residential uses; none of the surrounding land is
available for development. Cancellation of the Contract would provide more
contiguous patterns of urban development as it would make the Site consistent
with the surrounding land uses. |
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Tentative approval
of the cancellation is consistent with surrounding zoning designations and
existing land uses, and thus will not be objectionable, detrimental, or
incompatible with other permitted uses in the vicinity. Moreover, cancellation
is in the public interest given the state’s emphasis on providing housing and
the County’s obligation to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment
allocation of 10,604 units. A final certificate of cancellation will be
recorded upon payment to the County Accessor’s Office.
Compliance
with CEQA: The
proposed project is Categorically Exempt (Class 5) from the provisions of CEQA
pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15305, because the project will make minor
alterations to land use limitations, by removing the subject parcels from a
Williamson Act Contract. No new parcels will be created, and no changes in land
use, density or development are proposed.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no
financial impact associated with the Recommended Actions of this Agenda Staff
Report.
The Williamson Act
Contract directs cancellation fees to be paid through the County Treasurer to
the State of California Controller’s office (SCO). The County Treasurer must
transmit the fee to the SCO for deposit into the Soil Conservation Fund and/or
the General Fund within 30 days of the execution of the Certificate of
Cancellation by the Director of OC Public Works or designee, as delegated by
the Board, pursuant to GC Section 51283(e).
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A - Resolution
Attachment B - Certificate of Tentative Approval of Cancellation of Williamson
Act Contract No. 70-136
Attachment C - Certificate of Cancellation of Williamson Act Contract No.
70-136
Attachment D - Resolution No. 69-1441
Attachment E - California Government Code 51245, 51282-51283