Conserved for
When the City of Buellton voted to annex farmland owned by Norman Williams to build a new housing development, school, and city park, Mr. Williams was faced with paying a large fee to the State of California to cancel the Agricultural Preserve (Williamson Act) contract on his land. However, a new state law allows landowners to put an equivalent piece of land under an agricultural conservation easement rather than pay the cancellation fee—an important tool for landowners faced with this situation. Mr. Williams and the Land Trust worked together on a solution, placing an easement on row crop and grazing land that is part of the Marcelino Springs Ranch.
