OPINION: Reinstate the Williamson Act in Imperial County
The Williamson Act, also known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, enables local counties within California to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agriculture or related open space use. The state Legislature passed the Williamson Act in 1965 because they recognized the benefit of agricultural land to public interest in promoting food security, encouraging agricultural industries, discouraging checkerboarding with regard to urban sprawl, and preserving agriculture and natural ecosystems.
Currently, Imperial County is one of only five counties in the state not to have the Williamson Act in place. Additionally, it is the only agricultural county that does not participate. Imperial County Farm Bureau is actively working with the county to reinstate the program and make this tool available which will enable us to reap the economic and environmental benefits it provides.
Some of the economic benefits of having the Williamson Act include jobs provided by keeping land in agriculture, creating competitive tax rates to our surrounding counties such as Riverside and Yuma, making annual taxes more affordable, and increase in land values. In addition, the Williamson Act promotes some very important environmental tools such as the carbon sequestration that agriculture lands provide, which is a key component in the state’s conservation programs. Furthermore, having the Williamson Act in place will put Imperial County in a better position for state funding offered for reaching emission reduction targets by committing land to a use that is a positive for the environment.
Imperial County Farm Bureau has been working for several months on getting the Williamson Act reinstated in Imperial County. We gave an informational presentation to the Board of Supervisors in September. Then, on April 5, ICFB took the Williamson Act back to the County Board of Supervisors attempting to have action taken to reinstate it. Unfortunately, there was no motion made from any of the supervisors; thus, no action was taken. Although we did not get the outcome we were aiming for, we received a lot of positive feedback on the presentation and further interest in working to get the Williamson Act reinstated. Imperial County Farm Bureau will continue to work on this issue and hope to have positive progress to report on in the near future.
In the meantime, if you would like to contact your County Supervisor to explain just how important having the Williamson Act is to the farmers, landowners, employees, and the environment in Imperial County, please see below for their contact information.
Jesus Eduardo Escobar
District 1, Chairman (442) 265-1031 jesusescobar@co.imperial.ca.us
Luis A. Plancarte District 2
(442) 265-1032 luisplancarte@co.imperial.ca.us
Michael W. Kelley District 3
(442) 265-1033 michaelkelley@co.imperial.ca.us
Ryan E. Kelley
District 4
(442) 265-1035 ryankelley@co.imperial.ca.us
Ray Castillo
District 5
(442) 265-1034 raycastillo@co.imperial.ca.us
For more information on the Williamson Act and our efforts, please call Imperial County Farm Bureau at (760) 352-3831.