10230. (a) (1) The California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund is
hereby created.
Except as provided in paragraph (2), the moneys in the fund shall,
upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, be
used for the purposes of the program, which include the purchase of
agricultural conservation easements, fee title acquisition grants,
land improvement and planning grants, technical assistance provided
by the department, technology transfer activities of the department,
and administrative costs incurred by the department in administering
the program.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), moneys may be deposited into
the fund from federal grants, and gifts and donations that are
designated and required by the donor to be used exclusively for the
purposes of the program, and notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, those moneys are hereby continuously appropriated to
the department for expenditure for the purposes of this program.
(b) Not to exceed 10 percent of all grants made by the department
pursuant to this division may be made for land improvement purposes
and policy planning purposes. Not less than 90 percent of funds
available for grants pursuant to this division shall be expended for
the acquisition of interests in land.
10230.5. Policy planning grants may be awarded pursuant to criteria
established by the department for purposes including, but not
limited to, the development and evaluation of local or regional land
conservation strategies and potential agricultural conservation
easement or fee title acquisition projects.
10231. Money available from the fund shall be utilized in
accordance with the expenditures and distribution authorized,
required, or otherwise provided in the program for grants for the
acquisition of agricultural conservation easements or fee title. This
includes direct costs incidental to the acquisition, as determined
by the department, including costs associated with a loss in property
tax revenues resulting from the acquisition of those agricultural
conservation easements. Direct costs paid to the applicant shall have
been incurred after the complete application was submitted to the
department and no more than 180 days before the execution of the
grant agreement or during the grant term, and shall not exceed 10
percent of the value of the easements for which the costs were
incurred.
10231.5. The department may accept donations of funds if the
department is the designated beneficiary of the donation and it
agrees to use the funds for purposes of the program in a county
specified by the donor. Any donation made to the department pursuant
to this section is subject to the requirements of Sections 11005 and
16302 of the Government Code.
10232. The director shall not approve a grant if the local
government requesting a grant has acquired, or proposes to acquire,
the agricultural conservation easement through the use of eminent
domain, unless requested by the owner of the land.
10233. Each application for a grant pursuant to this division shall
contain a matching funding component, as specified in this section,
and may be provided in the form of cash or in-kind services, or any
combination thereof, as determined by the department.
(a) Each application for a grant for the purchase of an
agricultural conservation easement shall contain a matching component
of not less than 5 percent of the value of the grant or a landowner
donation of not less than 10 percent of the appraised fair market
value of the agricultural conservation easement. In situations where
both matching funds and donations of easement value are being
combined, the combined match shall be not less than 10 percent of the
appraised fair market value of the agricultural conservation
easement. Up to 50 percent of contributions to an agricultural
conservation easement monitoring endowment for the subject property
may be provided as a component of a qualified grant match under this
division, as determined by the department.
(b) Each application for a planning or land improvement grant
pursuant to Section 10230 shall contain a matching funding component
of not less than 10 percent of the proposal's total cost.
(c) Each application for a fee title acquisition grant shall
contain a matching component of not less than 5 percent of the value
of the grant.
10234. Every applicant for a grant for the acquisition of fee title
or an agricultural conservation easement shall provide by a
resolution from the governing body of the local government in which
the proposed project is located, and shall certify both of the
following:
(a) The proposal meets the eligibility criteria set forth in
Section 10251.
(b) The proposal has been approved by the appropriate local
governmental governing body.
10235. (a) The director shall not disburse any grant funds until
the applicant agrees that any agricultural conservation easement
acquired shall be used by the applicant only for the purpose for
which the funds were requested and that no other use, sale, or other
disposition of the easement shall be permitted unless approved by the
director, or where the easement may be transferred to a public
agency or nonprofit organization, for management purposes.
(b) If a local government or nonprofit organization holding the
easement is dissolved, it shall be transferred to an appropriate
public agency or nonprofit organization, as provided in this
division.
(c) The easement, or any of its terms, may only be amended with
the consent of all of the necessary parties to the easement,
including the landowner, the easement holder, and the director. The
director shall determine that the amendment is not inconsistent with
this section before it may be amended.
10235.5. The department may establish a payment system for the
purchase of an agricultural conservation easement that is mutually
satisfactory to the department and the seller of the easement,
provided that full payment for the easement is secured.
10236. If the funds are used for the acquisition of an agricultural
conservation easement pursuant to a local transfer of development
rights program, upon the sale of the easement and its attendant
development rights, the entity that holds the easement shall
reimburse the fund by an amount equal to the fair market value of the
easement, as determined by an appraisal approved by the department.
10237. The director shall not disburse any grant funds for easement
or fee title acquisitions unless the applicant, and in the case of
an easement acquisition grant, the seller, agrees to restrict the use
of the land in perpetuity, subject to review after 25 years.
10238. The director shall not disburse any grant funds to acquire
agricultural conservation easements which restrict husbandry
practices.
10239. The director shall disburse funds to an applicant for a
grant for the acquisition of fee title to agricultural land only if
the applicant agrees to all of the following conditions:
(a) Upon acquisition of the property, treat the property as
encumbered by an agricultural conservation easement subject to this
division and approved by the department.
(b) Sell the fee title subject to an agricultural conservation
easement approved by the department to a private landowner within
three years of the acquisition of the fee title.
(c) Reimburse the fund directly from escrow within 30 days after
the sale of the restricted fee title by an amount equal to the
department's proportional share of the net proceeds of the sale.
(1) The "net proceeds of the sale" is defined as the fair market
value of the land less the value of the easement and associated
transaction costs.
(2) The department's proportional share of the net proceeds of the
sale shall be calculated using a factor reflecting the department's
proportional share of the purchase price paid by the applicant in the
original acquisition of fee title, taking into account contributions
from all sources toward that original purchase price.
10240. (a) The department shall adopt rules and regulations for the
implementation of this division.
(b) Rules or regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
this section shall be adopted in accordance with the rulemaking
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code).
10241. The department shall adopt the criteria necessary for its
approval of grant applications.
10242. The director shall review, and approve or disapprove, grant
applications from applicants for the acquisition of agricultural
conservation easements on agricultural land or the acquisition of fee
title to agricultural land pursuant to Section 10239.
10243. The department shall allocate available state funds to
applicants for the acquisition of agricultural conservation
easements. However, no governmental agency shall condition the
issuance of an entitlement to use on a landowner's granting of a fee
interest or less than a fee interest in property pursuant to this
chapter.
10244. To be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this division
for the acquisition of either agricultural conservation easements or
fee title interests, qualified applicants shall submit to the
department documentation of the applicable local government's adopted
general plan that demonstrates a long-term commitment to agriculture
and agricultural land conservation, including a summary of goals,
objectives, and policies and implementation measures that support
that commitment.
10245. The program shall reimburse any school district which
requests reimbursement for any net loss of property tax revenues
occurring as a result of the program.
10246. Grants may be made for land improvements. Use of these
grants shall be limited to the improvement of lands protected by
agricultural conservation easements under the program, or of lands
protected by other qualified conservation easement programs, if the
improvement will directly benefit the lands protected by agricultural
conservation easements under the program. An application for a land
improvement grant shall be evaluated with respect to the extent to
which it satisfies one or more of the following criteria:
(a) The improvement will enhance the agricultural value of the
land protected by the easement, and promote its long-term sustainable
agricultural use such as water supply development and revegetation
of eroding streambanks.
(b) The improvement will increase the compatibility of
agricultural operations with sensitive natural areas.
(c) The improvement will demonstrate new and innovative best
management practices which have the potential for wide application.
(d) The proposed improvement includes the financial and technical
involvement of other agencies, such as resource conservation
districts, the Wildlife Conservation Board, the United States Farm
Services Agency, and the United States Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
(e) The improvement is part of a coordinated watershed management
plan or the equivalent.
(f) The application satisfies other relevant criteria established
by the department.
10230. (a) (1) The California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund is
hereby created.
Except as provided in paragraph (2), the moneys in the fund shall,
upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, be
used for the purposes of the program, which include the purchase of
agricultural conservation easements, fee title acquisition grants,
land improvement and planning grants, technical assistance provided
by the department, technology transfer activities of the department,
and administrative costs incurred by the department in administering
the program.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), moneys may be deposited into
the fund from federal grants, and gifts and donations that are
designated and required by the donor to be used exclusively for the
purposes of the program, and notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, those moneys are hereby continuously appropriated to
the department for expenditure for the purposes of this program.
(b) Not to exceed 10 percent of all grants made by the department
pursuant to this division may be made for land improvement purposes
and policy planning purposes. Not less than 90 percent of funds
available for grants pursuant to this division shall be expended for
the acquisition of interests in land.
10230.5. Policy planning grants may be awarded pursuant to criteria
established by the department for purposes including, but not
limited to, the development and evaluation of local or regional land
conservation strategies and potential agricultural conservation
easement or fee title acquisition projects.
10231. Money available from the fund shall be utilized in
accordance with the expenditures and distribution authorized,
required, or otherwise provided in the program for grants for the
acquisition of agricultural conservation easements or fee title. This
includes direct costs incidental to the acquisition, as determined
by the department, including costs associated with a loss in property
tax revenues resulting from the acquisition of those agricultural
conservation easements. Direct costs paid to the applicant shall have
been incurred after the complete application was submitted to the
department and no more than 180 days before the execution of the
grant agreement or during the grant term, and shall not exceed 10
percent of the value of the easements for which the costs were
incurred.
10231.5. The department may accept donations of funds if the
department is the designated beneficiary of the donation and it
agrees to use the funds for purposes of the program in a county
specified by the donor. Any donation made to the department pursuant
to this section is subject to the requirements of Sections 11005 and
16302 of the Government Code.
10232. The director shall not approve a grant if the local
government requesting a grant has acquired, or proposes to acquire,
the agricultural conservation easement through the use of eminent
domain, unless requested by the owner of the land.
10233. Each application for a grant pursuant to this division shall
contain a matching funding component, as specified in this section,
and may be provided in the form of cash or in-kind services, or any
combination thereof, as determined by the department.
(a) Each application for a grant for the purchase of an
agricultural conservation easement shall contain a matching component
of not less than 5 percent of the value of the grant or a landowner
donation of not less than 10 percent of the appraised fair market
value of the agricultural conservation easement. In situations where
both matching funds and donations of easement value are being
combined, the combined match shall be not less than 10 percent of the
appraised fair market value of the agricultural conservation
easement. Up to 50 percent of contributions to an agricultural
conservation easement monitoring endowment for the subject property
may be provided as a component of a qualified grant match under this
division, as determined by the department.
(b) Each application for a planning or land improvement grant
pursuant to Section 10230 shall contain a matching funding component
of not less than 10 percent of the proposal's total cost.
(c) Each application for a fee title acquisition grant shall
contain a matching component of not less than 5 percent of the value
of the grant.
10234. Every applicant for a grant for the acquisition of fee title
or an agricultural conservation easement shall provide by a
resolution from the governing body of the local government in which
the proposed project is located, and shall certify both of the
following:
(a) The proposal meets the eligibility criteria set forth in
Section 10251.
(b) The proposal has been approved by the appropriate local
governmental governing body.
10235. (a) The director shall not disburse any grant funds until
the applicant agrees that any agricultural conservation easement
acquired shall be used by the applicant only for the purpose for
which the funds were requested and that no other use, sale, or other
disposition of the easement shall be permitted unless approved by the
director, or where the easement may be transferred to a public
agency or nonprofit organization, for management purposes.
(b) If a local government or nonprofit organization holding the
easement is dissolved, it shall be transferred to an appropriate
public agency or nonprofit organization, as provided in this
division.
(c) The easement, or any of its terms, may only be amended with
the consent of all of the necessary parties to the easement,
including the landowner, the easement holder, and the director. The
director shall determine that the amendment is not inconsistent with
this section before it may be amended.
10235.5. The department may establish a payment system for the
purchase of an agricultural conservation easement that is mutually
satisfactory to the department and the seller of the easement,
provided that full payment for the easement is secured.
10236. If the funds are used for the acquisition of an agricultural
conservation easement pursuant to a local transfer of development
rights program, upon the sale of the easement and its attendant
development rights, the entity that holds the easement shall
reimburse the fund by an amount equal to the fair market value of the
easement, as determined by an appraisal approved by the department.
10237. The director shall not disburse any grant funds for easement
or fee title acquisitions unless the applicant, and in the case of
an easement acquisition grant, the seller, agrees to restrict the use
of the land in perpetuity, subject to review after 25 years.
10238. The director shall not disburse any grant funds to acquire
agricultural conservation easements which restrict husbandry
practices.
10239. The director shall disburse funds to an applicant for a
grant for the acquisition of fee title to agricultural land only if
the applicant agrees to all of the following conditions:
(a) Upon acquisition of the property, treat the property as
encumbered by an agricultural conservation easement subject to this
division and approved by the department.
(b) Sell the fee title subject to an agricultural conservation
easement approved by the department to a private landowner within
three years of the acquisition of the fee title.
(c) Reimburse the fund directly from escrow within 30 days after
the sale of the restricted fee title by an amount equal to the
department's proportional share of the net proceeds of the sale.
(1) The "net proceeds of the sale" is defined as the fair market
value of the land less the value of the easement and associated
transaction costs.
(2) The department's proportional share of the net proceeds of the
sale shall be calculated using a factor reflecting the department's
proportional share of the purchase price paid by the applicant in the
original acquisition of fee title, taking into account contributions
from all sources toward that original purchase price.
10240. (a) The department shall adopt rules and regulations for the
implementation of this division.
(b) Rules or regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
this section shall be adopted in accordance with the rulemaking
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code).
10241. The department shall adopt the criteria necessary for its
approval of grant applications.
10242. The director shall review, and approve or disapprove, grant
applications from applicants for the acquisition of agricultural
conservation easements on agricultural land or the acquisition of fee
title to agricultural land pursuant to Section 10239.
10243. The department shall allocate available state funds to
applicants for the acquisition of agricultural conservation
easements. However, no governmental agency shall condition the
issuance of an entitlement to use on a landowner's granting of a fee
interest or less than a fee interest in property pursuant to this
chapter.
10244. To be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this division
for the acquisition of either agricultural conservation easements or
fee title interests, qualified applicants shall submit to the
department documentation of the applicable local government's adopted
general plan that demonstrates a long-term commitment to agriculture
and agricultural land conservation, including a summary of goals,
objectives, and policies and implementation measures that support
that commitment.
10245. The program shall reimburse any school district which
requests reimbursement for any net loss of property tax revenues
occurring as a result of the program.
10246. Grants may be made for land improvements. Use of these
grants shall be limited to the improvement of lands protected by
agricultural conservation easements under the program, or of lands
protected by other qualified conservation easement programs, if the
improvement will directly benefit the lands protected by agricultural
conservation easements under the program. An application for a land
improvement grant shall be evaluated with respect to the extent to
which it satisfies one or more of the following criteria:
(a) The improvement will enhance the agricultural value of the
land protected by the easement, and promote its long-term sustainable
agricultural use such as water supply development and revegetation
of eroding streambanks.
(b) The improvement will increase the compatibility of
agricultural operations with sensitive natural areas.
(c) The improvement will demonstrate new and innovative best
management practices which have the potential for wide application.
(d) The proposed improvement includes the financial and technical
involvement of other agencies, such as resource conservation
districts, the Wildlife Conservation Board, the United States Farm
Services Agency, and the United States Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
(e) The improvement is part of a coordinated watershed management
plan or the equivalent.
(f) The application satisfies other relevant criteria established
by the department.
10230. (a) (1) The California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund is
hereby created.
Except as provided in paragraph (2), the moneys in the fund shall,
upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, be
used for the purposes of the program, which include the purchase of
agricultural conservation easements, fee title acquisition grants,
land improvement and planning grants, technical assistance provided
by the department, technology transfer activities of the department,
and administrative costs incurred by the department in administering
the program.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), moneys may be deposited into
the fund from federal grants, and gifts and donations that are
designated and required by the donor to be used exclusively for the
purposes of the program, and notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, those moneys are hereby continuously appropriated to
the department for expenditure for the purposes of this program.
(b) Not to exceed 10 percent of all grants made by the department
pursuant to this division may be made for land improvement purposes
and policy planning purposes. Not less than 90 percent of funds
available for grants pursuant to this division shall be expended for
the acquisition of interests in land.
10230.5. Policy planning grants may be awarded pursuant to criteria
established by the department for purposes including, but not
limited to, the development and evaluation of local or regional land
conservation strategies and potential agricultural conservation
easement or fee title acquisition projects.
10231. Money available from the fund shall be utilized in
accordance with the expenditures and distribution authorized,
required, or otherwise provided in the program for grants for the
acquisition of agricultural conservation easements or fee title. This
includes direct costs incidental to the acquisition, as determined
by the department, including costs associated with a loss in property
tax revenues resulting from the acquisition of those agricultural
conservation easements. Direct costs paid to the applicant shall have
been incurred after the complete application was submitted to the
department and no more than 180 days before the execution of the
grant agreement or during the grant term, and shall not exceed 10
percent of the value of the easements for which the costs were
incurred.
10231.5. The department may accept donations of funds if the
department is the designated beneficiary of the donation and it
agrees to use the funds for purposes of the program in a county
specified by the donor. Any donation made to the department pursuant
to this section is subject to the requirements of Sections 11005 and
16302 of the Government Code.
10232. The director shall not approve a grant if the local
government requesting a grant has acquired, or proposes to acquire,
the agricultural conservation easement through the use of eminent
domain, unless requested by the owner of the land.
10233. Each application for a grant pursuant to this division shall
contain a matching funding component, as specified in this section,
and may be provided in the form of cash or in-kind services, or any
combination thereof, as determined by the department.
(a) Each application for a grant for the purchase of an
agricultural conservation easement shall contain a matching component
of not less than 5 percent of the value of the grant or a landowner
donation of not less than 10 percent of the appraised fair market
value of the agricultural conservation easement. In situations where
both matching funds and donations of easement value are being
combined, the combined match shall be not less than 10 percent of the
appraised fair market value of the agricultural conservation
easement. Up to 50 percent of contributions to an agricultural
conservation easement monitoring endowment for the subject property
may be provided as a component of a qualified grant match under this
division, as determined by the department.
(b) Each application for a planning or land improvement grant
pursuant to Section 10230 shall contain a matching funding component
of not less than 10 percent of the proposal's total cost.
(c) Each application for a fee title acquisition grant shall
contain a matching component of not less than 5 percent of the value
of the grant.
10234. Every applicant for a grant for the acquisition of fee title
or an agricultural conservation easement shall provide by a
resolution from the governing body of the local government in which
the proposed project is located, and shall certify both of the
following:
(a) The proposal meets the eligibility criteria set forth in
Section 10251.
(b) The proposal has been approved by the appropriate local
governmental governing body.
10235. (a) The director shall not disburse any grant funds until
the applicant agrees that any agricultural conservation easement
acquired shall be used by the applicant only for the purpose for
which the funds were requested and that no other use, sale, or other
disposition of the easement shall be permitted unless approved by the
director, or where the easement may be transferred to a public
agency or nonprofit organization, for management purposes.
(b) If a local government or nonprofit organization holding the
easement is dissolved, it shall be transferred to an appropriate
public agency or nonprofit organization, as provided in this
division.
(c) The easement, or any of its terms, may only be amended with
the consent of all of the necessary parties to the easement,
including the landowner, the easement holder, and the director. The
director shall determine that the amendment is not inconsistent with
this section before it may be amended.
10235.5. The department may establish a payment system for the
purchase of an agricultural conservation easement that is mutually
satisfactory to the department and the seller of the easement,
provided that full payment for the easement is secured.
10236. If the funds are used for the acquisition of an agricultural
conservation easement pursuant to a local transfer of development
rights program, upon the sale of the easement and its attendant
development rights, the entity that holds the easement shall
reimburse the fund by an amount equal to the fair market value of the
easement, as determined by an appraisal approved by the department.
10237. The director shall not disburse any grant funds for easement
or fee title acquisitions unless the applicant, and in the case of
an easement acquisition grant, the seller, agrees to restrict the use
of the land in perpetuity, subject to review after 25 years.
10238. The director shall not disburse any grant funds to acquire
agricultural conservation easements which restrict husbandry
practices.
10239. The director shall disburse funds to an applicant for a
grant for the acquisition of fee title to agricultural land only if
the applicant agrees to all of the following conditions:
(a) Upon acquisition of the property, treat the property as
encumbered by an agricultural conservation easement subject to this
division and approved by the department.
(b) Sell the fee title subject to an agricultural conservation
easement approved by the department to a private landowner within
three years of the acquisition of the fee title.
(c) Reimburse the fund directly from escrow within 30 days after
the sale of the restricted fee title by an amount equal to the
department's proportional share of the net proceeds of the sale.
(1) The "net proceeds of the sale" is defined as the fair market
value of the land less the value of the easement and associated
transaction costs.
(2) The department's proportional share of the net proceeds of the
sale shall be calculated using a factor reflecting the department's
proportional share of the purchase price paid by the applicant in the
original acquisition of fee title, taking into account contributions
from all sources toward that original purchase price.
10240. (a) The department shall adopt rules and regulations for the
implementation of this division.
(b) Rules or regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
this section shall be adopted in accordance with the rulemaking
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code).
10241. The department shall adopt the criteria necessary for its
approval of grant applications.
10242. The director shall review, and approve or disapprove, grant
applications from applicants for the acquisition of agricultural
conservation easements on agricultural land or the acquisition of fee
title to agricultural land pursuant to Section 10239.
10243. The department shall allocate available state funds to
applicants for the acquisition of agricultural conservation
easements. However, no governmental agency shall condition the
issuance of an entitlement to use on a landowner's granting of a fee
interest or less than a fee interest in property pursuant to this
chapter.
10244. To be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this division
for the acquisition of either agricultural conservation easements or
fee title interests, qualified applicants shall submit to the
department documentation of the applicable local government's adopted
general plan that demonstrates a long-term commitment to agriculture
and agricultural land conservation, including a summary of goals,
objectives, and policies and implementation measures that support
that commitment.
10245. The program shall reimburse any school district which
requests reimbursement for any net loss of property tax revenues
occurring as a result of the program.
10246. Grants may be made for land improvements. Use of these
grants shall be limited to the improvement of lands protected by
agricultural conservation easements under the program, or of lands
protected by other qualified conservation easement programs, if the
improvement will directly benefit the lands protected by agricultural
conservation easements under the program. An application for a land
improvement grant shall be evaluated with respect to the extent to
which it satisfies one or more of the following criteria:
(a) The improvement will enhance the agricultural value of the
land protected by the easement, and promote its long-term sustainable
agricultural use such as water supply development and revegetation
of eroding streambanks.
(b) The improvement will increase the compatibility of
agricultural operations with sensitive natural areas.
(c) The improvement will demonstrate new and innovative best
management practices which have the potential for wide application.
(d) The proposed improvement includes the financial and technical
involvement of other agencies, such as resource conservation
districts, the Wildlife Conservation Board, the United States Farm
Services Agency, and the United States Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
(e) The improvement is part of a coordinated watershed management
plan or the equivalent.
(f) The application satisfies other relevant criteria established
by the department.
