HomeMy WebLinkAbout106-Williamson Act.pdfSOUTH THUNDER, LLC LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT FOR MERGED PROPERTY (REVISED)
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Recording Requested By:
CITY OF SARATOGA
After Recordation Return To:
CITY OF SARATOGA
Attn: City Clerk
13777 Fruitvale Avenue
Saratoga, CA 95070 ______________________________________________________________________________
LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT (REVISED) (California Land Conservation Act of 1965 – Williamson Act)
FOR RECORDATION WITH THE RECORDER’S OFFICE OF THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
SOUTH THUNDER, LLC LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT FOR MERGED PROPERTY (REVISED)
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LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT (REVISED)
This is a Land Conservation Contract (the "Contract"), also known as a Williamson Act
Contract, between the CITY OF SARATOGA (the "City"), and SOUTH THUNDER, LLC
and/or any successors thereof (the "Owner").
A. WHEREAS, Owner is the owner of a certain undeveloped parcel of real property (approximately 2.68 acres) located in the County of Santa Clara within the City Sphere of
Influence and Urban Service Area and more particularly described in Exhibit A2, attached hereto
and incorporated herein by this reference ("Annexation Property");
B. WHEREAS, Owner is also the owner of a certain parcel of real property (approximately 35.13 acres in size) adjoining the Annexation Property and located entirely within the City of
Saratoga and more particularly described in Exhibit B, attached hereto and incorporated herein
by this reference ("Principal Property"), which said Principal Property has been subject to a
Williamson Act Contract originally entered into with the County of Santa Clara, and pursuant to Government Code Section 51243, when the Principal Property was annexed to the City of Saratoga in 2006, the City succeeded to all rights, duties, and powers of the County under the
Williamson Act Contract. The Principal Property is currently developed with a single family
dwelling, garage, hay barn, utility barn (with an upstairs apartment), stables, a horse riding arena,
pool house, and workshop; C. WHEREAS, Owner submitted an Integrated Annexation Package (including but not
limited to a Development Proposal) to the City seeking to obtain a Conditional Use Permit with a
Variation from Standards for its existing stables, and approval to remodel and increase the square
footage of the single family dwelling located on the Principal Property by 2907 square feet; D. WHEREAS, approval of the Development Proposal was materially based on a
requirement that the Development Proposal include merger of Principal Property and Annexation
Property into a single legal parcel (the "Merged Property" described at Exhibit C attached hereto
and incorporated herein by this reference) for planning and land use purposes (such that the development potential for a single family dwelling on the Annexation Property was extinguished);
E. WHEREAS. concurrent with annexation of the Annexation Property to the City, Owner
(1) agreed to merge the Principal Property with the Annexation Property into a single legal parcel (the "Merged Property") for planning and land use purposes, and pursuant to said agreement executed a Notice and Deed of Voluntary Merger of the Annexation Property and
Principal Property, which Deed was recorded as Document No. 21191123 in the office of the
County Recorder, County of Santa Clara, California on May 26, 2011, (2) agreed with the City
to, and did, rescind the Williamson Act Contract for the Principal Property and simultaneously re-entered a Williamson Act Contract covering the entire Merged Property, which Williamson Act Contract was duly executed by the parties and was recorded as Document No. 21191124 in
SOUTH THUNDER, LLC LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT FOR MERGED PROPERTY (REVISED)
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the office of the County Recorder, County of Santa Clara, California on May 26, 2011, and (3)
applied for and received a Conditional Use Permit and Variation from Standards and Design
Review Approval for the benefit of the entire Development Proposal located on the Principal
Property;
F. WHEREAS, during the period that Owner has been processing the annexation of the
Annexation Property and its merger with the Principal Property and the related Development
Proposal, the two members who have been the sole owners of Owner have also been in the
process of reallocating their joint ownerships of properties owned by STLCC and other entities between themselves. This reallocation of ownerships resulted in an untimely transfer by grant
deeds executed on April 28, 2011 of both the Annexation Property and the Principal Property out
of STLLC to another entity, Grace PB LLC, owned solely by one of the two members of
STLLC. Upon realization of the untimeliness of the transfer, Grace PB LLC, by and through its
sole member manager, and STLLC, by and through its two members and its manager, rescinded both transfers to Grace PB LLC effective as of April 28, 2011, by the execution of a Rescission
Agreement, and Grace PB LLC has executed, and on August 23, 2011 recorded, Rescission
Deeds by which it has remised, released and quitclaimed all its interest in both the Principal
Property (Document No. 21287993) and the Annexation Property (Document No. 21287994
back to STLLC, thus restoring title to both properties in STLLC effective as of April 28, 2011;
G. WHEREAS, CITY has ratified its prior adoption of its Resolution Nos. 11-026, 11-027,
11-028, and 11-036 related to its April 20, 2011 approvals of the Integrated Annexation Package
(including but not limited to Owner’s Development Proposal) by its adoption of Resolution No.
__________ at its regular meeting on September 7, 2011, and City and Owner thereby intend to resolve any issue with respect to the effectiveness of the rescission of the Williamson Act
Contract for the Principal Property and simultaneously re-entry into the Williamson Act Contract
covering the entire Merged Property, which Williamson Act Contract was recorded as Document
No. 21191124 in the office of the County Recorder, County of Santa Clara, California on May
26, 2011;
F. WHEREAS, the resulting Merged Property has been and continues to be devoted to
agricultural or open space and uses and uses compatible thereto and the merger has constituted a
material basis of the support for the required findings for the Conditional Use Permit and
Variation from Standards granted by the City on April 20, 2011 and the Merged Property shall not be subsequently subdivided so long as any portion of the resulting Merged Property is
subject to a Williamson Act Contract, or the City's AP/OS overlay zoning district has not been
removed by the City;
G. WHEREAS, both Owner and City desire to restrict the use of the resulting Merged Property to agricultural, open space and uses compatible thereto;
H. WHEREAS, the parties have determined that the highest and best use for the resulting
Merged Property during the term of this Land Conservation (Williamson Act) Contract, or any
renewal thereof, shall be for agriculture, open space and uses compatible thereto;
SOUTH THUNDER, LLC LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT FOR MERGED PROPERTY (REVISED)
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AGREEMENT
NOW THEREFORE, City and Owner agree as follows: 1. CONTRACT SUBJECT TO LAND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1965
This Contract is entered into pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of
Part 1, Division 1, Title 5 of the Government Code, which is known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 or the Williamson Act, hereinafter referred to as the "Act." This
Contract is subject to all of the Provisions of the Act including any amendments thereto which
may hereafter be enacted. This Land Conservation Contract is being executed by the parties in
light of the circumstances described in the Recitals above and in order to resolve any issue with
respect to the effectiveness of, and to ratify all the acts taken by the parties pursuant to, the Land Conservation Contract heretofore executed by the parties and recorded in the office of the
County Recorder, Santa Clara County, California on May 26, 2011 as Document No. 21191124
(the “Original Land Conservation Contact”).
2. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF PROPERTY
During the term of this Contract, and any and all renewals thereof, the Property shall not
be used for any purpose other than the agricultural, open space and recreational uses and uses
compatible thereto. A list of all such compatible uses is set forth in Exhibit Al attached hereto
and by this reference incorporated herein.
City may from time to time during the term of this Contract and all renewals thereof, add
to the list of compatible uses additional uses which shall apply uniformly to all property located
in the agricultural preserve in which the Property is located; provided, however. City may not
during the term of this Contract or any renewal thereof, without the prior written consent of Owner, remove any of the compatible uses for the subject Property which are set forth in Exhibit
A1. The provisions of this Contract and any supplementary list of compatible uses are not
intended to limit or supersede the planning and zoning powers of City.
3. RESTRICTIONS ON SUBDIVISION OF PROPERTY
In order to be subdivided, the Merged Property must satisfy certain additional
requirements of California law (including but not limited to any limitations imposed by the
Williamson Act or the Subdivision Map Act) for division of land, or lot line adjustment of land,
which is subject to a contract under the Act. Furthermore, the Merged Property shall not be subsequently subdivided so long as any portion of the Merged Property is subject to a
Williamson Act Contract, or the City's AP/OS overlay zoning district has not been removed by
the City.
4. TERM OF CONTRACT
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This Contract shall become effective on the date of execution by the City and shall
remain in full force and effect for an initial term of ten years, which term shall commence on one
of the dates specified below in this paragraph. If the date of execution of this Contract is between March 2 and December 31, the initial term of ten years shall commence as of the first day of
January next succeeding the date of execution. If the date of execution of this Contract is
between January 1 and March 1, the initial term of ten years shall commence as of the first day
of January of the year of execution. Each succeeding first day of January shall be deemed to
be the annual renewal date of this Contract. This Contract shall be renewed automatically on each succeeding January 1 and one additional year shall be added automatically to the initial
term unless notice of nonrenewal is given as provided in Paragraph 5.
5. NOTICE OF NONRENEWAL
(a) If either party desires in any year not to renew this Contract, that party shall serve written notice of nonrenewal upon the other party in advance of the annual renewal date
of this Contract. Unless such written notice of nonrenewal is served by Owner at least 90
days prior to the renewal date, or by City at least 60 days, prior to the renewal date, this
Contract automatically shall be renewed for an additional year as provided in Paragraph 4 above.
(b) In the event that City serves written notice of nonrenewal of this Contract, the
Owner, within ten (10) days after receipt of such notice by Owner, may submit to City a
written protest of nonrenewal. The notice shall be deemed to have been received on the date delivered in person, or the date of delivery receipt from the overnight carrier, or five days after deposit with the United States Postal Service. City may at any time prior to the
next following renewal date thereafter, withdraw such notice of nonrenewal and, in such
event, this Contract shall continue as if no such notice of nonrenewal had been served.
(c) If either party serves written notice of nonrenewal in any year within the time limits of (a) above, this Contract shall remain in effect for the balance of the term
remaining on the Contract as of the last automatic annual renewal. If the initial term of
the Contract was ten (10) years, the remaining term after notice of nonrenewal is nine (9)
years. 6. NO COMPENSATION
Owner shall not receive any payment from City in consideration of the obligation
imposed under this Contract, it being recognized and agreed that the consideration for the execution of this Contract is the substantial benefit to be derived therefrom, and the advantage that may accrue to owner as a result of the effect upon the assessed value of the Property on
account of the restrictions on the use of the Property contained herein.
7. SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST
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This Contract and the restrictions imposed hereunder shall be binding upon, and inure to
the benefit of, all successors in interest of the Owner and the City.
8. CANCELLATION
This Contract may not be cancelled except pursuant to the provisions of the Act.
9. NOTICES
All notices required or permitted by this Contract, including notice of a change of
address, shall be in writing and given by personal delivery, by overnight carrier, or by first class
mail, addressed to the party intended to be notified. The notice shall be deemed to have been
given and received on the date delivered in person, or the date of delivery receipt from the overnight carrier, or five days after deposit with the United States Postal Service.
Notice to the City shall be addressed:
CITY OF SARATOGA, attn. CITY CLERK City Hall 13777 Fruitvale Avenue
Saratoga, California 95070
Notice to Owner shall be addressed:
SOUTH THUNDER, LLC
c/o Brooks & Hess
Attn. William T. Brooks, Esq.
577 Salmar Avenue, Second Floor, Campbell, CA 95008
10. INVALIDITY
City may declare this Contract terminated if it (or another substantially similar Contract)
is declared invalid or ineffective in any court adjudication which has become final, but no cancellation fee or other penalties shall be assessed against Owner based upon such termination.
11. HOLDERS OF RECORD
Owner represents and warrants that the persons signing below are the only persons with legal and security interests in the Property and agrees to indemnify, defend and save harmless
(collectively "indemnify") the City from any and all claims, suits or losses caused by a breach of
this representation or warranty. This representation, warranty, and agreement to indemnify, are
binding upon the Owner (including Owner's successors in interest). Signatures of holders of
security interests shall only be evidence of notice of the Contract and acceptance by the holders of security interests of the binding restrictions herein.
SOUTH THUNDER, LLC LAND CONSERVATION CONTRACT FOR MERGED PROPERTY (REVISED)
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Contract to be executed by
Owner on ___________________ and by City on ___________________.
CITY OF SARATOGA
_______________________________
Dave Anderson, City Manager
ATTEST: City Clerk
_______________________________
Ann Sullivan
SOUTH THUNDER, LLC
By: ______________________________
__________________________(print name)
__________________________(print title)
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
___________________________
Richard Taylor, City Attorney
___________________________
William T. Brooks, Attorney for SOUTH THUNDER, LLC
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NOTE: All signatures of both owners and holders of security interests
must be property notarized.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
State of California
County of ______________ } ss.
On ___________________, before me, _____________________________Notary Public,
personally appeared ________________________ who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory
evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and
acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of
which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the
foregoing paragraph is true and correct.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
____________________________
Signature
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
State of California County of ______________ } ss.
On ___________________, before me, _____________________________Notary Public,
personally appeared ________________________ who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and
acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies),
and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of
which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the
foregoing paragraph is true and correct.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
____________________________
Signature
EXHIBIT “C”
Situate in Section 3, Township 8 South, Range 2 West, Mount Diablo Base
and Meridian, County of Santa Clara, State of California and described as
follows:
Being the merged and combined lands of South Thunder LLC conveyed and
recorded August 4 2005 in Document #18508248 and lands recorded
October 26, 2005 in Document #18643030, Santa Clara County Records and
more particularly described as follows;
Beginning at the Northwest corner of Parcel B, as shown on that Parcel Map
recorded December 16, 1997, filed in book 697, at page 34, Santa Clara
County Records; thence easterly, southerly, westerly and northerly along the boundary of said
lands of South Thunder LLC, North 62°34’43” East, also along the
boundary of said parcel B 246.25 feet to the beginning of a non-tangent
curve, concave southerly, having a radius 35.00 feet, a radial line to said
curve bears North 27°11’41” West;
thence easterly along said curve through a central angle of 75°01’41” an arc
length of 45.83 feet;
thence South 42°10’00” East 190.00 feet to the beginning of a curve,
concave northerly, having a radius of 115.00 feet;
thence easterly along said curve through a central angle of 41°00’08” an arc length of 82.30 feet;
thence South 00°38’13” West 116.80 feet;
thence South 22°35’00” East 88.44 feet;
thence South 43°13’30” East 290.99 feet;
thence South 08°25’00” East 39.38 feet to the southeasterly corner of said
Parcel B;
thence leaving said Parcel B South 08°25’00” East 62.70 feet to the
southeast corner of said lands of South Thunder;
thence North 79°45’00” West 223.74 feet;
thence North 87°22’00” West 248.82 feet;
thence South 56°30’00” West 125.40 feet;
thence South 66°30’00” West 148.50 feet;
thence South 79°30’00” West 97.68 feet;
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thence North 89°30’00” West 92.40 feet;
thence South 83°15’00” West 116.16 feet;
thence North 43°30’00” West 99.00 feet;
thence North 87°30’00” West 66.00 feet;
thence South 86°00’00” West 154.44 feet;
thence North 52°30’00” West 42.24 feet;
thence North 83°30’00” West 112.86 feet;
thence North 84°30’00” West 83.82 feet;
thence North 79°30’00” West 112.20 feet;
thence North 85°15’00” West 83.16 feet;
thence North 57°30’00” West 62.04 feet;
thence North 69°52’07” West 146.11 feet;
thence South 72°15’00” West 168.30 feet;
thence South 36°45’00” West 94.38 feet to the southwest corner of said
lands of South Thunder; thence North 03°22’01” West 980.88 feet to the northwest corner of said
lands of South Thunder;
thence South 89°00’58” East 1069.20 feet;
thence South 27°21’21” East 160.91 feet;
thence North 77°12’00” East 55.44 feet;
thence South 77°36’00” East 54.12 feet;
thence South 48°16’00” East 73.92 feet;
thence South 46°42’00” East 75.90 feet;
thence South 62°48’00” East 50.16 feet;
thence South 24°43’00” East 66.00 feet; thence South 52°16’00” East 61.38 feet to the Point of Beginning.
APN 503-09-003
APN 503-80-004
Prepared by: Paul Jensen
Professional Land Surveyor #4627
Date: April 17, 2011
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Exhibit “A2”
Development Proposal
Thunder Ranch hereby applies for the listed items and incorporates by reference the materials in
the City file for the following applications:
ANEX 09-0002:
Parcel Merger. The Owner shall submit to the City a complete, executed and recordation ready
and acceptable Notice and Deed of Voluntary Merger for parcel merger and otherwise promptly
initiate and diligently pursue to completion all necessary steps to merge the Annexation Property
with the Principal Property into a single legal parcel (the “Merged Property”) for planning and land use purposes (such that the development potential for a single family dwelling on the
Annexation Property will be extinguished). The necessary steps for such merger shall include a
new recorded final Parcel Map so long as required to be in compliance with Government Code
Section 66499.20¾ and City Code Section 14-70.080 (as now in effect or hereafter amended).
The merger shall constitute a material basis of the support for the approval of the integrated annexation package and the required findings for the Variation from Standards and the Merged
Property shall not be subsequently subdivided so long as any portion of the resulting Merged
Property is subject to a Williamson Act Contract, or the City’s AP-OS overlay zoning district has
not been removed by the City;
Williamson Act Contract. The Owner shall submit a complete application and obtain City
approval to rescind the Williamson Act Contract on the Principal Property and simultaneously
re-enter a Williamson Act Contract covering the entire Merged Property, which Williamson Act
Contract shall include the stables and all other existing uses as compatible uses and shall be
substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D.
GPA 11-0002: General Plan Amendment for Annexation Property. Owner shall submit a
complete application and obtain City approval to amend the current Hillside Open Space (H-OS)
Pre-General Plan designation on the Annexation Property to a post-annexation General Plan
designation of Residential Hillside Conservation (RHC).
ZOA 10-0005: Agricultural Preserve/Open Space Overlay. Owner shall submit a complete
application and obtain City approval to add AP/OS overlay zoning to the entire Merged Property.
CUP 10-0010: Conditional Use Permit and Variation from Standards. The Owner shall submit a complete Application and obtain City approval for a Conditional Use Permit for the stables and
a Variation of Standards as to site area, site coverage and/or floor area for the entire
Development Proposal to be located on the Merged Property.
PDR 10-0017: Design Review/Building Permit: Owner shall be required to obtain a Design Review Approval for the expansion of the single family dwelling and a Building Permit(s) as
required by the City Code for implementation of the Development Proposal once approved.
Owner shall have the option of submitting applications for Design Review and Building Permit
as part of the Development Proposal, or may alternatively submit those applications subsequent,
and subject, to approval of the Annexation.