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District. Planners, Supervisors and farmers from Madison, Culpeper and Orange took advantage of the opportunity to prepare for their first ag district application.
Fauquier’s Planning staff was represented by Gray Parker and the Warren ton based Piedmont Environmental Council sent Jim Marshall.
Only Rappahannock County failed to have an observer at the workshop session. No Land Use Plan Required
Assistant Attorney General Jacks maintained that a land use plan was not necessary for adoption of an ag district, despite the Virginia Consitution’s requirement that a comprehensive plan must be enacted before a locality can allow land use taxation throughout its jurisdiction. Should a comprehensive plan exist, it would be subordinate to ag district requirements, he added.
No property can be included in an ag district without the landowners consent and while the district may have holes to accommodate landowners unwilling to join, it must be a “generally contiguous area,” Jacks said.
Use values of property in an ag district “would not necessarily be uniform,” said Supervisor for Appraising Otto Fraher. Each application for use value taxation would be considered individually with values based on the agricultural ability of the soil, he said.
The Agricultural and Forestal District Act states that, upon receipt, an application “may be” referred to the Planning Commission. Jacks acknowledged that “may” is usually interpreted as permissive, not mandatory but would not commit himself as to whether the governing body has discretion
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