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.
(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. 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, 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 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.
(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
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.
(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 sixty (60) 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, and the secretary
of the Governor's Cabinet.
(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. 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.
(12)
It shall be the policy of all state agencies to support the formation of
agricultural
districts as a means of preserving
of their present and future plans and programs upon the
continued agricultural use
of land within an agricultural district.
(13)
Agricultural districts shall be comprised only of agricultural land as defined
in KRS
132.010.
(14)
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 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.
(15)
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.
(16)
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).
(17)
(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.
(18)
The board may allow an amendment to an existing certified agricultural district
if
approved by the commission.
Effective:
History: Amended
2000 Ky. Acts ch. 115, sec. 1, effective
1994
ch. 75, sec. 1, effective
effective