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By daphne McCullough
Rappahannock New* Staff Writer
Questions on the Agricultural and Forestal District Act were raised but left hanging at last Friday’s Ag District workshop sponsored by the Rappahannock-Rapidan Planning District Commission at Germanna Community College.
—Is the Ag District Act unconstitutional because it allows use value taxation on farm land within a district while similarly classified farm land outside the district is taxed at full market value?
—If land use taxation is granted to landowners within an Ag district, does it also have to be allowed to all farm land throughout the county?
—Are orchards an agricultural enterprise eligible for district membership, or are orchards classified under horticulture and therefore excluded?
—Can local government restrict membership in a district to just agricultural land, and omit forest property from consideration?
—Does the Ag District Act effectively nullify the constitutional prerequisite for a comprehensive plan before a locality can enact use value taxation?
Some of these questions may eventually have to be resolved in court, according to the workshop’s panel, made up of representatives from the state Attorney General’s office, Department of Taxation, Department of Agriculture and VPI.
The experts gave no final answers on Friday.
Eligibility And Procedure
Assistant Commission of Agriculture T. Graham Copeland began the session with an outline of eligibility requirements and procedural steps necessary for the formation of an Ag district.
He told the audience that an eligible landowner must initiate the process by petitioning for a district. The proposed district must include a minimum of 500 acres. If larger than 500 acres, the petitioners must own 50 per cent of the proposed district.
Copeland added that local government may include or exclude land from the district. However, no landowner can be forced to join and before official formation of an ag district, the application must contain the signature or written approval from each proposed member.
Upon receiving an application for an ag district, the governing body must appoint a nine member advisory committee comprised of four farming
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