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The contract fixes the land-use facts
Kern County's October 27 packet identifies Befra Farming LLC as the applicant for Williamson Act Contract 26-05. The property contains 228.9 acres of orchards, is zoned Exclusive Agriculture and sits in Agricultural Preserve No. 7 in Supervisorial District 4.
The board action approves and records the land-use contract for the 2027 calendar year. It is not a county purchase, a grant award or evidence that the land will open to the public.
| Field | Published record |
|---|---|
| Applicant | Befra Farming LLC |
| Acreage | 228.9 acres |
| Land use | Orchards |
| Zoning | Exclusive Agriculture |
| Preserve | No. 7 |
'No fiscal impact' does not calculate the tax effect
The agenda labels the action as having no fiscal impact. That describes the board item; it does not disclose the parcel's restricted assessment, an unrestricted comparison or the change in property-tax revenue attributable to the contract.
California describes the Williamson Act as a program in which local governments restrict land to agricultural or compatible open-space use in exchange for property-tax assessments based on farming and open-space uses rather than full market value. The size of any parcel-specific effect depends on records not included in this packet.
What the packet leaves unanswered
The cover letter does not name the orchard crop, publish the parcel's assessed values or quantify county revenue before and after the contract. It also does not establish crop production, water availability or long-term farm profitability.
What's the Scoop With Broach extracted the acreage, zoning and preserve from the official packet and checked the program description against the state. The accountability question is narrow: if the county uses a 'no fiscal impact' label, residents still need a separate assessment record to understand the tax consequence.
Sources and further reading
Kern County Williamson Act Contract 26-05 packet ↗
California Department of Conservation: Williamson Act program overview ↗