| Description | Spatial | Attributes |
The Williamson Act dataset represents parcels within the County with a Type I (a.k.a. "Prime"), Type II (a.k.a. "Sub-Prime") or Open Space Type II Williamson Act (WA) contract as of January 1, 2011.
Layer supplied for in-house use for the purpose of identifying and analyzing parcels under WA contract. To avoid issuance of permits for non-agricultural development that may violate the terms and/or conditions of The California Land Conservation Act of 1965. Williamson Act Program (Background Information): The California Land Conservation Act of 1965--commonly referred to as the Williamson Act--enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open space use. In return, landowners receive property tax assessments which are much lower than normal because they are based upon farming and open space uses as opposed to full market value. Local governments receive an annual subvention of forgone property tax revenues from the state via the Open Space Subvention Act of 1971. Since the GIS data was developed for planning purposes and use in publication of maps and/or database creation, the data is for illustrative purpose only and is not suitable for parcel specific decision making. Therefore, the GIS data presented herein are approximations and further land development determination is at the discretion of the PRMD planning staff which may require a parcel specific site review (to draw parcel specific conclusions).
Creation methodology & resources: 1) refer to Data Quality - Attribute Accuracy tab for historical dataset modifications by ActiveMap version release number 2) for ActiveMap Data Capture December 2010 [ver. 2.1], rectified dataset to AM_PARCEL 10/22/2010 and modified dataset based on AGPE, AGPM & AGPO contract status' within Permits Plus System Historical note: In an effort to ensure the identification of Williamson Act contracts countywide, a comprehensive internal review by the County of Sonoma Assessor's office and the Permit and Resource Management Department was conducted. The joint internal review encompassed the review of data residing within the Assessor's Megabyte System and an extensive review of each plot map which concluded on March 11, 2005. On April 7, 2005, the Assessor's office and PRMD unanimously agreed to allow this layer to be released for analysis and use for GIS purposes as well as declared PRMD as the stewards of the WA data and related shapefiles. On November 21, 2007, PRMD received Sonoma County Assessor Division release approval per public inquiry utilizing the geographical Internet application, ActiveMap. Assessor contact: Bill Rousseau, Chief Deputy Assessor; 707-565-1863.
publication date
No part of this map may be copied, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD), County of Sonoma, California. Maps contained in a planning document published by PRMD can be photocopied by members of the public for review and comment purposes.
2550 Ventura Avenue
Direct data inquiries to the on duty Geographic Information Technician
2550 Ventura Avenue
Direct data inquiries to the on duty Geographic Information Technician
Internal, automated field created by software.Definition Source:
ESRI
Assessor parcel number which is created as an unique parcel ID number for assessment purposes.Definition Source:
PRMD-DIS
Numerically identifies the type of WA contract: Type I ("Prime"), Type II ("Subprime") and a three-digit number representing the Board of Supervisor's official designated agricultural preserve area within the county.
Definition Source: PRMD-DIS
Internal, automated field created by software.Definition Source:
ESRI
The date in which the WA contract takes effect.Definition Source:
PRMD-DIS
The date in which the WA contract entered into phase-out status. The "Not Applicable" value within the field indicates that the parcel in not in a phase-out status. Determining Phase-Out start & end dates: Property Owner Initiated: The "Notice of Non-renewal" must be provided on or before October 1st (90 days prior to the January 1st calendar year renewal date) to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. County Initiated: The "Notice of Non-renewal" must be provided on or before November 1st (60 days prior to the January 1st calendar year renewal date) to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. *In 2006, County Counsel changed their interpretation of the non-renewal law as to when the 90/60 day cut off period started. In 2006, County Counsel changed their interpretation of the non-renewal law as to when the 90/60 day cut off period started.Definition Source:
PRMD-DIS
The estimated date in which the WA contract, unless an amendment to the contract has been recorded, officially ends and the property tax value is completely restored to full market value. The "Not Applicable" value within the field indicates that the parcel in not in a phase-out status.Definition Source:
PRMD-DIS