N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 480-a: Taxation of forest land

§ 480-a. Taxation of forest land. 1. As used in this section:

(a) "Approved management plan" shall mean:

(i) a plan approved by the department for the management of an

eligible tract which shall contain requirements and standards to ensure

the continuing production of a merchantable forest crop selected by the

owner. Every approved management plan shall set forth requirements and

standards relating to stocking, cutting, forest management access, and

any specified use of the eligible tract other than for the production of

a merchantable forest crop which is desired by the owner and compatible

with or supportive of the continuing production of a merchantable forest

crop. Such plan shall include provisions accommodating endangered and

threatened animals and plants. Such plan must be prepared by or under

the direct supervision of a forester who may be the owner or an agent of

the owner, including an industrial forester or a cooperating consultant

forester; or

(ii) participation in a forest certification program (such as Forest

Stewardship Council certification, Sustainable Forestry Initiative;

American Tree Farm Program, etc.) recognized in the regulations of the

department.

(b) "Commitment" shall mean a declaration to the department made on an

annual basis by the owner of a certified eligible tract committing such

tract to continued forest crop production for the next succeeding ten

years under an approved management plan.

(c) "Cooperating consultant forester" shall mean a qualified forester

who, or a qualified forestry consultant firm which, has entered into an

agreement with the department under the New York state cooperating

consultant foresters program pursuant to section 9-0713 of the

environmental conservation law.

(d) "Department" shall mean the department of environmental

conservation.

(e) "Eligible tract" shall mean a tract of privately owned forest land

of at least fifty contiguous acres, exclusive of any portion thereof not

devoted to the production of forest crops. Lands divided by federal,

state, county or town roads, easements or rights-of-way, or energy

transmission corridors or similar facilities will be considered

contiguous for purposes of this section, unless vehicular access for

forest management purposes is precluded. Lands from which a merchantable

forest crop has been cut or removed within three years prior to the time

of application for certification under this section will be ineligible

unless such cutting or removal was accomplished under a forest

management program designed to provide for the continuing production of

merchantable forest crops.

(f) "Forest land" shall mean land exclusively devoted to and suitable

for forest crop production through natural regeneration or through

forestation and shall be stocked with a stand of forest trees sufficient

to produce a merchantable forest crop within thirty years of the time of

original certification.

(g) "Merchantable forest crop" shall mean timber or pulpwood,

including veneer bolts, sawlogs, poles, posts and fuelwood, that is

produced on forest land, has a value in the market and may be sold.

(h) "Stumpage value" shall mean the current market worth of a

merchantable forest crop as it stands at the time of sale, cutting,

required cutting or removal.

2. (a) An owner of an eligible tract may make application to the

department for certification under this section on forms prescribed by

the department. If the department finds that such tract is an eligible

tract it shall forward a certificate of approval to the owner thereof,

together with the approved management plan, and a copy of a commitment

certified by the department for the eligible tract.

(b) The department shall, after public hearings, adopt and promulgate

rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the

department's responsibilities pursuant to this section. Such regulations

relating to approved management plans or amendments thereto may provide

for alternative or contingent requirements and standards based on the

size and nature of the tract and other criteria consistent with

environmentally and economically sound silvicultural practices.

(c) Any tract certified pursuant hereto shall be subject to the

provisions of this section. The obligations of this section shall

devolve upon and the benefits inure to the owner, his heirs, successors

and assigns.

3. (a) To qualify for a forest land exemption under this section the

owner of a certified eligible tract shall:

(i) file the certificate of approval in the office of the clerk of the

county or counties in which such tract is situated. Such certificate

shall specify that the tract described therein is committed to continued

forest crop production for an initial period of ten years. Upon receipt

of such certificate, the county clerk shall record the same in the books

kept for the recording of deeds and shall index the same in the deed

index against the name of the owner of the property. Until notice of

revocation of the certificate of approval has been recorded and indexed

as provided in subdivision seven or eight of this section, a certificate

that has been recorded and indexed pursuant to this subdivision shall

give notice that the certified tract is subject to the provisions of

this section; and

(ii) prior to the taxable status date for the first assessment roll

upon which such exemption is sought, file an initial application for

exemption with the appropriate assessor on forms prescribed by the

commissioner. Such application must be accompanied by a certified

commitment issued by the department pursuant to subdivision two of this

section; and

(iii) prior to the taxable status date for each subsequent assessment

roll upon which such exemption is sought, file with the appropriate

assessor a certified commitment of such tract to continued forest crop

production for the next succeeding ten years under the approved

management plan. Application for such commitment shall be made by the

owner of such tract to the department, and the commitment shall be

certified by the department.

(b) If the assessor is satisfied that the requirements of this section

are met, he or she shall approve the application and such eligible tract

shall be exempt from taxation pursuant to subdivision four of this

section to be effective as of the first taxable status date occurring

subsequent to such approval, and shall continue to be so exempt

thereafter upon receipt by the assessor of a certified commitment filed

in accordance with subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this

subdivision and so long as the certification of the eligible tract shall

not be revoked by the department.

(c) Failure on the part of the owner to file the certified commitment

in any year following initial certification will result in the

termination of the forest land exemption under this section, if any,

applicable to the property for that and succeeding taxable years for

which no such commitments are filed. Failure to file a commitment will

not constitute a conversion of the tract or breach of the approved

management plan, pursuant to subdivision seven hereof, and the

commitment of the property to forest crop production under the approved

management plan shall remain in force for the next succeeding nine years

following the last taxable year for which a certified commitment was

filed.

(d) Following failure to file a certified commitment in one or more

years, in order to obtain a forest land exemption under this section, an

owner of a certified tract may submit a certified commitment to the

assessor before the taxable status date in any subsequent year, except

that a new application under paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this

section and subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision also

shall be required if more than five years have elapsed since the owner's

last certified commitment was filed. Such new application also shall be

required whenever, during the preceding year, the approved management

plan has been amended with respect to the acreage or location of forest

land committed to forest crop production under this section.

4. (a) Certified eligible tracts approved for exemption under this

section shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of eighty per centum

of the assessed valuation thereof, or to the extent that the assessed

valuation exceeds the amount resulting from multiplying the latest state

equalization rate or, where a special equalization rate has been

established pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-four of this

chapter for the purposes of this section, the special equalization rate

by forty dollars per acre, whichever is the lesser.

(b) The assessed value of the exemption, if any, granted pursuant to

this section shall be entered by the assessor on the assessment roll in

such manner as shall be prescribed by the commissioner.

(c) Where a special equalization rate has been established by the

commissioner pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-four of this

chapter, the assessor is directed and authorized to recompute the forest

land exemption on the assessment roll by applying such special

equalization rate instead of the latest state equalization rate in

computing the forest land exemption, and to make the appropriate

corrections on the assessment roll, subject to the provisions of title

two of article twelve of this chapter. Upon completion of the final

assessment roll or, where a special equalization rate has been

established, upon recomputation of the forest land exemption, the

assessor shall certify to the department each exemption granted pursuant

to this section in a manner prescribed by the commissioner.

5. (a) Whenever any cutting of the merchantable forest crop on any

certified eligible tract is proposed during the period of commitment

pursuant to subdivision three of this section, the owner shall give not

less than thirty days' notice to the department in a manner and upon

such form as may be prescribed by the department. Such notice shall

include information as to the stumpage value, amount and location of

such cutting. The department shall, within fifteen days after receipt of

such notice from the owner, certify the stumpage value, if any, to the

owner and to the county treasurer of the county or counties in which the

tract is situated. No later than thirty days after receipt of such

certification of value, the owner shall pay a six percentum tax on the

certified stumpage value of the merchantable forest crop to such county

treasurer.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, if the stumpage value of a merchantable forest crop will be

determined with reference to a scale to be conducted after the

commencement of the proposed cutting, the owner may elect to be taxed in

accordance with this paragraph. Such election shall be made not less

than thirty days in advance of commencement of the cutting, in such

manner and upon such form as may be prescribed by the department. Such

notice shall include information as to the estimated volume, scaling

method, and the schedule and length of the cutting period, not to exceed

one year. If a proper election has been made in accordance with this

paragraph, the department shall so notify the owner before any cutting

takes place on the eligible tract, and it shall certify the scaled

stumpage value to the owner of the tract and to the county treasurer of

the county or counties when the cutting has concluded. No later than

thirty days after the receipt of such certification of value, the owner

shall pay a six per centum tax on the stumpage value of the merchantable

forest crop to such county treasurer.

(c) In the event that a tax required by this subdivision or by

subdivision six of this section shall not be timely paid, it shall be

levied and collected, together with any penalty or penalties determined

pursuant to subdivision seven of this section, in the same manner and at

the same time as other taxes imposed and levied on the next completed

tax roll of such county or counties.

(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision and

the provisions of subdivision six of this section, the owner of any land

certified under this section may make all intermediate noncommercial

cuttings, as prescribed in the approved management plan, and may

annually cut, in accordance with sound forestry practices, ten standard

cords or the equivalent for such owner's own use, without notice and

free of tax imposed by this section.

6. (a) The department may serve notice upon the owner of a certified

tract directing such owner to make a cutting as prescribed in the

approved management plan for such tract. Should such cutting involve the

sale or utilization of a merchantable forest crop, not less than thirty

days in advance of cutting the owner shall give notice to the department

of the stumpage value, amount and location of the cutting on a form

prescribed by the department. The department shall within fifteen days

after receipt of such notice from the owner, certify the stumpage value,

if any, to the owner and to the county treasurer of the county or

counties in which such tract is situated. No later than thirty days

after receipt of such certification of value, the owner shall pay a six

per centum tax on the certified stumpage value to such county treasurer.

(b) Any cutting of a merchantable forest crop under this subdivision

must be conducted within two years from the date of service of the

notice upon the owner issued by the department. Upon failure of the

owner within such period to conduct such cutting, the department shall

certify to the owner and the county treasurer of the county or counties

the stumpage value of such merchantable forest crop. No later than

thirty days after receipt of such certification of value, the owner

shall pay a six per centum tax on the certified stumpage value to such

county treasurer.

(c) Any noncommercial cutting under this subdivision must be conducted

within one year from the date of service of the notice upon the owner

issued by the department.

(d) If such owner, within the period prescribed by this subdivision,

makes such cuttings as directed by the department, the tract shall

continue to be certified as long as the owner shall continue to comply

with the provisions of this section and manage the same in the manner

prescribed in the approved management plan for such tract.

7. (a) The department shall, after notice and hearing, issue a notice

of violation of this section for any certified tract whenever it finds

that:

(i) any tract or portion thereof is converted to a use which precludes

management of the land for forest crop production; or

(ii) the owner fails to give notice of a proposed cutting on such

tract or fails to timely pay the appropriate tax on the stumpage value

of the merchantable forest crop determined pursuant to subdivision five

or six of this section; or

(iii) the owner fails to comply with the approved management plan for

such tract at any time during the commitment period; or

(iv) the owner fails to make a timely cutting in accordance with the

provisions of subdivision six of this section after service of notice by

the department to make such a cutting.

(b) Notwithstanding the finding of an occurrence described by

subparagraph (ii), (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision,

the department, upon prior notice to the appropriate assessor, may

determine that a violation has not occurred if the failure to comply was

due to reasons beyond the control of the owner and such failure can be

corrected forthwith without significant effect on the overall purpose of

the management plan.

(c) The owner of such tract, following the issuance of such notice by

the department for one or more of the reasons set forth in paragraph (a)

of this subdivision, shall be subject to a penalty as provided in

paragraph (d) or (e) of this subdivision, whichever applies. Penalties

imposed by this section shall be subject to interest charges at the rate

established pursuant to section nine hundred twenty-four-a of this

chapter for each applicable year or, for years prior to nineteen hundred

eighty-four, at a rate of six per centum per annum compounded. Such

interest shall accrue in the year with reference to which a penalty, or

portion thereof, is attributed.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (e) of this subdivision,

the penalty imposed under paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall be

computed by multiplying by two and one-half the amount of taxes that

would have been levied on the forest land exemption entered on the

assessment roll pursuant to subdivision four of this section for the

current year and any prior years in which such an exemption was granted,

utilizing the applicable tax rate for the current year and for such

prior years, not to exceed a total of ten years.

(e) The penalty imposed under paragraph (c) of this subdivision

applicable to converted land which constitutes only a portion of a

certified eligible tract shall be twice the amount determined under

paragraph (d) of this subdivision. In calculating such penalty, only

that portion of the tract that was actually converted to a use that

precludes management of the land for forest crop production shall be

used as the basis for determining the penalty.

(f) A notice of violation issued under this subdivision shall be given

by the department to the owner and to the county treasurer of the county

or counties in which such tract is located, and the penalty and interest

charges shall be computed for each of the municipal corporations in

which such tract is located by such county treasurer. Upon completion of

the computation of the penalty and interest, the county treasurer shall

give notice to the owner of the amount of the penalty and interest, and

the amount shall be entered on the next completed tax roll of such

county or counties. Such penalties and interest shall be levied and

collected in the same manner and at the same time as other taxes are

imposed and levied on such roll. Upon collection of such penalties and

interest, such county treasurer shall pay the amounts due to each of the

appropriate municipal corporations.

(g) Upon receipt of proof satisfactory to the department that all

penalties, stumpage taxes and interest imposed by this section have been

fully paid or satisfied, the department shall revoke the certificate of

approval issued pursuant to subdivision two of this section, and notice

of such revocation shall be given to the owner and to the county clerk

of the county or counties in which the tract is located. Upon receipt of

such notice of revocation, the county clerk shall record the same in the

books kept for the recording of deeds and shall index the same in the

deed index against the name of the owner of the property. The county

clerk shall also note on the face of the last certificate of approval or

certified commitment previously recorded pursuant to this section the

word "REVOKED" followed by a reference to the liber and page where the

notice of revocation is recorded pursuant to this subdivision.

(h) The certificate of approval of a certified tract for which no

notice of violation has been issued shall be revoked without penalty

upon receipt of proof satisfactory to the department that nine years

have passed from the year of the last certified commitment filed with

the assessor by the owner pursuant to subdivision three of this section.

Notice of such revocation shall be recorded and indexed as provided in

paragraph (g) of this subdivision.

(i) No fee, penalty or rollback of taxes otherwise due pursuant to

this section may be imposed upon the city of New York for failure to

comply with a certified management plan for an eligible tract that the

city acquires for watershed purposes.

8. (a) The owner of a certified tract shall not be subject to any

penalty under this section that would otherwise apply because such tract

or any portion thereof is converted to a use other than forest crop

production by virtue of: (i) an involuntary taking by eminent domain or

other involuntary proceeding, except a tax sale, or (ii) a voluntary

proceeding, providing such proceeding involves the establishment of

rights-of-way for public highway or energy transmission purposes wherein

such corridors have been established subsequent to public hearing as

needed in the public interest and environmentally compatible, or (iii)

oil, gas or mineral exploration, development or extraction activity

undertaken by an independent grantee pursuant to a lease or other

conveyance of subsurface rights recorded more than ten years prior to

the date of the certificate of approval issued by the department under

subdivision two of this section, or (iv) where all or a substantial

portion of the certified tract is destroyed or irreparably damaged by

reason of an act of God or a natural disaster.

(b) In the event the land so converted to a use other than forest crop

production constitutes only a portion of such tract, the assessor shall

apportion the assessment, and enter that portion so converted as a

separately assessed parcel on the appropriate portion of the assessment

roll. The assessor shall then adjust the forest land exemption

attributable to the portion of the tract not so converted by subtracting

the proportionate part of the exemption of the converted parcel.

(c) If the portion so converted divides the tract into two or more

separate parcels, such remaining parcels not so converted will remain

certified under this section, regardless of size, except that should any

remaining parcel be no longer accessible for continued forest crop

production, the department shall, after notice and hearing, revoke the

certification of the inaccessible parcel or parcels, and notice of such

revocation shall be recorded and indexed as provided in subdivision

seven of this section. Such revocation shall not subject the owner of

the tract to penalty, but the exemption under this section shall no

longer apply to the tract or portion thereof no longer accessible.

(d) The owner of a certified tract shall not be subject to penalty

under this section that would otherwise apply because the forest crop on

the certified tract or portion is, through no fault of the owner,

damaged or destroyed by fire, infestation, disease, storm, flood, or

other natural disaster, act of God, accident, trespass or war. If a

merchantable forest crop is to be cut or removed in connection with

necessary salvage operations resulting from any such event, the owner

shall give notice of cutting, the department shall certify the stumpage

value, and stumpage tax shall be payable, collected and enforced as

provided in subdivisions five and seven of this section. Nothing in this

paragraph shall be construed to subject any person to penalty under

subdivision seven of this section for immediate action taken in good

faith in the event of an emergency.

9. All stumpage tax, penalties and interest charges thereon collected

pursuant to subdivisions five, six and seven of this section shall be

apportioned to the applicable municipal corporations in which such tract

is situated.

10. (a) Management plans approved pursuant to this section shall not

be deemed to authorize or permit any practice or activity prohibited,

restricted or requiring further approval under the environmental

conservation law, or any other general or special law of the state, or

any lawful rule or regulation duly promulgated thereunder.

(b) No otherwise eligible tract, or portion thereof, shall be deemed

to be ineligible for certification or qualification under this section,

and no certificate of approval shall be revoked or penalty imposed,

solely on the ground that any such law, rule or regulation partially

restricts or requires further approval for forest crop production

practices or activities on such tract or portion.