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landowners, four free holders and one member of the governing body.
This committee has “the biggest input into the final decision,” said Copeland. The committee’s primary responsibility, he said, is to determine if the land is “agriculturally significant,” but added that a decision to approve or reject an ag district could be based on factors other than soil quality, such as local development patterns and needs and the financial impact of an ag district’s use value taxation on a locality.
After the governing body receives the application, it must act within 180 days to either approve or deny, according to Copeland. The application goes first to the Planning Commission for comment and advertisment, then to the special advisory committee, then back to the Planning Commission for public hearing and recommendation and finally to the Board of Supervisors for public hearing and decision.
The district can be set up for anywhere between four and eight years at the discretion of the governing body. Each district requires a separate ordinance and the initial period of establishment may vary with each district.
True Agricultural Zoning
“The greatest impact (of the Agricultural and Forestal District Act), stated Copeland, “is that it allows...landowners to obtain for the first time true agricultural zoning.’’ He added that previously, local agricultural districts were usually composed of “all the land that’s left over” after residential, commercial and industrial areas are deliniated. “It provides for
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