SECTIONS 4621-4628 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 4621-4628

4621. (a) Any person who owns timberlands which are to be devoted
to uses other than the growing of timber shall file an application
for conversion with the board. The board shall, by regulation,
prescribe the procedures for, form, and content of, the application.
An application for a timberland conversion permit shall be
accompanied by an application fee, payable to the department, in an
amount determined by the board pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) The board shall establish, by regulation, a system of
graduated timberland conversion permit fees to finance the cost of
administering this article.

4621.2. (a) If the timberlands which are to be devoted to uses
other than the growing of timber are zoned as timberland production
zones under Section 51112 or 51113 of the Government Code, the
application shall specify the proposed alternate use and shall
include information the board determines necessary to evaluate the
proposed alternate use. The board shall approve the application for
conversion only if the board makes written findings that all of the
following exist:
(1) The conversion would be in the public interest.
(2) The conversion would not have a substantial and unmitigated
adverse effect upon the continued timber-growing use or open-space
use of other land zoned as timberland preserve and situated within
one mile of the exterior boundary of the land upon which immediate
rezoning is proposed.
(3) The soils, slopes, and watershed conditions would be suitable
for the uses proposed if the conversion were approved.
(b) The existence of an opportunity for an alternative use of the
land shall not alone be sufficient reason for conditionally approving
an application for conversion. Conversion shall be considered only
if there is no proximate and suitable land which is not zoned as
timberland production for the alternate use not permitted within a
timberland production zone.
(c) The uneconomic character of the existing use shall not be
sufficient reason for the conditional approval of conversion. The
uneconomic character of the existing use may be considered only if
there is no other reasonable or comparable timber-growing use to
which the land may be put.
(d) In the event that the board delegates its responsibilities
under this section to the director pursuant to Section 4627, the
director shall make the written findings required by subdivision (a).
In the event that the director denies a conversion, the applicant
may request a hearing before the board within 15 days of the denial.
The hearing shall be scheduled within 60 days from the filing of the
appeal.

4622. Approval of an application for conversion shall be
conditioned upon the granting of the necessary rezoning or use permit
if rezoning or a use permit is required. Except as provided in
Section 4584, all timber shall be cut pursuant to an approved
conversion pursuant to Section 4581, excluding requirements for
stocking and methods of silviculture, except that the timber
harvesting plan required by that section need not be prepared by a
registered professional forester, and no timber operations shall
commence until the granting of such rezoning or use permit as may be
required and until the timberland conversion permit is recorded in
the county recorder's office in each county wherein the timberland to
be converted is located.

4623. The application shall be accompanied by an affidavit by the
applicant that the applicant has a present bona fide intent to
convert the land to a use other than timber growing. The board may
require such additional proof of intent to convert as it deems
necessary.

4624. The board shall deny a timberland conversion permit for any
of the following reasons:
(a) The applicant is not the real person in interest.
(b) Material misrepresentation or false statement in the
application.
(c) The applicant does not have a bona fide intention to convert
the land.
(d) The failure or refusal of the applicant to comply with the
rules and regulations of the board and the provisions of this
chapter.
(e) The failure of the proposed alternate use in the application
to meet the findings required in subdivision (a) of Section 4621.2
and other provisions of that section.

4624.5. A person whose application for a timberland conversion
permit has been denied shall be entitled to a hearing before the
board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

4625. If the board finds the applicant does have a bona fide
intention to convert the land, it shall approve the application,
authorizing the applicant to cut and remove any and all trees,
provided that he otherwise complies with this chapter.

4626. If at any time the board finds that the applicant has failed
to conform to the intent to convert, as set forth in the application
and proof, the board may revoke the permit and require full
compliance with this chapter. Any permit revocation shall be recorded
in the same manner as the original permit.

4627. The board may, by regulation, delegate its authority and
responsibilities under this article to the director if it determines
that the director can more efficiently exercise such authority and
carry out such responsibilities.

4628. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this article or of
Section 4581, no public agency shall be required to submit a timber
harvesting plan or file an application for conversion with the board
where the purpose of its timber operations is to construct or
maintain a right-of-way on its own or on any other public property.
(b) Removal of trees for subdivision development, except on lands
zoned as a timberland production zone pursuant to Section 51112 or
51113 of, and as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 51104, of the
Government Code, where the subdivision has had a tentative
subdivision map approved and a subdivision use permit granted by the
city or county having jurisdiction, may be exempted by regulation
from the provisions of this article, if the exemption is consistent
with the purposes of this chapter.