FEATURE ARTICLE

June 2004

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Keeping Them Down On the Farm—Recent Trends In Williamson Act Legislation

In 1965, the California Land Conservation Act, commonly known as the Williamson Act, was enacted to protect agricultural land and open space from premature conversion to urban use. It does this by providing preferential property tax treatment to qualified landowners in exchange for a voluntary contractual promise that the land will remain in agricultural or open space use for a definite period. The Department of Conservation is charged with implementing the Williamson Act, although the program is also administered by cities and counties.