(a) Permitted Uses. Except as prohibited by Chapter 59 or the terms of an agricultural easement, the following activities are permitted on land under a County agricultural easement: (1) any agricultural use of land;
(2) operation of any machinery used in farm production or the primary processing of agricultural products, regardless of the time of operation;
(3) any normal agricultural operation, performed in accordance with good husbandry practices, that does not cause bodily injury or directly endanger human health; and
(4) operation of a farm market.
(b) Relation to special exceptions and conditional uses. Subsection (a) does not alter either the requirements in Chapter 59 for a special exception or conditional use applicable to the zone where a County easement is located or the process to obtain a special exception or conditional use. However, an agricultural easement may expressly limit the right of the landowner or any successor in interest to apply for a special exception or conditional use that is inconsistent with the purposes of this Article. (c) Uses not permitted; release.
(1) Land under a County agricultural easement must not be subdivided or used for any residential, commercial, or industrial purpose. However, the landowner may obtain a release from an agricultural easement for:
(A) 1 acre, or the minimum lot size required by
Chapter 59 or applicable well and septic regulations, whichever is greater, to build a house for use by the landowner; and
(B) up to 3 1-acre lots, or the minimum lot size required by
Chapter 59 or applicable well and septic regulations, whichever is greater, to build houses to be occupied by adult children of the landowner at a maximum density determined by the size of the land under easement and the following calculations;
(i) 1 lot for the first 25 acres;
(ii) 2 lots for land under easement greater than 50 acres bu tless than 120 acres; and
(iii) 3 lots for land under easement that is greater than 120 acres.
(2) (A) Any release issued under this Section must include a requirement that the landowner or the child, whichever is appropriate, must not transfer the lot released from an agricultural easement for 5 years after the release is recorded in the County land records unless:
(i) The APAB approves the transfer; or
(ii) the lot is subject to a bona fide foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust or to a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
(B) Noncompliance with subparagraph 2(A) is a violation of this Chapter and the agricultural easement, and may result in legal action to prevent the transfer or to obtain the proceeds of any sale collected by the landowner or the child if a unapproved transfer occurs.
(3) If land proposed for an agricultural easement does not contain a habitable dwelling house, the landowner may, as part of the application, request the right, which would run with the land, to build one single family dwelling house if:
(A) no viable residential structure exists on the land when the easement is bought;
(B) the easement requires that the residential structure must never be subdivided from the easement property; and
(C) the easement requires that the right to build a single family dwelling precludes the release of any lot from the easement for the landowner’s children.
(4) A landowner may build housing for one or more tenants fully engaged in operating the farm. However:
(A) not more than one tenant house may be built for each 100 acres of land under easement;
(B) the land on which a tenant house is located must not be subdivided or conveyed to any third party;
(C) the tenant house must not be conveyed separately from the original parcel of land under the easement; and
(D) the square footage of the tenant house must not exceed the square footage of the principal dwelling on the land under the easement.
(d) Reimbursement. A landowner who obtains a release of a lot from an agricultural easement must first reimburse the Fund by an amount equal to the pro-rata purchase price the County paid for the easement. The County Attorney must, after the Fund is reimbursed, execute and record a partial release in the County land records. (, § 1; , § 1.)
