§ 8109-4.3.1. Rezoning to T-P (owner-initiated).

a.

Any property owner may make application to the Board of Supervisors (hereinafter the Board) to zone his or her land T-P. The Board by ordinance, after receiving the advice of the Planning Commission and after public hearing, shall zone as Timberland Preserve all lots submitted to it by application, which meet all of the following criteria.

(1)

The subject land must be timberland. "Timberland" means privately owned land, or land acquired for state forest purposes which is devoted to and used for the growing and harvesting of timber, and compatible uses, and which is capable of growing an average annual volume of wood fiber of at least 15 cubic feet per acre.

(2)

A plan for forest management of the property must be prepared, or approved as to content, by a registered professional forester. The plan shall provide for the eventual harvest of timber within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the preparer of the plan.

(3)

The property shall meet the timber stocking standards as set forth in Section 4561 of the Public Resources Code and the forest practice rules adopted by the State Board of Forestry for the district in which the property is located, or the owner must sign an agreement with the Board to meet such stocking standards and forest practice rules by the fifth anniversary of the signing of such agreement. If the property is subsequently zoned as timberland preserve, then failure to meet such stocking standards and forest practice rules within this time period provides the Board with grounds for rezoning of the parcel pursuant to Section 8109-4.3.2c.

(4)

The property shall be in the ownership of one person, as defined in Section 38106 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and shall be comprised of a single lot or contiguous lots of at least 80 acres in aggregate.

b.

Any owner who has so applied and whose land is not zoned as Timberland Preserve may petition the Board for a rehearing on the zoning.

c.

Property shall be zoned as T-P for an initial term of ten years. On the first and each subsequent anniversary date of the initial zoning, a year shall be added to the initial ten-year term, unless a notice of rezoning is given as provided in Section 8109-4.3.2a or Section 8109-4.3.2c.

d.

An owner with timberlands in a timberland preserve pursuant to either the mandated rezoning required by Sec. 51112 of the Government Code or the provisions of Section 51113 of said Code may petition the Board to add to the owner's timberland preserve any lands which meet the definition of timberland set forth in Section 8109-4.3.1a above. Except for Section 8109-4.3.1a, the criteria of Section 8109-4.3.1 shall not apply to these lands.

e.

In the event of land exchanges with or acquisitions from a public agency in which the size of an owner's lot or lots zoned as Timberland Preserve pursuant to Government Code Section 51112 or 51113 is reduced, the T-P Zone shall not be removed from the lot(s) except pursuant to Section 8109-4.3.2c and except for a cause other than the small lot size.