2006 Code of Virginia § 58.1-3240 - Duties of Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the State Forester and the Com...

58.1-3240. Duties of Director of the Department of Conservation andRecreation, the State Forester and the Commissioner of Agriculture andConsumer Services; remedy of person aggrieved by action or nonaction ofDirector, State Forester or Commissioner.

The Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the StateForester, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services shallprovide, after holding public hearings, to the commissioner of the revenue orduly appointed assessor of each locality adopting an ordinance pursuant tothis article, a statement of the standards referred to in 58.1-3230 andsubdivision 1 of 58.1-3233, which shall be applied uniformly throughout theCommonwealth in determining whether real estate is devoted to agriculturaluse, horticultural use, forest use or open-space use for the purposes of thisarticle and the procedure to be followed by such official to obtain theopinion referenced in subdivision 1 of 58.1-3233. Upon the refusal of theCommissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the State Forester or theDirector of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to issue an opinionor in the event of an unfavorable opinion which does not comport withstandards set forth in the statements filed pursuant to this section, theparty aggrieved may seek relief in the circuit court of the county or citywherein the real estate in question is located, and in the event that thecourt finds in his favor, it may issue an order which shall serve in lieu ofan opinion for the purposes of this article.

(Code 1950, 58-769.12; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 172; 1973, c. 209; 1984, cc.675, 739, 750; 1987, c. 550; 1989, c. 656.)