(a) If an application for conversion is not required pursuant to Section 4621 of the Public Resources Code, the board or council may approve the immediate rezoning request only if by a four-fifths vote of the full board or council it makes written findings that all of the following exist:
(1) The immediate rezoning would be in the public interest.
(2) The immediate rezoning does not have a substantial and unmitigated adverse effect upon the continued timber-growing use or open-space use of other land zoned as timberland production 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 will be suitable for the uses proposed by the applicant if the immediate rezoning is approved.
(4) The immediate rezoning is not inconsistent with the purposes of subdivision (j) of Section 3 of Article XIII of the Constitution and of this chapter.
(b) The existence of an opportunity for an alternative use of the land shall not alone be sufficient reason for granting a request for immediate rezoning pursuant to this section. Immediate rezoning 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 approval of immediate rezoning pursuant to this section. 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) Immediate rezoning action shall comply with all the applicable provisions of state law and local ordinances.
(e) The county or city may require the payment of a fee by the landowner for the cost of processing the application and recording the necessary documentation.
(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1489, Sec. 21.)