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In this Chapter, the following words and phrases have the meanings indicated:
Agricultural Board or APAB means the County Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board.
Agricultural Easement means a covenant running with the land that restricts the uses permitted on the property to other uses as specified in this Chapter.
Agriculture means:
(1) the business, science, and art of cultivating and managing the soil;
(2) composting, growing, harvesting, and selling crops and livestock, and the products of forestry, horticulture, and hydroponics;
(3) breeding, raising, or managing livestock, including horses, poultry, fish, game, and fur- bearing animals, dairying, beekeeping and similar activities; and
(4) equestrian events and activities.
Agriculture includes processing an agricultural product on the farm in the course of preparing the product for market, which may or may not cause a change in the natural form or state of the product.
Agriculture Article means the Agriculture Article of the Maryland Code.
Buildable Lot means a parcel of land on which the owner has retained the right to build a principal dwelling.
Foundation means the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
Fund means the County’s Agricultural Land Preservation Fund.
Landowner means a fee simple owner of land located in the County on which a landowner proposes to sell or has sold an agricultural easement to the State or the County.
Office means the Office of Agriculture.
Planning Board means the Montgomery County Planning Board.
Principal Dwelling means a residential structure on farm property which serves as the property’s primary residence.
Productive Agricultural Land means land eligible to be included in an agricultural easement under County or Foundation regulations.
Significant Agricultural Resource or Significant Agricultural Capability means land which, if properly agronomically managed and under normal growing conditions, the Office, after consulting local agricultural support agencies, finds can sustain a profitable farm enterprise.
Solar Collection System means an arrangement of panels or other solar energy devices that provide for the collection, inversion, storage, and distribution of solar energy for electricity generation, space heating, space cooling, or water heating. A Solar Collection System includes freestanding or mounted devices.
State Agricultural Easement means an easement established under Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article.
Tenant House means a residential structure on land under an agricultural easement that serves as an accessory use to the principal dwelling. (2008 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 33, §1.)
The Office must:
(a) administer this Chapter and the regulations issued under it;
(b) foster agricultural preservation;
(c) administer programs associated with the Soil Conservation District and the Cooperative Extension Service;
(d) develop the agricultural economy; and
(e) perform other duties as assigned by the County Executive. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1.)
(a) Generally. The Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board is established under Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article.
(b) Composition.
(1) The County Executive must appoint, subject to confirmation by the County Council, 5 members to the APAB.
(2) 3 members must be owner-operators of commercial farm land and earn at least 50% of their income from farming.
(3) Each member must be a resident of the County.
(c) Terms of office.
(1) The term of each member is 5 years.
(2) A member must not serve more than 2 consecutive full terms. An appointee to fill a vacancy before a term expires serves the rest of the unexpired term.
(3) A member serves without compensation. However, a member may request reimbursement for mileage and dependent care costs at rates established by the County.
(d) Duties and responsibilities.
(1) As required by Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article, the APAB must:
(A) advise the County on the purchase of State and County agricultural easements;
(B) assist the County in reviewing the status of agricultural land, including farming productivity under State and County agricultural easements;
(C) advise the Foundation concerning County priorities for agricultural preservation; and
(D) promote preservation of agriculture in the County by offering information and assistance to landowners on the purchase of State and County agricultural easements.
(2) The APAB may:
(A) delineate areas of productive agricultural land in the County;
(B) recommend to the Executive procedures to mediate or arbitrate disputes on the value of agricultural easements which the County may buy;
(C) review and make recommendations on regulations regarding State and County agricultural easements;
(D) recommend County policies and programs to preserve agriculture;
(E) cooperate with the Planning Board, the Cooperative Extension Office, and the Soil Conservation District in carrying out its responsibilities; and
(F) perform other duties the County Executive assigns.
(e) Advocacy. The Board must not engage in any advocacy activity at the State or federal levels unless that activity is approved by the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. (2008 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1.)
(a) A landowner seeking to place land under an agricultural easement must file a petition with the APAB requesting an application for the purchase of an easement by the Foundation.
(b) The APAB must advise the County Council whether the applicant’s land meets the qualifications established by the Foundation and recommend whether the Foundation should buy an agricultural easement.
(c) The APAB must refer the application to the Planning Board. The Planning Board must advise the Council if:
(1) the proposed agricultural easement is compatible with existing and approved County plans and overall policy; and
(2) the Planning Board recommends buying an agricultural easement on the applicant’s land.
(d) If either the APAB or the Planning Board recommends approval, the County Council must hold a public hearing on the proposed easement. The Office must give adequate notice of the hearing to the owner of any land adjacent to the proposed agricultural easement.
(e) The Council must decide if the application for the proposed agricultural easement should be recommended to the Foundation for approval.
(1) If the Council recommends approval of the application, the Council must notify and forward to the Foundation its recommendation and relevant information about the proposed easement, including the recommendations of the APAB and the Planning Board.
(2) If the Council recommends denial of the application, the Council must notify the Foundation and the landowner of its decision.
(f) The Foundation may approve an application for a proposed agricultural easement only if:
(1) the land in the proposed agricultural easement meets the following qualifications established by the Foundation:
(A) any productivity, acreage, and locational criteria necessary to continue farming;
(B) the land must be at least 50 acres; and
(C) any other eligibility requirement in Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article;
(2) the Council recommended approval of the proposed easement; and
(3) a majority of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees approves buying the proposed easement.
(g) If the Foundation buys an agricultural easement, the County may make an additional payment to the landowner of up to 15% of the State’s purchase price of the easement under regulations issued under this Chapter. The Executive must specify the percentage used to determine the payment each year and publish that number in the County Register.
(h) (1) The procedures governing State agricultural easements, including the application process, the maximum value of any easement bought, the source of funds to buy an easement, and the restrictions required in easements, are contained in Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article and the regulations issued under Subtitle 5 of Title 2.
(2) If any conflict arises between this Chapter and its regulations and Subtitle 5 of Title 2 and its regulations, the State law and State regulations govern.
(i) The Office must work with the State to record each State agricultural easement in the County land records. The recordation of a State agricultural easement is not subject to any County recordation or transfer tax. (2008 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1.)
(a) Permitted uses. The following activities are permitted on land under a State agricultural easement:
(1) any agricultural use of land;
(2) operation at any time of any machinery used in farm production or the primary processing of agricultural products;
(3) any normal agricultural operations performed in accordance with good husbandry practices which does not cause bodily injury or directly endanger human health; and
(4) sale of farm products at a farm market.
(b) Uses not permitted; release.
(1) Land under a State agricultural easement must not be subdivided or used for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes. However, the Foundation may approve, after receiving a written application, the release of any easement restriction for:
(A) the landowner who originally sold the easement, to use 1 acre or less to build one or more dwelling houses for the use only of that landowner or a child of the landowner, up to a maximum of 3 lots, subject to the requirements in Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article; and
(B) a landowner to build housing for one or more tenants who are fully engaged in operating the farm if the landowner meets the following requirements:
(i) the use must not exceed 1 tenant house for each 100 acres, unless the Foundation allows an exception in a case of compelling need;
(ii) the land where a tenant house is located must not be subdivided or conveyed to any person;
(iii) the tenant house must not be conveyed separately from the original parcel; and
(iv) any other requirement in Subtitle 5 of Title 2 of the Agriculture Article.
(2) Purchase of an agricultural easement by the Foundation does not grant the public any right of access or right to use the land included under the easement.
(3) Any land under a State agricultural easement must not be condemned for public use unless no other reasonable alternative is available. (2008 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1.)
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