(A) A member of the Woodford County Rural Land Board shall view each parcel of eligible land and a written report shall be made to the Woodford County Rural Land Board prioritizing the applications according to the selection criteria established pursuant to § 154.45.
(B) The Woodford County Rural Land Board may, by majority vote of those voting members present, determine to hear appeals from those landowners who are dissatisfied either with determinations of the Woodford County Rural Land Board as to their eligibility pursuant to § 154.45, or as to the evaluation and scoring of their application pursuant to § 154.46. The Board shall determine by majority vote of those voting members present:
(1) How appeals will be heard, unless it has adopted a specific bylaw or regulation to govern those proceedings; and
(2) Whether remedial action will be taken.
(C) After consideration of the written report of the Woodford County Rural Land Board, as well as the inspections of the parcels of land and the determinations made on appeals, if any, the Woodford County Rural Land Board shall upon a vote of 7 voting members determine which landowners the Woodford County Rural Land Board shall submit to an accredited land trust to begin negotiations for purchase of a conservation easement. This determination shall be made in accordance with the goal of purchasing conservation easements from as many rural landowners as possible in order to accumulate a critical mass of land to be retained in the future for agricultural, rural and natural lands preservation and management purposes, without overlooking the future urban needs of the community. The Board shall not be required to purchase conservation easements in the exact order of priority of applications as determined by the selection criteria established pursuant to § 154.45, so long as it proceeds in compliance with this section, pursues the purchase of highest priority conservation easements first, gives due consideration to each application, and gives consideration to all of the goals of the most recently adopted comprehensive plan.
(Ord. 2009-06, passed 7-14-2009; Am. Ord. 2023-05, passed 5-23-2023)