262.850 Establishment of agricultural districts -- Legislative purpose -- Procedure -
1,473 words·~7 min read·
/ky/262-850A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
- Periodic review -- Withdrawal from membership -- Public hearing on
condemnation -- Notification of membership to property valuation
administrator.
(1)This section shall be known as "the Agricultural District and Conservation Act."
(2)It is the policy of the state to conserve, protect, and to encourage development and
improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other
agricultural products. It is also the policy of this state to conserve and protect the
agricultural land base as a valuable natural resource which is both fragile and finite.
The pressure imposed by urban expansion, transportation systems, water
impoundments, surface mining of mineral resources, utility rights-of-way, and
industrial development has continually reduced the land resource base necessary to
sufficiently produce food and fiber for our future needs. It is the purpose of this
section to provide a means by which agricultural land may be protected and
enhanced as a viable segment of the state's economy and as an important resource.
(3)The local governing administrative body for an agricultural district shall be the
conservation district board of supervisors. The Soil and Water Conservation
Commission shall be responsible for statewide administration of the agricultural
district program and shall have sole authority to certify or deny agricultural district
petitions. The commission may apply for assistance and funds from the Federal
Farmland Protection Act of 1981, Pub. L. No. 97-377, which may be available for
the development of the agricultural district program and may accept easements as
provided in KRS 65.410 to 65.480.
(4)Any owner or owners of land may submit a petition to the local conservation
district board of supervisors requesting the creation of an agricultural district within
the county. The petition shall include a description of the proposed area, description
of each land parcel, location of the proposed boundaries, petitioners' names and
addresses, adjacent landowners' names and addresses, and other pertinent
information as required in the petition application. The boundary of an agricultural
district shall be contiguous. No land shall be included in an agricultural district
without the consent of the owner.
(5)Upon receipt of a petition, the local conservation district board of supervisors shall
notify the fiscal court and any local or regional planning or zoning body, if any, of
the proposed agricultural district, and shall notify each city that is located less than
one
(1)mile from the boundaries of the proposed agricultural district, by sending a
copy of the petition and accompanying materials to that body.
(6)The following factors shall be considered by the local conservation district board of
supervisors and the Soil and Water Conservation Commission when considering the
formation of any agricultural district:
(a)The capability of the land to support agricultural production, as indicated by:
soil, climate, topography or other natural factors;
(b)The viability of active farmlands, as indicated by: markets for farm products,
extent and nature of farm improvements, present status of farming, anticipated
trends in agricultural economic conditions and technology;
(c)That the proposed agricultural district meets the minimum size limit of fifty
(50)contiguous acres, unless the local conservation district board and the Soil
and Water Conservation Commission allow fewer than fifty
(50)contiguous
acres if the proposed area meets a minimum annual production performance
established by the district board and approved by the commission;
(d)County development patterns and needs and the location of the district in
relation to any urban development boundaries within the county;
(e)Any matter which may be relevant to evaluate the petition; and
(f)Whether an application is from more than one
(1)farm owner, in which case a
preference shall be given to the application.
(7)The local soil and water conservation district board of supervisors shall review the
petition application and submit a recommendation to the Soil and Water
Conservation Commission within one hundred
(100)days of receipt. The local
conservation district recommendation shall be submitted to the commission in the
form of approval, approval with modifications, or denial of the petition
accompanied by justification for such a denial.
(8)The Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall review the recommendation of
the district board of supervisors and certify or deny the agricultural district's
petition within one hundred
(100)days of receipt.
(9)Upon the approval of a petition by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission,
the commission shall notify the area development district in which the agricultural
district will lie, the local county clerk, the clerk of each city that is located less than
one
(1)mile from the boundaries of the approved agricultural district, and the
secretary of the Governor's Cabinet by sending a description of the boundaries and
the names and addresses of the property owners within the district.
(10)Land within the boundary of an agricultural district shall not be annexed.
(11)The owners of land within the boundary of an agricultural district shall be exempt
under KRS 74.177 from any assessment authorized for the extension of water
service lines until the land is removed from the district and developed for
nonagricultural use.
(12)Any member, or any successor heir of the member, of an agricultural district may
withdraw his or her property from the district upon notifying the local conservation
district board of supervisors in writing. The removal of the property from the
agricultural district shall be effective immediately upon the district board of
supervisors' receipt of the written notification, at which time the district board of
supervisors shall remove the property from the agricultural district and shall
immediately provide written notice of the changed boundaries to the those entities
listed in subsection
(9)of this section.
(13)It shall be the policy of all state agencies to support the formation of agricultural
districts as a means of preserving Kentucky's farmlands and to mitigate the impact
of their present and future plans and programs upon the continued agricultural use
of land within an agricultural district.
(14)Agricultural districts shall be comprised only of agricultural land as defined in KRS
132.010.
(15)An agricultural district shall be established for five
(5)years with a review to be
made by the local soil and water conservation district board of supervisors at the
end of the five-year period and every five
(5)years thereafter. Each owner of land
shall agree to remain in the district for a five
(5)year period, unless a member
elects to withdraw his or her property pursuant to subsection
(12)of this section,
which is renewable at the end of the five
(5)years. However, the board shall make a
review any time upon the written request of a local government which demonstrates
that the review is necessary in order to consider development needs of the local
government. The board shall consider whether the continued existence of the
district is justified, any adjustments which may be necessary due to urban or county
development, and other factors the board finds relevant. The board shall revise the
district as necessary based on the review and subject to approval of the State Soil
and Water Conservation Commission. Before the state commission takes final
action, all interested parties shall be given the opportunity to request the state
commission to amend or overturn the local board's decision.
(16)The withdrawal of a member from a district reducing the remaining acreage of
agricultural district land to less than fifty
(50)acres or resulting in the remaining
land being noncontiguous shall not cause the decertification of the district. The
local district board of supervisors may consider a dissolution of the agricultural
district if the withdrawal results in the remaining property within the agricultural
district no longer meeting the definition of agricultural land as defined in KRS
132.010.
(17)Any member of an agricultural district who has received a summons of
condemnation proceedings being instituted concerning the member's land located in
the district may request the local soil and water conservation district board of
supervisors to hold a public hearing on the proposed taking of land. However a
hearing under this section shall not be held if the petitioner in the condemnation
proceeding is a utility as defined in KRS 278.010(3) and obtained a certificate of
convenience and necessity as required by KRS 278.020(1).
(a)The board shall notify the local property valuation administrator of the farms
which belong to an agricultural district and whenever a farm is withdrawn
from a district. The board shall also inform all members of a district of the
right to have their land assessed by the local property valuation administrator
at the land's agricultural use value and shall offer advice and assistance on
obtaining such an assessment.
(b)The board shall also notify the local property valuation administrator
whenever a farm is released or withdrawn from an agricultural district.
(19)The board may allow an amendment to an existing certified agricultural district if
approved by the commission.