California had been spending nearly $38 million a year to protect about 16 million acres of farmland under the Williamson Act, but budget cuts could mean the program designed to slow the state's staggering rate of urbanization will disappear, the Associated Press reported.
California cut Williamson Act funding funding by 10 percent in the 2008 budget year and cut all but $1,000 for it in 2009. The current budget originally included $10 million for the program, but Gov. Jerry Brown eliminated that last month. Budget negotiations are continuing, but there's little expectation the program will receive much, if anything.
"California would look a lot different today without having these millions of acres restricted to agriculture," the story quoted John Gamper of the California Farm Bureau Federation. "It helps keep cities compact and prevents leap frog development."
Not everyone agrees the Williamson Act should be saved, according to the story, written by Gosia Wozniacka. She reported that the Legislative Analyst's Office recommended the program be phased out over 10 years. It said the state hadn't determined which land was at risk and gave tax breaks for some properties that would never have been developed anyway.
The report also found that the program didn't stop development in the long run because landowners could cancel their contracts, and developers often paid the hefty fine. Farmers also could just not renew.
"If it pays you $10,000 per acre to grow tomatoes, but $100,000 per acre to build a shopping center, then the Williamson Act is not going to stop you from selling," AP quoted Daniel Sumner, director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center. "The shopping center always wins."
The story was picked up widely around the country, including