| Sec. 931.02. (A) Land may be enrolled in an agricultural | 38 |
| security area through the submittal of an
application to
the board | 39 |
|
of township trustees of each township and
to the board of county | 40 |
| commissioners
of each county in which the
land is
located | 41 |
| requesting the establishment of such an area. If all of the land | 42 |
| sought to be enrolled in the agricultural security area is owned | 43 |
| by the same person, that person shall submit the application to | 44 |
| those boards. If the land sought to be enrolled consists of | 45 |
| parcels owned by different persons who have aggregated their | 46 |
| parcels, either each owner may submit a separate application to | 47 |
| those boards or all of the owners collectively may submit one | 48 |
| application for the entire agricultural security area to those | 49 |
| boards. | 50 |
| (2) Information concerning any property interest in the land | 58 |
|
sought to be enrolled in an agricultural security area that is | 59 |
|
held by a person other than the applicant or applicants, | 60 |
| including, without
limitation, mineral rights or easements in the | 61 |
| land that are held
by a person other than the applicant or | 62 |
| applicants and any other interest in the land that may not be | 63 |
| conducive to agriculture and that is held by another person; | 64 |
|
(3) A statement by each applicant who is submitting the | 65 |
| application that the applicant will
not initiate, approve, or | 66 |
| finance any new development for
nonagricultural purposes on the | 67 |
| land that is proposed to be
enrolled in an agricultural security | 68 |
| area during the ten-year
period of the enrollment, except as is | 69 |
| otherwise authorized under
division (A) of section 931.04 of the | 70 |
| Revised Code. For purposes
of division (A)(3) of this section, | 71 |
| "new development" includes,
without limitation, an applicant's | 72 |
| transfer to another person of
the ownership of a property interest | 73 |
| in the land that occurs
during the period beginning on the date | 74 |
| that the application is
submitted and ending on the date that the | 75 |
| ten-year period of
enrollment is scheduled to expire. "New | 76 |
| development" does not
include taking any actions that are | 77 |
| authorized under property
rights in the land, such as mineral | 78 |
| rights or easements, that were
transferred to a person other than | 79 |
| an applicant prior to the date
that the application is submitted. | 80 |
|
(4) A listing of all administrative enforcement orders
issued | 81 |
| to each applicant who is submitting the application, all civil | 82 |
| actions in which an applicant
was determined by the trier of fact | 83 |
| to be liable in damages or was
the subject of injunctive relief or | 84 |
| another type of civil relief,
and all criminal actions in which an | 85 |
| applicant pleaded guilty or
was convicted, during the ten years | 86 |
| immediately preceding the date
of submission of the application, | 87 |
| in connection with any violation
of environmental laws or similar | 88 |
| laws of another state. As used
in division (A)(4) of this section, | 89 |
| "environmental laws" has the
same meaning as in section 3745.70 of | 90 |
| the Revised Code. | 91 |
|
(5) A statement from the natural resources conservation | 92 |
|
service in the United States department of agriculture, a soil and | 93 |
|
water conservation district with jurisdiction over the land to | 94 |
|
which the application applies, or any other conservation | 95 |
|
professional approved by the director that, at the time of the | 96 |
|
application, each applicant who is submitting the application is | 97 |
| complying with best management
practices; | 98 |
| (d) Shows the names and locations of all streams, creeks, or | 110 |
|
other
bodies of water, roads, railroads, utility lines, and water | 111 |
|
and sewer
lines together with any existing residential, | 112 |
|
recreational, commercial, or industrial facilities that are on or | 113 |
|
are situated on the land to be included in the area and within | 114 |
|
five hundred
feet of the perimeter of the area; | 115 |
| (3) The land forming the area is valued and assessed for
real | 130 |
|
property tax purposes in accordance with its current
agricultural | 131 |
| use
value under sections 5713.30 to 5713.38 of the
Revised
Code. | 132 |
| Land forming the area that is a portion of a farm
on which is | 133 |
| located a dwelling house, a yard, or outbuildings such
as a barn | 134 |
| or garage shall be deemed to satisfy the criteria
established in | 135 |
| divisions (B)(1) and (3) of this section. | 136 |
| Sec. 931.03. (A)(1) Not later than sixty days after
receipt | 145 |
|
of an
application submitted under section 931.02 of the
Revised | 146 |
|
Code,
the board of township trustees of each township in
which the | 147 |
|
land
that is proposed for enrollment in an agricultural
security | 148 |
|
area is located
and the board
of county commissioners of
each | 149 |
|
county in which the land
is located shall hear the
application at | 150 |
|
the
next regularly scheduled meeting of the board.
A board, not | 151 |
|
later than thirty days prior to the time of the
meeting,
shall | 152 |
|
cause a notice containing the time and place
of the
meeting to be | 153 |
|
published in a newspaper of
general circulation in
the township or | 154 |
|
county, as applicable,
and to be sent to the
superintendent of | 155 |
|
each school district within the proposed
agricultural security | 156 |
|
area. | 157 |
| As part of the hearing on an application, a board shall | 158 |
|
review any information that it possesses concerning improvements | 159 |
|
that are planned to be made during the subsequent ten years to | 160 |
|
existing roads that are located within the area that is proposed | 161 |
|
for enrollment in an agricultural security area. As used in | 162 |
|
division (A)(1) of this section, "improvement" includes any action | 163 |
|
taken with respect to an existing road that would cause the road | 164 |
|
to cover a portion of land that it does not cover at the time of | 165 |
|
the hearing. Any portion of land that would be covered by a | 166 |
|
planned improvement shall not be eligible for enrollment in an | 167 |
|
agricultural security area. | 168 |
| (2) The board of township trustees of each township and the | 169 |
|
board of county commissioners of each county that is required to | 170 |
|
hear an application under division (A)(1) of this section may | 171 |
|
conduct a joint meeting in lieu of meeting separately not later | 172 |
|
than forty-five days after receipt of an application under section | 173 |
|
931.02 of the Revised Code. A single public notice concerning the | 174 |
|
meeting shall be provided in the manner prescribed in division | 175 |
|
(A)(1) of this section in each township and county participating | 176 |
|
in the meeting. The cost of the public notice shall be shared | 177 |
|
equally by all townships and counties participating in the joint | 178 |
|
meeting. | 179 |
| (3) Not later than forty-five days after a board of township | 180 |
|
trustees hears the application and not later than sixty days after | 181 |
|
a board of county commissioners hears the application, each | 182 |
|
respective
board shall adopt a resolution
either approving or | 183 |
|
rejecting the
application.
However, if a board determines that
the | 184 |
| information
in the application is
incorrect or the application
is | 185 |
| incomplete,
the board shall
return the application to the | 186 |
|
applicant, by
certified mail, with
an enumeration of the items | 187 |
|
that are
incorrect or incomplete. | 188 |
| (1) A statement that the board of township trustees or board | 218 |
|
of county
commissioners, as applicable, commits not to initiate, | 219 |
|
approve, or finance any development for residential, commercial, | 220 |
|
or industrial
purposes, including construction of new roads and | 221 |
|
water and sewer lines,
within the area for a
period of ten years; | 222 |
| (3) A statement that describes the agreement that was
reached | 225 |
| with other boards, if applicable, under section 5709.28 of
the | 226 |
| Revised Code concerning the percentage of the taxable value of | 227 |
|
qualifying agricultural real property in the agricultural security | 228 |
|
area that is to be exempted from taxation under that section and | 229 |
|
the number of years that the tax exemption established under that | 230 |
|
section will apply to that property. | 231 |
| (2) Develop, authorize the development of, or, for the | 251 |
|
purpose of
developing, transfer ownership of a portion of the | 252 |
| owner's land within the
agricultural security area for | 253 |
|
constructing or otherwise
establishing a single-family residence | 254 |
| for an
individual who is related by
consanguinity or by affinity | 255 |
| to the
owner. Not more than one such residence shall be | 256 |
| constructed per each forty acres of the owner's land within the | 257 |
| agricultural security area. | 258 |
| Sec. 931.06. Not later than one hundred eighty days
prior to | 294 |
|
the
expiration of an agricultural security area, an owner
of land | 295 |
|
that is enrolled
in the area may renew the enrollment.
The | 296 |
|
procedures established under this
chapter for the initial | 297 |
|
enrollment of land in an agricultural security area apply to the | 298 |
|
renewal of enrollment. In addition, all of the requirements | 299 |
|
governing initial enrollment apply to enrollment renewal. | 300 |
| (3) The county auditor of a county in which land enrolled in | 330 |
| an agricultural security area is located who discovers that any of | 331 |
| the events described in division (A)(2) of this section has | 332 |
| occurred and that the owner of the land has not complied with the | 333 |
| notice requirements established in that division shall provide the | 334 |
| required notice to the parties listed in division (A)(1) of this | 335 |
| section, except that for the purposes of division (A)(1)(a) of | 336 |
| this section, the auditor need notify only the county auditors of | 337 |
| the other affected counties.
| 338 |
| (C)(1) If an owner of land that is enrolled in an | 344 |
|
agricultural
security
area withdraws from the area under this | 345 |
| section
or if at any time an owner's land fails to
satisfy either | 346 |
| of the criteria
established under division (B)(2)
or (3) of | 347 |
| section 931.02 of the Revised Code,
any other owners of
land that | 348 |
| is enrolled in the
area who do not withdraw and whose
land | 349 |
| satisfies those criteria
may
continue to have
their land enrolled | 350 |
|
in
the agricultural security
area until the enrollment expires | 351 |
| under any of the following circumstances: | 352 |
| (b) Within the first five years of a ten-year enrollment | 356 |
| period, if the number of acres remaining in the area has | 357 |
| diminished to fewer than five hundred, enrollment may continue | 358 |
| only if additional contiguous farmland is enrolled in the area to | 359 |
| the extent that the number of acres in the area increases once | 360 |
| more to equal five hundred or more. Such an increase in acreage | 361 |
| may occur through the addition of contiguous farmland to the area | 362 |
| either by a landowner who already has land enrolled in the area or | 363 |
| by another landowner. In either case, in order to enroll the land | 364 |
| in the area, the landowner shall submit an application in | 365 |
| accordance with section 931.02 of the Revised Code and shall | 366 |
| obtain approval of the application from all appropriate boards of | 367 |
| township trustees and boards of county commissioners in accordance | 368 |
| with section 931.03 of the Revised Code. Enrollment of the | 369 |
| additional land in the agricultural security area shall continue | 370 |
| until the expiration of the existing, partially elapsed ten-year | 371 |
| enrollment period and may be renewed in accordance with section | 372 |
| 931.06 of the Revised Code. | 373 |
| (2) If the state or a municipal corporation appropriates
part | 377 |
| of the land that is enrolled in an agricultural security area
and, | 378 |
| as a result of the
appropriation, the area fails to satisfy
the | 379 |
| criterion established under
division
(B)(1) of section 931.02
of | 380 |
| the Revised Code, the
owners of land enrolled in the area whose | 381 |
|
land satisfies the
criteria established under divisions (B)(2) and | 382 |
|
(3) of that section
may continue to have their land enrolled in | 383 |
|
the agricultural
security area until the enrollment expires. | 384 |
| Sec. 931.09. The director of agriculture shall prepare and | 398 |
|
submit to the
governor, the president of the senate, and the | 399 |
|
speaker of the house of
representatives an annual report | 400 |
|
concerning agricultural security areas in the
state. The report | 401 |
|
shall include information concerning the number of
acres that are | 402 |
|
enrolled in agricultural security areas and their
location and
any | 403 |
| tax
exemptions granted under section 5709.28 of the Revised Code. | 404 |
| In the case of an agricultural security area that is located | 412 |
| in more than one township, the clerk shall divide half of the fine | 413 |
| money pro rata among the townships and shall forward the | 414 |
| appropriate portion to each board of township trustees. In the | 415 |
| case of an agricultural security area that is located in more than | 416 |
| one county, the clerk shall divide half of the fine money pro rata | 417 |
| among the counties and shall forward the appropriate portion to | 418 |
| each board of county commissioners. | 419 |
| Sec. 5709.28. As used in this section,
"qualifying | 423 |
|
agricultural
real property" means a building, structure, | 424 |
|
improvement, or fixture that is used exclusively for agricultural | 425 |
|
purposes, is
located on land enrolled in an
agricultural security | 426 |
|
area established under
Chapter 931. of the
Revised Code, and has a | 427 |
|
true value in
money of twenty-five thousand
dollars or more. | 428 |
| At the time of the establishment or renewal of an | 429 |
| agricultural security area or at any time during which land is | 430 |
| enrolled in an agricultural security area, a percentage of the | 431 |
| taxable value of qualifying
agricultural
real property first | 432 |
| appearing on the real and public
utility
property tax list in a | 433 |
| tax year during the enrollment may be exempted from
taxation.
The | 434 |
| board of township trustees of each township in which the land
that | 435 |
| is enrolled in the agricultural security area is located and
the | 436 |
| board of county commissioners of each county in which the land
is | 437 |
| located shall confer with each other and reach an agreement | 438 |
|
concerning the tax exemption. After the agreement is reached and | 439 |
| the tax
exemption is granted, the qualifying agricultural real | 440 |
| property
shall become exempt after the first lien date subsequent | 441 |
| to the
completion of construction of the property. | 442 |
|
The agreement shall establish the percentage of the
taxable | 443 |
| value of qualifying agricultural real property that is to
be | 444 |
| exempted from taxation and the number of years that the tax | 445 |
|
exemption will apply to that property. The agreement may specify | 446 |
|
that the tax years during which the exemption will apply to the | 447 |
|
property may extend past the scheduled expiration date of the | 448 |
|
period of enrollment in the agricultural security area, provided | 449 |
|
that the enrollment is renewed and otherwise continues during the | 450 |
|
tax years that the exemption applies. The agreement shall not | 451 |
|
exempt from taxation more than seventy-five per cent of the | 452 |
|
taxable value of the qualifying agricultural real property. In | 453 |
|
addition, the agreement may establish the maximum amount of the | 454 |
|
value of the qualifying agricultural real property to which the | 455 |
|
tax exemption may apply. Subsequent to the agreement establishing | 456 |
|
that maximum amount, the owner of the property may request the | 457 |
|
applicable boards to alter the agreement and increase the maximum | 458 |
|
value of the property to which the tax exemption applies. The | 459 |
| agreement shall be reviewed annually by the tax incentive review | 460 |
| council in accordance with section 5709.85 of the Revised Code. | 461 |
|
Each time that a renewal application is filed for an | 462 |
|
agricultural security area that involves qualifying agricultural | 463 |
|
real property that has been the subject of an exemption that | 464 |
|
expired on or before the date on which the previous period of | 465 |
|
enrollment in an agricultural security area expired, the | 466 |
|
applicable boards shall reach a new agreement concerning the | 467 |
|
exemption before any of the boards adopts a resolution either | 468 |
|
approving or rejecting the renewal application. | 469 |
| The county auditor shall enter on the list of property | 470 |
|
described in section 5713.07 of the Revised Code that is exempt | 471 |
|
from taxation any qualifying agricultural real property that is | 472 |
|
the subject of an exemption under this section. An application | 473 |
|
shall not be required to be filed under section 5715.27 of the | 474 |
|
Revised Code with respect to the exemption. The county auditor | 475 |
|
shall remove the qualifying agricultural real property from the | 476 |
|
list at the time that the county auditor discovers or is notified | 477 |
|
under section 931.07 of the Revised Code that a withdrawal, | 478 |
|
removal, or conversion of land from an agricultural security area | 479 |
|
has occurred in a way that makes the qualifying agricultural real | 480 |
|
property no longer eligible for the exemption. | 481 |
|
If the county auditor removes qualifying agricultural real | 482 |
| property from the list of property that is exempt from taxation | 483 |
| and the owner of the removed property claimed a tax exemption | 484 |
| established under this
section for a prior tax year, the amount of | 485 |
| tax otherwise imposed
on the qualifying agricultural real property | 486 |
| that was the subject
of the exemption shall be increased. The | 487 |
| amount of the increase
shall equal the aggregate
value of the tax | 488 |
| exemption received by
the taxpayer under this
section since the | 489 |
| agricultural security
area was most recently approved for | 490 |
| establishment or renewal, as
applicable, plus interest
on that | 491 |
| amount at the average bank prime
rate, as determined under
section | 492 |
| 929.02 of the Revised Code, at
the time that the county auditor | 493 |
| removes the property from the list of property that is exempt from | 494 |
| taxation. The tax
year in which the increase shall occur is | 495 |
| dependent upon the date
on which the county auditor makes a | 496 |
| discovery or is notified
under section 931.07 of the Revised Code | 497 |
| that a withdrawal,
removal, or conversion of land from an | 498 |
| agricultural security area
has occurred. If the discovery or | 499 |
| notification occurs prior to
the date in a tax year on which the | 500 |
| county auditor delivers a copy
of the general tax list to the | 501 |
| county treasurer under section
319.28 of the Revised Code, the | 502 |
| increase shall occur in the same
tax year that the discovery or | 503 |
| notification occurred. If the
discovery or notification occurs on | 504 |
| or after the date in a tax
year on which the copy of the general | 505 |
| tax list is delivered to the
county treasurer, the increase shall | 506 |
| occur in the tax year that
immediately follows the year in which | 507 |
| the discovery or
notification occurred. | 508 |
| Sec. 5709.85. (A) The legislative authority of a county, | 509 |
|
township, or municipal corporation that grants an exemption from | 510 |
|
taxation under Chapter 725. or 1728. or under section 3735.67, | 511 |
| 5709.28,
5709.40, 5709.41, 5709.62, 5709.63, 5709.632, 5709.73, or | 512 |
| 5709.78
of the Revised Code shall create a tax incentive review | 513 |
| council.
The council shall consist of the following members: | 514 |
| (1) In the case of a municipal corporation eligible to | 515 |
|
designate a zone under section 5709.62 of the Revised Code, the | 516 |
|
chief executive officer or that officer's
designee; a member of | 517 |
| the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation, appointed | 518 |
| by
the president of the legislative authority or, if the chief | 519 |
|
executive officer of the municipal corporation is the president, | 520 |
|
appointed by the president pro tempore of the legislative | 521 |
|
authority; the county auditor or the county auditor's
designee; | 522 |
| the chief
financial officer of the municipal corporation or that | 523 |
| officer's designee; an individual appointed by the board of | 524 |
|
education of each city, local, exempted village, and joint | 525 |
| vocational school
district to
which the instrument granting the | 526 |
| exemption applies; and two
members of the public appointed by the | 527 |
| chief executive officer of
the municipal corporation with the | 528 |
| concurrence of the legislative
authority. At least four members of | 529 |
| the council shall be
residents of the municipal corporation, and | 530 |
| at least one of the
two public members appointed by the chief | 531 |
| executive officer shall
be a minority. As used in division (A)(1) | 532 |
| of this section, a
"minority" is an individual who is | 533 |
| African-American, Hispanic, or
Native American. | 534 |
| (2) In the case of a county or a municipal corporation
that | 535 |
| is not eligible to designate a zone under section 5709.62 or | 536 |
|
5709.632 of the Revised Code, three members appointed by the
board | 537 |
| of county commissioners; two members from each municipal | 538 |
|
corporation to which the instrument granting the tax exemption | 539 |
|
applies, appointed by the chief executive officer with the | 540 |
|
concurrence of the legislative authority of the respective | 541 |
|
municipal corporations; two members of each township to which the | 542 |
|
instrument granting the tax exemption applies, appointed by the | 543 |
|
board of township trustees of the respective townships; the
county | 544 |
| auditor or the county auditor's designee; and an
individual | 545 |
| appointed by
the board of education of each city, local, exempted | 546 |
| village, and
joint vocational school district to which the | 547 |
| instrument granting
the tax exemption applies. At least two | 548 |
| members of the council
shall be residents of the municipal | 549 |
| corporations or townships to
which the instrument granting the tax | 550 |
| exemption applies. | 551 |
| (C)(1) Annually, the tax incentive review council shall | 565 |
|
review all agreements granting exemptions from property taxation | 566 |
|
under Chapter 725. or 1728. or under section 3735.671, 5709.28, | 567 |
| 5709.62,
5709.63, or 5709.632 of the Revised Code, and any | 568 |
| performance or
audit reports required to be submitted pursuant to | 569 |
| those
agreements. The review shall include agreements granting | 570 |
| such exemptions that were entered into prior to July 22, 1994, | 571 |
| that continue to be in force and applicable to the current year's | 572 |
property taxes. With | 573 |
| With respect to an agreement entered into under section | 580 |
| 5709.28 of the Revised Code, the council shall consist of the | 581 |
| members described in division (A)(2) of this section and shall | 582 |
| determine whether the agreement complies with the requirements of | 583 |
| section 5709.28 of the Revised Code and whether a withdrawal, | 584 |
| removal, or conversion of land from an agricultural security area | 585 |
| established under Chapter 931. of the Revised Code has occurred in | 586 |
| a manner that makes the exempted property no longer eligible for | 587 |
| the exemption. | 588 |
| (2) Annually, the tax incentive review council shall
review | 593 |
| all exemptions from property taxation resulting from the | 594 |
|
declaration of public purpose improvements pursuant to section | 595 |
|
5709.40, 5709.41, 5709.73, or 5709.78 of the Revised Code. The | 596 |
| review shall include such exemptions that were granted prior to | 597 |
| July 22, 1994, that continue to be in force and applicable to the | 598 |
| current year's property taxes. With
respect to each improvement | 599 |
| for which an exemption is granted,
the council shall determine the | 600 |
| increase in the true value of
parcels of real property on which | 601 |
| improvements have been
undertaken as a result of the exemption; | 602 |
| the value of
improvements exempted from taxation as a result of | 603 |
| the exemption;
and the number of new employees or employees | 604 |
| retained on the site
of the improvement as a result of the | 605 |
| exemption. | 606 |
| Upon the request of a tax incentive review council, the | 607 |
|
county auditor, the housing officer appointed pursuant to section | 608 |
|
3735.66 of the Revised Code, the owner of a new or remodeled | 609 |
|
structure or improvement, and the legislative authority of the | 610 |
|
county, township, or municipal corporation granting the exemption | 611 |
|
shall supply the council with any information reasonably
necessary | 612 |
| for the council to make the determinations required
under division | 613 |
| (C) of this section, including returns or reports filed
pursuant | 614 |
| to sections 5711.02, 5711.13, and 5727.08 of the Revised Code. | 615 |
| (D) Annually, the tax incentive review council shall
review | 616 |
| the compliance of each recipient of a tax exemption under
Chapter | 617 |
| 725. or 1728. or section 3735.67, 5709.40, 5709.41,
5709.62, | 618 |
| 5709.63, 5709.632, 5709.73, or 5709.78 of the Revised
Code with | 619 |
| the nondiscriminatory hiring policies developed by the
county, | 620 |
| township, or municipal corporation under section 5709.832
of the | 621 |
| Revised Code. Upon the request of the council, the
recipient shall | 622 |
| provide the council any information necessary to
perform its | 623 |
| review. On the basis of its review, the council may
submit to the | 624 |
| legislative authority written recommendations for
enhancing | 625 |
| compliance with the nondiscriminatory hiring policies. | 626 |
| (F) A tax incentive review council may request from the | 632 |
recipient of a tax exemption under Chapter 725. or 1728., or | 633 |
| section 3735.67, 5709.28, 5709.40, 5709.41, 5709.62, 5709.63, | 634 |
| 5709.632, 5709.73, or 5709.78 of the Revised Code any information | 635 |
| reasonably necessary for the council to perform its review under | 636 |
| this section. The request shall be in writing and shall be sent to | 637 |
| the recipient by certified mail. Within ten days after receipt of | 638 |
| the request, the recipient shall provide to the council the | 639 |
| information requested. | 640 |