The Advisory Board may establish a policy that is more restrictive than state policy. The requirements for the Carroll County Agricultural Land Preservation Program shall be subject to the MALPF eligibility criteria per § 159.05 of this chapter, except where the Carroll County program may be more restrictive.
(A) Priorities for agricultural land preservation.
(1) Pursuant to the authority contained in Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5, priorities for the preservation of agricultural land in the county are established. These priorities shall be used by the Advisory Board and the County Commissioners in the approval of easement purchases, either in the state MALPF program, the County Agricultural Land Preservation Program, or other land preservation programs in operation. These priorities shall, however, be considered and applied as general guidelines that permit discretion in certain cases.
(2) The state has a policy of establishing the maximum number of applications that can be approved by a county. If this policy prevents the county from approving all applications, the applications shall be ranked for approval according to a scoring system recommended by the Advisory Board and approved by the County Commissioners.
(3) The acceptance of easements in areas where none presently exist is encouraged. However, in recommending approval of any such easement, the Advisory Board shall seek to ensure that sufficient land is available for expansion of the easement block.
(4) The emphasis is on active, working farms; however, other attributes may be considered and may differ between programs. The active agricultural uses should make a significant contribution to the productive capabilities of the farm or significantly enhance its worth for preservation. Woodland areas shall qualify as active agricultural uses.
(B) Minimum eligibility.
(1) Soil types. Subject to the requirements of Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5, and COMAR 15.15.01.01.
(2) Size. The proposed farm shall be a minimum of 60 acres in size. The Advisory Board may consider a farm with less acres if the proposed farm is contiguous to an existing farm in one of the land preservation programs administered by the county.
(3) Whole farms. The Advisory Board seeks the participation of and gives preference to complete farming units. The Advisory Board may choose to exclude portions of the property with certain uses from the deed of easement.
(4) Subdivision/off conveyances. In most cases, the Advisory Board shall not recommend approval for easements when all of the off conveyances and residential subdivision lots to which the property is entitled have been created. If some but not all of the off conveyances and/or subdivision lots allowed by the Zoning Chapter have been created, the Advisory Board shall consider the impact of this residential may have been entitled to under this section. Such agreement of the owner shall be made a part of the easement agreement. Every application for easement purchase shall contain a statement delineating the lots created, if any, since February 14, 1978.
(C) Ranking.
(1) Once minimum eligibility requirements have been met and the application for an individual farm is deemed complete, the Program Manager shall evaluate and score the farm, based on a priority scoring system in effect at the time of application and recommended by the Advisory Board and approved by the County Commissioners.
(2) The application shall be presented to the Advisory Board within 60 days of the Program Manager deeming it complete. The Advisory Board shall decide whether or not to include the farm in the ranking system.
(D) Lot approvals after easement purchase. Subject to the requirements of Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5, and COMAR 15.15.01.01.
(E) Restricted land. Subject to the requirements of Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5 and COMAR 15.15.01.01.
(F) Sale of development rights easements. Subject to the requirements of Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5 and COMAR 15.15.01.01.
(1) Offers to sell. Subject to the requirements of Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5 and COMAR 15.15.01.01.
(2) Local approval for state easements. Subject to the requirements of Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Title 2, Subtitle 5 and COMAR 15.15.01.01.
(G) Acquisition of a land preservation easement by the county.
(1) The County Commissioners may acquire an agricultural preservation easement on a property (or land) if the acquisition is consistent with the policies and goals of the Carroll County Agricultural Land Preservation Program and the acquisition has been recommended by the Advisory Board and approved by the County Commissioners.
(2) The value of an easement acquired under this section shall be determined by the valuation method of the current easement acquisition program of MALPF or any other valuation method recommended by the Advisory Board and approved by the County Commissioners.
(3) The form and terms of the deed of easement shall be consistent with the deed of easement used by the concurrent MALPF program or any other form and terms recommended by the Advisory Board and approved by the County Commissioners. The Advisory Board may recommend, and the County Commissioners may approve, amended terms of the easement. Amended terms shall be included in a staff report for the Advisory Board's recommendation and County Commissioners' approval. The deed of easement may be held solely by the County Commissioners or held jointly by the County Commissioners and MALPF or another land preservation program.
(Ord. 2022-13, passed 8-25-2022)