§ 2-509. Agricultural districts
West's Annotated Code of MarylandAgricultureEffective: July 1, 2014
Effective: July 1, 2014
MD Code, Agriculture, § 2-509
§ 2-509. Agricultural districts
(a)(1) The Foundation shall follow the provisions under this section for the easement application process.
(b) Regulations and procedures adopted by the Foundation for the purchase of easements shall provide that:
(1) One or more owners of land actively devoted to agricultural use may file an application with the county governing body requesting the purchase of an easement by the Foundation on the land owned by the applicants. The application shall include maps and descriptions of the current use of land for the proposed easement, and any other information required by the Foundation to evaluate the land for purchase of an easement.
(i) After the referral of an application, the agricultural preservation advisory board shall advise the county governing body as to whether or not the land for the proposed easement meets the qualifications established by the Foundation under subsection (d) of this section, and whether or not the advisory board recommends the purchase of the easement.
1. Take into consideration criteria and standards established by the Foundation under this subtitle, current local regulations, local patterns of land development, the kinds of development pressures currently existing on the land for the proposed easement, State smart growth goals, and any locally established priorities for the preservation of agricultural land; and
(iii) After the referral of an application, the county planning and zoning body shall advise the local governing body as to whether or not the purchase of the easement is compatible with existing and approved county plans and overall county policy, and whether or not the planning and zoning body recommends the purchase of the easement.
(3) If either the agricultural preservation advisory board or the planning and zoning body recommends approval, the county governing body shall hold a public hearing on the application for the proposed easement. Adequate notice of the hearing shall be given to all owners whose land would be encumbered by the proposed easement and all owners whose land is contiguous to the land for the proposed easement.
A. The county governing body's locally established priorities as approved by the Foundation, which for purposes of enhancing competitive bidding may include a system that ranks properties in ascending order with respect to the proportion obtained by dividing the asking price by the value of the easement; and
(c) Regulations and procedures adopted by the Foundation for the purchase and monitoring of easements may not require, in Garrett County or Allegany County, a natural gas rights owner or lessee to subordinate its interest to the Foundation's interest if the Foundation determines that exercise of the natural gas rights will not interfere with an agricultural operation conducted on land subject to an easement.
(d) Regulations and criteria developed by the Foundation relating to land which may be considered for purchase of an easement shall provide that:
Credits
Added by Acts 1977, c. 883. Amended by Acts 1986, c. 5, § 1; Acts 1994, c. 3, § 1, eff. Feb. 28, 1994; Acts 1995, c. 3, § 1, eff. March 7, 1995; Acts 1996, c. 10, § 1, eff. April 9, 1996; Acts 1999, c. 653, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1999; Acts 2000, c. 61, § 1, eff. April 25, 2000; Acts 2001, c. 642, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, c. 117, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2003; Acts 2004, c. 189, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2004; Acts 2005, c. 25, § 1, eff. April 12, 2005; Acts 2006, c. 192, § 1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2007, c. 650, § 1, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2012, c. 180, § 1, eff. June 30, 2012; Acts 2014, c. 287, § 1, eff. July 1, 2014.
MD Code, Agriculture, § 2-509, MD AGRIC § 2-509
Current with all legislation from the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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