Opinion No. (1999)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE JACK O'CONNELL, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a school district construct an elementary school on land designated for "agricultural, open space, or rural land use" under a county ordinance that was adopted by the electorate as an initiative measure amending the county's general plan? CONCLUSION A school district may construct an elementary school on land designated for "agricultural, open space, or rural land use" under a county ordinance that was adopted by the electorate as an initiative measure amending the county's general plan, provided the governing board of the school district, by vote of two-thirds of its members, renders the ordinance inapplicable to the proposed use of the property and such action is not arbitrary and capricious. ANALYSIS We are informed that a school district intends to construct an elementary school on property that has been operated as a ranch in a rural area of the county. The land is designated for "agricultural, open space, or rural land use" under a voter approved ordinance that amended the county's…