§ 24-3-202. ELIGIBLE SELLERS AND FARMLAND.

(a)

Applicants. A person may apply to participate in the preservation program if the person is eligible to apply for a county agricultural land preservation easement under § 24-3-103(a) of this title.

(b)

Eligibility criteria.

(1)

To be considered for the preservation program, a farm must meet all of the criteria established in this subsection.

(2)

The farm must meet the requirements of § 24-3-103(b) of this title.

(3)

The purchase must be to preserve productive agricultural land as defined and consistent with the Baltimore County Master Plan.

(4)

The immediate area around the farm must be generally conducive to retaining its suitability for commercial agriculture.

(c)

Selection criteria.

(1)

A farm must meet at least one of the criteria established in this subsection.

(2)

The farm is being purchased by an agricultural producer for commercial agricultural production.

(3)

The farm is imminently threatened with development the degree or scale of which would significantly impact the agricultural capability of the farm.

(4)

The farm is in jeopardy of being transferred out of ownership of a family farm operation.

(5)

The farm is leased for agricultural production, is highly productive, and the owner is under certain financial difficulties that jeopardize retaining the agricultural viability of the farm.

(6)

The farm is in a highly critical location, such as:

(i)

The middle of a large block of easements established under this article;

(ii)

On the edge of the Urban-Rural Demarcation Line;

(iii)

On the edge of a Master Plan-designated agricultural protection area; or

(iv)

Adjacent to significant publicly-owned land.

(7)

The farm is above average productive agricultural land as determined by soils and production records.

(8)

The farm is of extraordinary importance to the security of the agricultural protection area, as defined in the Master Plan, in which it is located.

(1988 Code, § 14-468) (Bill No. 90-02, § 2, 10-25-2002; Bill No. 74-03, § 3, 7-1-2004)