N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 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.