Press Release:
From Jan. 26 to Feb. 24 a land owner may submit a request to include entire parcels of predominantly viable agricultural land within a certified New York State Agricultural District.
NYS Agricultural and Markets Law requires that the County Legislature designate an annual thirty-day time period within which a land owner may submit a request for inclusion of property within a certified agricultural district.
This annual time occurs in Genesee County from Jan. 26 to Feb. 24 and is exclusively designed to incorporate property that is predominantly viable agricultural land – defined by Genesee County as lands that are composed of at least 51% prime farmland soils and/or are contiguous to the main farm operation.
Applications for the inclusion of land are available at the Genesee County Department of Planning in County Building No. 2 (3837 W Main Street Rd, Batavia) or can be downloaded or printed by visiting the website:
http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/planning/agricultural_farmland_protection_board.php#annualenrollment
The application must be completed and signed by the landowner and returned to the Genesee County Department of Planning by 5 p.m. on Feb. 24. Due to the language of the NYS Agricultural and Markets Law, no applications can be accepted before Jan. 26.
PLEASE NOTE: Requesting enrollment of property during this thirty-day time period is not a guarantee that your property will be added to an existing Agricultural District, and it will not automatically qualify your property for a reduced agricultural property tax assessment. For information on obtaining a reduced agricultural property tax assessment, you must contact your local assessor. Please remember, that the Taxable Status Date is March 1.
