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262.850
Establishment of agricultural districts -- Legislative purpose -Procedure -- Periodic review -- Withdrawal from membership -- Public
hearing on condemnation -- Notification of membership to property
valuation administrator.
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This section shall be known as "the Agricultural District and Conservation Act."
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.
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. 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.
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.
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, by sending a copy of the petition and accompanying materials to that
body.
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;
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That the proposed agricultural district meets the minimum size limit of two
hundred fifty (250) contiguous acres, unless the local conservation district
board and the Soil and Water Conservation Commission allow fewer than
two hundred fifty (250) 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.
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 sixty (60) 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.
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 sixty (60) days of receipt.
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, and the secretary of the
Governor's Cabinet.
Land within the boundary of an agricultural district shall not be annexed.
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. Any member, or any successor heir of the member, of
an agricultural district may withdraw from the district upon notifying the local
conservation district board of supervisors in writing.
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.
Agricultural districts shall be comprised only of agricultural land as defined in
KRS 132.010.
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, 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
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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.
The withdrawal of a member from a district reducing the remaining acreage of
agricultural district land to less than two hundred fifty (250) acres or resulting in
the remaining land being noncontiguous shall not cause the decertification of
the district.
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.
The board may allow an amendment to an existing certified agricultural district
if approved by the commission.
Effective:July 14, 2000
History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 115, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 390, sec. 32, effective July 15, 1994. -- Amended
1984 Ky. Acts ch. 75, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1984. -- Created 1982 Ky. Acts
ch. 451, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1982.
Legislative Research Commission Note (9/25/2014). In subsection (7) of this
statute, the Reviser of Statutes has changed "Soil and Water Commission" to
read "Soil and Water Conservation Commission" to correct a manifest clerical or
typographical error under the authority of KRS 7.136(1)(h).
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