Agricultural District

Schuyler County’s Agricultural Districts

Enacted in 1971, New York’s Agricultural Districts Law (ADL) is a very effective tool for maintaining lands in agriculture and ensuring New York’s position as an outstanding agricultural state. The ADL recognizes that agricultural lands are important and irreplaceable resources, which are in jeopardy of being lost as a result of increasing operating costs, development pressures, and regulatory constraints. The law seeks to create economic and regulatory incentives that encourage farmers to continue farming. The ADL has two basic components that are related but separate: agricultural assessments, which are administered by town assessors and provide tax relief, and Agricultural District creation and review.


   

Overview of Agricultural Districts
Schuyler County has long recognized the importance of agriculture. To place additional protection on our valuable agricultural lands, the first Agricultural District was created in 1995. The county currently has three separate Agricultural Districts, which cover approximately 96,500 acres or about 46% of the county. These districts consist of viable agricultural lands--lands that are currently used for agriculture or may be used for agriculture in the future. Therefore, Agricultural Districts may include not just farm fields, but also residential, forested or commercial properties.
Ag DistrictMunicipalities
District 1Hector, part of Montour
District 2Dix, Orange, Reading, and Tyrone
District 3Catharine, Cayuta, and part of Montour

Eight Year Reviews

NYS Certified Agricultural Districts are not permanent, but instead change over time. Every 8 years, individual parcels can be added or removed from the district during this process at the landowners' request. From there, the county reviews these changes and the legislature decides whether to continue, terminate or modify the district. 

Annual Reviews

In addition to the 8-year reviews, landowners can request to have their parcels added to an Agricultural District during the Annual Review process, which takes place from January 15th to February 15th each year. Parcels cannot, however, be removed during this time as they can only be removed within the 8 year review period. Each of the three Agricultural Districts are included in the Annual Reviews, so the districts may change even on a yearly basis.

Benefits of Agricultural Districts 

Agricultural Districts provide the local farming community with certain safeguards, which have the overall goal of keeping agricultural lands in agriculture. Benefits include:
 
· Limits to Local Regulation – Local governments cannot enact any rules or regulations in Agricultural Districts that are overly burdensome to agriculture, or make it difficult or impossible to continue agricultural production.

· Limits to Publicly Funded Construction and Eminent Domain Projects – If a governmental agency would like to perform certain construction activities or would like to acquire agricultural lands in an Agricultural District, they must first go through a formal review process to determine the impacts to agriculture. A process is in place if unreasonable adverse impacts to agriculture would occur.

· Limits to Local Benefits Assessments – Local governments cannot charge benefit assessments, special ad valorem levies or other rates or fees to lands used primarily for agricultural production within an Agricultural District.

· Discouragement of Private Nuisance Lawsuits – Property owners are notified at the time of sale that their property is within an Agricultural District. Additionally, the state will determine what is considered a “sound agricultural practice.” Sound agricultural practices cannot be considered a nuisance on lands within an Agricultural District or on lands receiving an agricultural assessment.

· Consider Agricultural Impacts by All State Agencies – The Agricultural District Law ensures all state agencies seek to protect viable farmland

Frequently Asked Questions


What is an Agricultural District? An Agricultural District is a geographic area which consists predominantly of viable agricultural land. Agricultural operations within the district are the priority land use and afforded benefits and protections to promote the continuation of farming and the preservation of agricultural land. In practice, districts may include land that is actively farmed, idle, forested, as well as residential and commercial.

Do Agricultural Districts impact taxes? No. Being in an agricultural district does not affect your taxes but agricultural lands may qualify for a property tax reduction through the Agricultural Value Assessments program. Though Agricultural Value Assessments and Agricultural Districts are governed by the same law, the processes are completely independent.
 
Property taxes are based on the current land use and are determined by your town's Assessor. Your property taxes will not increase nor decrease if you choose to enroll your property in an Agricultural District.

Are Agricultural Districts part of zoning? No. Agricultural Districts are not the same as zoning. Enrolling your property in an Agricultural District does not change your property class with your local assessor's office. 

Does enrolling in an Agricultural District restrict me from doing certain things on my land? No. The agricultural district does not put any restrictions on what you can do to the land. They do not prevent you from developing your land into residential or commercial uses in the future. Their main goal is to provide protections for current and potential agricultural lands and to encourage agriculture to continue. You may build new structures on land in the Agricultural District, following the same process as lands outside of the Agricultural District.

Do Agricultural Districts prohibit selling land? No. Being in an Agricultural District does not prohibit you from the selling your land, and the New York State Agricultural District Law (ADL) does not restrict the transfer of real property. The ADL does provide for a real estate transfer disclosure by the seller to the prospective purchaser. The disclosure states that the property is located within an Agricultural District and that farming activities including noise, dust and odors occur within the district.

Where can I find out if my property is in an Agricultural District? You can call the Schuyler County Planning Department at 607-535-8211 or go to Cornell University's Geospatial website to review a map. 

What is an Agricultural District review? Districts are reviewed every 8 years. The County Legislature, after receiving the County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board report and conducting a public hearing, determines whether the District shall be continued, terminated or modified. During the review process, land may be added or removed from the District.

Counties are also required to designate an annual 30-day period when landowners may petition the County for inclusion of viable agricultural lands into an existing Agricultural District. In Schuyler County, the annual review takes place from January 15th – February 15th each year. 

Do non-farming residents benefit from Agricultural Districts? Everyone benefits. Besides its value for the production of food, agricultural land provides many environmental benefits including groundwater recharge, open space, and scenic viewsheds. Agriculture benefits local economies too, by providing on-farm jobs and supporting agribusinesses. Agricultural land requires fewer public services than developed land and results in cost savings for local communities.

Does an Agricultural District guarantee a farmer’s “right to farm”? The New York State Agricultural District Law (ADL) protects farm operations within an Agricultural District from the enactment and administration of unreasonably restrictive local regulations unless it can be shown that public health or safety is threatened. The Department of Ag and Markets evaluates the reasonableness of a specific requirement or process imposed on a farm operation on a case-by-case basis. The Commissioner of the Department of Ag and Markets may institute an action or compel a municipality to comply with this provision of the ADL.

Do Agricultural Districts consist entirely of farmland? Districts must consist predominantly of viable agricultural land. Predominance has been interpreted as more than 50 percent of land in farms, but most districts have a higher percentage. The benefits and protections under the ADL, however, apply only to farm operations and land used in agricultural production.

Does an Agricultural District preserve farmland? Agricultural districts do not preserve farmland in the sense that the use of land is restricted to agricultural production forever. Rather, districts provide benefits that help make and keep farming as a viable economic activity, thereby maintaining land in active agricultural use.

Do Agricultural Districts eliminate a municipality’s ability to control growth? No. To the contrary, an agricultural district can be an effective tool in helping local governments to manage growth. The existence of a district, for example, can help direct development away from traditional farming areas.

Can government acquire or condemn farmland within an Agricultural District against a landowner’s wishes?
The Agricultural Districts Law does not supersede government’s right to acquire land for essential public facilities. However, it does require a process that assures a full evaluation of the effect of government sponsored acquisition projects on the retention and enhancement of agriculture and agricultural resources within a district.