GCA Title 5, Chapter 65
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CHAPTER 65
GUAM LAND CONSERVATION ACT
Article 1 General Provisions Article 2 Agricultural Preserves Article 3 Contracts Article 4 Cancellation Article 5 Eminent Domain or Other Acquisition 2023 NOTE: In past publications, this Chapter included manifest error in numbering ( e.g. §§ 655101-655103 rather than §§ 65101-65103). The numbering has been corrected throughout the chapter.
ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 65101. Citation of Chapter. § 65102. Definitions. § 65103. Inclusion within Agricultural Preserve.
§ 65101. Citation of Chapter.
This Chapter shall be known as the Guam Land Conservation Act. SOURCE: GC § 12500 as added by P.L. 12-225. In the 1974 Supplement to the Government Code, this Chapter is found as GC § 12600 et seq. All SOURCE references in this Chapter are to P.L. 12-225 unless noted otherwise.
§ 65102. Definitions.
As used in this Chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context:
- (a) Agricultural commodity means any and all plant and animal products produced in Guam for commercial purposes.
- (b) Agricultural use means use of land for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity for commercial purposes.
- (c) Prime agricultural land means any of the following:
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(1) Land which supports livestock used for the production of food and fiber and which has an actual carrying capacity equivalent to at least one animal unit per acre as defined by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. (2) Land planted with fruit or nut- bearing trees, vines, bushes or crops which have a non-bearing period of less than five years and which will normally return during the commercial bearing period on an annual basis from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant production not less than Two Hundred Dollars (200) per acre for three of the previous five years. (d) Agricultural preserve means an area devoted to either agricultural use, recreational use as defined in subsection (h) or an open space use as defined in subsection (i) or any combination of such uses, and compatible uses as designated by the Department. (e) Compatible use is any use determined by the Department or by this Chapter to be compatible with the agricultural, recreational, or open space use of land within the preserve and subject to contract. Compatible use includes agricultural use, recreational use, or open space use unless the Department finds after notice and hearing that such use is not compatible with the agricultural, recreational or open space use to which the land is restricted by contract pursuant to this Chapter. (f) Department means the Department of Agriculture. (g) Director means the Director of the Department of Agriculture. (h) Recreational use is the use of land by the public, with or without charge, for any of the following: walking, hiking, picnicking, camping, swimming, boating, hunting, or
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other outdoor games or sports for which facilities are provided for public participation. Any fee charged for the recreational use of land as defined in this subsection shall be in a reasonable amount and shall not have the effect of unduly limiting its use by the public. (i) Open space use is the use or maintenance of land in such a manner as to preserve its natural characteristics, beauty, or openness for the benefit and enjoyment of the public, or to provide essential habitat for wildlife. SOURCE: GC § 12501. 2023 NOTE: Reference to ‘territory’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.
§ 65103. Inclusion within Agricultural Preserve.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Chapter to the contrary, the following may be included within an agricultural reserve pursuant to this Chapter: (a) Land devoted to recreational use; (b) A wildlife habitat area which is a land or water area designated by the Department as an area of great importance for the protection or enhancement of the wildlife resources of Guam; (c) A submerged area which is any land determined by the Department to be submerged or subject to tidal action and found by the Department to be of great value to Guam as an open space. When such land is included within an agricultural preserve, the Department may contract with the owner for the purpose of restricting land to recreational or open space use and uses compatible therewith in the same manner as provided in this Chapter for land devoted for agricultural use. For the purpose of this section, where the term agricultural land is used in this Chapter it shall be deemed to include land devoted to recreational use and land within a wildlife habitat area or a submerged area, and where the term agricultural use is used in this Chapter it shall be deemed to include recreational and open space use.
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SOURCE: GC § 12503. 2023 NOTE: References to ‘territory’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.
ARTICLE 2 AGRICULTURAL PRESERVES
§ 65201. Establishment of Preserves.
(a) Beginning January 1, 1974, the Department, after a public hearing may establish agricultural preserves. No later than thirty (30) days prior to any such hearing the Department shall publish in a newspaper of general circulation in Guam a notice which shall include a legal description, or the assessor’s parcel number, of the land which is proposed to be included within the preserve. Such preserve shall be established for the purpose of defining the boundaries of those areas within which the Department will be willing to enter into contracts pursuant to this Chapter. An agricultural preserve shall consist of no less than ten hectares; provided, that in order to meet this requirement, two or more parcels may be combined if they are contiguous or if they are in common ownership. (b) The Department may establish agricultural preserves of less than ten hectares if it finds that smaller preserves are necessary due to the unique characteristics of the agricultural enterprises in the area, and that the establishment of preserves of less than ten hectares is consistent with the general plans of the Department.
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(c) An agricultural preserve may contain land other than agricultural land, but the use of any land within the preserve and not under contract shall within two years of the effective date of any contract on land within the preserve be restricted by zoning or other suitable means in such a way as not to be incompatible with the agricultural use of the land, the use of which is limited by contract in accordance with this Chapter. (d) Failure on the part of the Department to restrict the use of land within a preserve but not subject to contract shall not be sufficient reason to cancel or otherwise invalidate a contract. SOURCE: GC § 12504. 2023 NOTE: Reference to ‘Territory’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420. Subsection designations were added to subitems (a) through (d) to adhere to the Compiler’s alpha-numeric scheme in accordance to the authority granted by 1 GCA § 1606.
§ 65202. Rules Governing Administration and Establishing of Preserves.
For the purposes of this Chapter, the Department shall adopt rules governing the administration of agricultural preserves, including procedures for initiating, filing and processing requests to establish agricultural preserves. Such rules shall be applied uniformly throughout the preserve, shall enumerate those uses which are to be considered to be compatible uses, and may require the payment of a reasonable application fee. The same procedure that is required to establish an agricultural preserve shall be used to disestablish or to enlarge or diminish the size of an agricultural preserve. SOURCE: GC § 12505.
§ 65203. Alteration of Boundaries.
In the event any proposal to disestablish or to alter the boundary of an agricultural preserve will remove land under contract from such a preserve, notice of the proposed alteration or disestablishment and the date of the hearing shall be furnished by the board or council to the owner of the land by certified mail directed to him at his latest address known to the Department. Such notice shall also be furnished by first class mail to each
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owner of land in that preserve which has a common boundary with the land to be removed from the preserve. SOURCE: GC § 12506.
§ 65204. Guam Land Use Commission Involvement.
(a) Any proposal to establish an agricultural preserve shall be submitted to the Guam Land Use Commission. Within thirty (30) days after receiving such a proposal, the Guam Land Use Commission shall submit a report thereon to the Department; provided, however, that the Department may extend the time allowed for an additional period not to exceed thirty (30) days. (b) The report shall include a statement that the preserve is consistent, or inconsistent, with general plans, and the Department shall make a finding to such effect. Final action on the establishment of an agricultural preserve may not be taken by the Department until the report required by this section is received from the Guam Land Use Commission, or until the required thirty days have elapsed and any extensions thereof granted by the Department have elapsed. SOURCE: GC § 12507. 2023 NOTE: References to ‘Territorial’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420. Subsection designations were added to subitems (a) and (b) to adhere to the Compiler’s alpha-numeric scheme in accordance to the authority granted by 1 GCA § 1606.
§ 65205. Removal of Land from Preserve.
The effect of removal of land under contract from an agricultural preserve shall be the equivalent of notice of nonrenewal by the Department and the Department shall, at least sixty (60) days prior to the next renewal date following the removal, serve a notice of nonrenewal as provided in § 65307. Such notice of nonrenewal shall be reported as provided in § 65310. SOURCE: GC § 12508.
§ 65206. Filing of Map; Keeping Current.
Whenever an agricultural preserve is established and so long as it shall be in effect, a map of such agricultural preserve shall be
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filed and kept current by the Department of Agriculture with the Department of Land Management. SOURCE: GC § 12509.
§ 65207. Utility Facilities as Compatible Use.
Notwithstanding any determining of compatible uses by the Department pursuant to this Chapter, unless the Department, after notice and hearing, makes a finding to the contrary, the erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance of electric, water, or communication utility facilities are hereby determined to be compatible uses within any agricultural preserve. No land occupied by electric, water or communication utility facilities shall be excluded from an agricultural preserve by reason of such use. SOURCE: GC § 12510.
ARTICLE 3 CONTRACTS
§ 65301. Authority of Department to Contract. § 65302. Equality of Contracts. § 65303. Land on which Department may Contract. § 65304. Contracts. § 65305. Terms of Contract. § 65306. Term of 20 or More Years. § 65307. Notice of Nonrenewal. § 65308. Termination of Contract. § 65309. Information Furnished by Landowner. § 65310. Recording the Contract. § 65311. Enforcement of Contract.
§ 65301. Authority of Department to Contract.
The Department may, by contract, limit the use of agricultural land for the purpose of preserving such land pursuant and subject to the conditions set forth in the contract and in this Chapter. A contract may provide for restrictions, terms and conditions, including payments and fees, more restrictive than or in addition to those required in this Chapter.
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SOURCE: GC § 12511.
§ 65302. Equality of Contracts.
(a) If such a contract is made with any landowner, the Department shall offer such a contract under similar terms to every other owner of agricultural land within the agricultural preserve in question. (b) However, except as required by other provisions of this Chapter, the provisions of this section shall not be construed as requiring that all contracts affecting land within a preserve be identified, so long as such differences as exist are related to differences in location and characteristics of the land, pursuant to uniform rules adopted by the Department. SOURCE: GC § 12512. 2023 NOTE: Subsection designations were added to subitems (a) and (b) to adhere to the Compiler’s alpha-numeric scheme in accordance to the authority granted by 1 GCA § 1606.
§ 65303. Land on which Department may Contract.
The Department may not contract with respect to any land pursuant to this Chapter unless the land (a) is devoted to agricultural use, and (b) is located within an area designated as an agricultural preserve. SOURCE: GC § 12513.
§ 65304. Contracts.
Every contract shall: (a) Provide for the exclusion of uses other than agricultural and other than those compatible with agricultural use, for the duration of the contract; (b) Be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, all successors in interest to the owner. Whenever land under a contract is divided, the owner of any parcel may exercise, independent of any other owner of a portion of the divided land, any of the rights of the owner of a portion of the divided land, and any of the rights of the owner of the original contract, including the right to give notice of nonrenewal and to petition for cancellation. The effect of any such action by
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the owner of a parcel created by the division of land under contract shall not apply to the owners of the remaining parcels and shall have no effect on the contract as it applies to the remaining parcels of the divided land. SOURCE: GC § 12514.
§ 65305. Terms of Contract.
Each contract shall be for an initial term of no less than ten years. Each contract shall provide that on the anniversary date of the contract, or such other annual date as specified by the contract, a y