(a) Process to Terminate and Repurchase an Easement.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (c), a landowner may, in writing, at least 25 years after an agricultural easement bought by the County has been recorded in the County land records, request the County Council to terminate the agricultural easement. However, a landowner may request termination earlier if the land under easement is later zoned in a manner that precludes agricultural use as a matter of right.
(2) In approving a termination request, the County Council must find that the land is no longer suitable for agriculture and the public interest would be best served by terminating the easement.
(3) The landowner must submit an explanation, in a form acceptable to the APAB, why profitable farming is no longer feasible on the land under easement.
(4) The APAB must determine if profitable farming is feasible on the land and issue a written recommendation to the Office. In determining whether farming is profitable, the APAB must consider:
(A) if the landowner has implemented a Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan;
(B) the location of the farm with respect to development; and
(C) any other non-agricultural use that would otherwise impact profitability of the farm.
(5) After the APAB issues its recommendation, the Office must advise the landowner that the Office must order an appraisal of the land at the landowner’s expense. The appraisal must consider the current fair market value of land and the current fair market value of the land encumbered by an agricultural easement. The difference between these values must represent the present value of the agricultural easement.
(6) The landowner must pay the Office for the cost of an appraisal. The Office must order the appraisal after receiving the funds from the landowner.
(7) After receiving the completed appraisal and APAB’s recommendation, the County Council must hold a public hearing on the request to terminate the agricultural easement. The Office must notify each owner of land adjacent to the land where the easement is located of the public hearing.
(8) After the public hearing, the Council, by majority vote, must recommend to the Executive whether the Executive should agree to terminate the easement.
(9) If the Executive agrees to terminate the easement, the landowner must repurchase the easement by paying the present value of the easement as defined in this Section.
(10) The landowner must pay the required payment to the County within 180 days after the Executive agrees to terminate the easement. After receiving the required payment, the Office must prepare, execute, and deliver to the landowner for recording, a Deed of Termination and Release from Easement.
(11) If a request for termination is denied, or if the landowner does not repurchase the easement within 180 days after the Executive agrees to terminate the easement, the landowner must not request termination of the easement for 5 years after the Executive agreed or disagreed to the landowner’s last request for termination.
(b) Easement Properties Purchased or Condemned by Government. If the federal government or the State or County buys or condemns land under an agricultural easement for park or any other nonagricultural use, the condemning authority must pay the present value of the easement to the Fund. After the Fund has received all payments due, the County Attorney must prepare, execute, and deliver to the condemning authority for recording, a Deed of Termination and Release from Easement.
(c) No termination. The County must not terminate and repurchase any agricultural easement which the County bought after December 31, 2008. (, § 1; , § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated explaining that a transfer of development rights easement continues to restrict development even when the underlying zoning of the property is changed. See County Attorney Opinion dated 10/2/90 explaining that, without a main dwelling or a transferable development right to support it, no farm-tenant house may be constructed.
