Landowner Benefits from Use-Valoe Assessment under the California Land Conservation Act

The factors that determine the size of benefits to landowners who participate in the use-value assessment program under the California Land Conservation Act are identified, and the level of benefits available to landowners is calculated for several cropping patterns in Sacramento County. Possibilities for decisionmakers to increase participation by altering benefits is examined through a sensitivity analysis on the factors that determine benefit levels. It is concluded that little opportunity exists for decisionmakers to influence enrollment significantly except through measures that influence land values or development expectations of landowners. Key words: agricultural land preservation, land use, preferential taxation, property taxes, use-value assessment. Use-value assessment programs, whereby land is taxed at its agricultural rather than market value, provide property tax relief to landowners in at least thirty five states (Gloudemans). In some states, e.g., Califor-nia, such programs are explicitly directed at reducing the rate of conversion of agricultural lands to urban uses (Henke, California Legis-lature). The use-value assessment legislation that is embodied in the California Land Con-servation Act (CLCA)l has three major objec-tives: to reduce undesirable sprawl resulting from the ' 'premature and unnecessary conver-sion of agricultural land to urban uses, " to maintain lands in agricultural use for their open-space value, and to preserve agricultural land in production to assure an adequate food supply and healthy agricultural economy tCalifornia Government Code, Sec. 51220).2 To obtain benefits under the CLCA, a con-S. I. Schwartz and T. C. Foin are assistant professors of environ-mental studies, and David E. Hansen is an assistant professor of agricultural economics and an assistant agricultural economist i