2023 New York Laws › AGM - Agriculture and Markets › Article 25-AA - Agricultural Districts › 306 - Agricultural Lands Outside of Districts; Agricultural Assessments.

§   306.   Agricultural   lands  outside  of  districts;  agricultural
assessments. 1. Any  owner  of  land  used  in  agricultural  production
outside   of   an   agricultural  district  shall  be  eligible  for  an
agricultural assessment as provided herein. If an applicant  rents  land
from  another  for  use in conjunction with the applicant's land for the
production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products, the gross
sales value of such products on such rented land shall be added  to  the
gross sales value of such products produced on the land of the applicant
for  purposes  of determining eligibility for an agricultural assessment
on the land of the applicant.
Such assessment shall be granted pursuant to paragraphs a, b and f  of
subdivision one of section three hundred five of this article as if such
land  were  in an agricultural district, provided the landowner annually
submits to the assessor an application for an agricultural assessment on
or before the taxable status date. In  the  year  of  a  revaluation  or
update of assessments, as those terms are defined in section one hundred
two  of the real property tax law, the application may be filed with the
assessor no later than the thirtieth day prior to the day by  which  the
tentative  assessment  roll  is  required  to  be  filed by law. Nothing
therein shall  be  construed  to  limit  an  applicant's  discretion  to
withhold  from  such application any land, or portion thereof, contained
within a single operation.
2. a. (i) If land which received an agricultural  assessment  pursuant
to  this  section  is  converted at any time within eight years from the
time an agricultural assessment was last received, such conversion shall
subject the land so converted to payments in compensation for the  prior
benefits  of  agricultural assessments. The amount of the payments shall
be equal to five times the taxes saved in the last year  in  which  land
benefited  from an agricultural assessment, plus interest of six percent
per year compounded annually for each  year  in  which  an  agricultural
assessment was granted, not exceeding five years.
(ii)  The  amount  of  taxes saved for the last year in which the land
benefited  from  an  agricultural  assessment  shall  be  determined  by
applying the applicable tax rates to the amount of assessed valuation of
such  land  in excess of the agricultural assessment of such land as set
forth on the last assessment roll which indicates  such  an  excess.  If
only  a  portion  of  such  land  as described on the assessment roll is
converted, the assessor shall apportion the assessment and  agricultural
assessment  attributable to the converted portion, as determined for the
last assessment roll on which the assessment of  such  portion  exceeded
its  agricultural  assessment.  The  difference  between the apportioned
assessment and the apportioned  agricultural  assessment  shall  be  the
amount upon which payments shall be determined. Payments shall be levied
in  the  same  manner  as  other  taxes,  by or on behalf of each taxing
jurisdiction on the assessment roll prepared on the basis of  the  first
taxable  status  date  on  which the assessor considers the land to have
been converted; provided, however, that no payments shall be imposed  if
the  last  assessment  roll  upon  which  the property benefited from an
agricultural assessment, was more than eight years prior to the year for
which the assessment roll upon which payments would otherwise be  levied
is prepared.
(iii)  Whenever  a  conversion  occurs,  the  owner  shall  notify the
assessor within ninety days of the date such conversion is commenced. If
the landowner fails to make such  notification  within  the  ninety  day
period,  the assessing unit, by majority vote of the governing body, may
impose a penalty on behalf of the assessing unit of up to two times  the
total  payments  owed,  but not to exceed a maximum total penalty of one
thousand dollars in addition to any payments owed.
b. (i) An assessor who determines that there is liability for payments
and any penalties pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph  shall
notify  the  landowner  of such liability at least ten days prior to the
day for hearing of complaints in relation to  assessments.  Such  notice
shall  specify  the area subject to payments and shall describe how such
payments shall be determined. Failure to provide such notice  shall  not
affect the levy, collection, or enforcement of payments.
(ii)  Liability  for  payments  shall be subject to administrative and
judicial review as provided by law for the review of assessments.
(iii) An assessor who imposes any such payments  shall  annually,  and
within  forty-five days following the date on which the final assessment
roll is required to be filed, report such payments to  the  commissioner
of taxation and finance on a form prescribed by the commissioner.
(iv)  The assessing unit, by majority vote of the government body, may
impose a minimum payment amount, not to exceed five hundred dollars.
c. If such land or any portion thereof is converted by virtue of  oil,
gas  or  wind  exploration,  development,  or  extraction activity or by
virtue of a taking by eminent domain  or  other  involuntary  proceeding
other  than  a  tax  sale, the land or portion so converted shall not be
subject to payments. If land so converted constitutes only a portion  of
a  parcel described on the assessment roll, the assessor shall apportion
the assessment, and adjust the agricultural assessment  attributable  to
the  portion of the parcel not subject to such conversion by subtracting
the proportionate part of the agricultural  assessment  attributable  to
the  portion  so  converted.  Provided  further  that  land  outside  an
agricultural  district  and  eligible  for  an  agricultural  assessment
pursuant  to this section shall not be considered to have been converted
to a use other than  for  agricultural  production  solely  due  to  the
conveyance of oil, gas or wind rights associated with that land.
d.  The  purchase of land in fee by the city of New York for watershed
protection purposes or the conveyance of a conservation easement by  the
city  of  New York to the department of environmental conservation which
prohibits future use of the land for agricultural purposes shall not  be
a  conversion  of  parcels  and  no  payment  for  the prior benefits of
agricultural assessments shall be due under this section.
3. Upon the inclusion of such agricultural lands  in  an  agricultural
district  formed pursuant to section three hundred three, the provisions
of section three hundred five shall be controlling.
4. A payment levied pursuant to subparagraph (i)  of  paragraph  a  of
subdivision  two  of  this  section shall be a lien on the entire parcel
containing the converted land, notwithstanding that less than the entire
parcel was converted.
5. Use of assessment for certain purposes. The  governing  body  of  a
water,  lighting, sewer, sanitation, fire, fire protection, or ambulance
district for whose benefit a special assessment or a special ad  valorem
levy  is imposed, may adopt a resolution to provide that the assessments
determined pursuant to subdivision one  of  this  section  for  property
within  the district shall be used for the special assessment or special
ad valorem levy of such special district.