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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: |
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