Why does contract cancellation appear to be so difficult and complicated?
A Williamson Act contract is an enforceable restriction pursuant to Article 13, section 8 of the California Constitution and ยง51252. Williamson Act contracts are not intended to be cancelled and in fact, cancellation is reserved for unusual, “emergency” situations. Therefore, the nine-year nonrenewal process has been identified as the legally preferred method for terminating a Williamson Act contract. The Supreme Court has stated that cancellation is not appropriate where the objectives served by cancellation could be served by nonrenewal, (See Sierra Club v. City of Hayward (1981) 28 Cal.3d 840, 852-853). The State of California s Attorney General s Office has opined that cancellation is impermissible except upon extremely stringent conditions , (62 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 233, 240, (1979). The Attorney General has also opined that nonrenewal is the preferred contract termination method: If a landowner desires to change the use of his land under contract to uses other than agricultural p
