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FLORIDA STATUTES on Agricultural Classification
193.461 Agricultural
lands; classification and assessment; mandated eradication or quarantine
program.--
(1) The
property appraiser shall, on an annual basis, classify for assessment purposes
all lands within the county as either agricultural or nonagricultural.
(2) Any
landowner whose land is denied agricultural classification by the property
appraiser may appeal to the value adjustment board. The property appraiser
shall notify the landowner in writing of the denial of agricultural
classification on or before July 1 of the year for which the application was
filed. The notification shall advise the landowner of his or her right to
appeal to the value adjustment board and of the filing deadline. The board may
also review all lands classified by the property appraiser upon its own motion.
The property appraiser shall have available at his or her office a list by
ownership of all applications received showing the acreage, the full valuation
under s. 193.011,
the valuation of the land under the provisions of this section, and whether or
not the classification requested was granted.
(3)(a) No lands
shall be classified as agricultural lands unless a return is filed on or before
March 1 of each year. The property appraiser, before so classifying such lands,
may require the taxpayer or the taxpayer's representative to furnish the
property appraiser such information as may reasonably be required to establish
that such lands were actually used for a bona fide agricultural purpose.
Failure to make timely application by March 1 shall constitute a waiver for 1
year of the privilege herein granted for agricultural assessment. However, an
applicant who is qualified to receive an agricultural classification who fails
to file an application by March 1 may file an application for the
classification and may file, pursuant to s. 194.011(3),
a petition with the value adjustment board requesting that the classification
be granted. The petition may be filed at any time during the taxable year on or
before the 25th day following the mailing of the notice by the property
appraiser as provided in s. 194.011(1).
Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 194.013,
the applicant must pay a nonrefundable fee of $15 upon filing the petition.
Upon reviewing the petition, if the person is qualified to receive the
classification and demonstrates particular extenuating circumstances judged by
the property appraiser or the value adjustment board to warrant granting the
classification, the property appraiser or the value adjustment board may grant
the classification. The owner of land that was classified agricultural in the
previous year and whose ownership or use has not changed may reapply on a short
form as provided by the department. The lessee of property may make original
application or reapply using the short form if the lease, or an affidavit
executed by the owner, provides that the lessee is empowered to make
application for the agricultural classification on behalf of the owner and a
copy of the lease or affidavit accompanies the application. A county may, at
the request of the property appraiser and by a majority vote of its governing
body, waive the requirement that an annual application or statement be made for
classification of property within the county after an initial application is
made and the classification granted by the property appraiser. Such waiver may
be revoked by a majority vote of the governing body of the county.
(b) Subject to
the restrictions set out in this section, only lands which are used primarily
for bona fide agricultural purposes shall be classified agricultural.
"Bona fide agricultural purposes" means good faith commercial
agricultural use of the land. In determining whether the use of the land for
agricultural purposes is bona fide, the following factors may be taken into
consideration:
1. The length
of time the land has been so utilized;
2. Whether the
use has been continuous;
3. The purchase
price paid;
4. Size, as it
relates to specific agricultural use;
5. Whether an
indicated effort has been made to care sufficiently and adequately for the land
in accordance with accepted commercial agricultural practices, including,
without limitation, fertilizing, liming, tilling, mowing, reforesting, and
other accepted agricultural practices;
6. Whether such
land is under lease and, if so, the effective length, terms, and conditions of
the lease; and
7. Such other
factors as may from time to time become applicable.
(c) The
maintenance of a dwelling on part of the lands used for agricultural purposes
shall not in itself preclude an agricultural classification.
(d) When
property receiving an agricultural classification contains a residence under
the same ownership, the portion of the property consisting of the residence and
curtilage must be assessed separately, pursuant to s. 193.011,
to qualify for the assessment limitation set forth in s. 193.155.
The remaining property may be classified under the provisions of paragraphs (a)
and (b).
(e) Notwithstanding
the provisions of paragraph (a), land that has received an agricultural
classification from the value adjustment board or a court of competent
jurisdiction pursuant to this section is entitled to receive such classification
in any subsequent year until such agricultural use of the land is abandoned or
discontinued, the land is diverted to a nonagricultural use, or the land is
reclassified as nonagricultural pursuant to subsection (4). The property
appraiser must, no later than January 31 of each year, provide notice to the
owner of land that was classified agricultural in the previous year informing
the owner of the requirements of this paragraph and requiring the owner to
certify that neither the ownership nor the use of the land has changed. The
department shall, by administrative rule, prescribe the form of the notice to
be used by the property appraiser under this paragraph. If a county has waived
the requirement that an annual application or statement be made for classification
of property pursuant to paragraph (a), the county may, by a majority vote of
its governing body, waive the notice and certification requirements of this
paragraph and shall provide the property owner with the same notification
provided to owners of land granted an agricultural classification by the
property appraiser. Such waiver may be revoked by a majority vote of the
county's governing body. This paragraph does not apply to any property if the
agricultural classification of that property is the subject of current
litigation.
(4)(a) The
property appraiser shall reclassify the following lands as nonagricultural:
1. Land
diverted from an agricultural to a nonagricultural use.
2. Land no
longer being utilized for agricultural purposes.
3. Land that
has been zoned to a nonagricultural use at the request of the owner subsequent
to the enactment of this law.
(b) The board
of county commissioners may also reclassify lands classified as agricultural to
nonagricultural when there is contiguous urban or metropolitan development and
the board of county commissioners finds that the continued use of such lands
for agricultural purposes will act as a deterrent to the timely and orderly
expansion of the community.
(c) Sale of
land for a purchase price which is three or more times the agricultural
assessment placed on the land shall create a presumption that such land is not
used primarily for bona fide agricultural purposes. Upon a showing of special
circumstances by the landowner demonstrating that the land is to be continued
in bona fide agriculture, this presumption may be rebutted.
(5) For the
purpose of this section, "agricultural purposes" includes, but is not
limited to, horticulture; floriculture; viticulture; forestry; dairy;
livestock; poultry; bee; pisciculture, when the land is used principally for
the production of tropical fish; aquaculture; sod farming; and all forms of
farm products and farm production.
(6)(a) In years
in which proper application for agricultural assessment has been made and
granted pursuant to this section, the assessment of land shall be based solely
on its agricultural use. The property appraiser shall consider the following
use factors only:
1. The quantity
and size of the property;
2. The
condition of the property;
3. The present
market value of the property as agricultural land;
4. The income
produced by the property;
5. The
productivity of land in its present use;
6. The economic
merchantability of the agricultural product; and
7. Such other
agricultural factors as may from time to time become applicable, which are
reflective of the standard present practices of agricultural use and
production.
(b) Notwithstanding
any provision relating to annual assessment found in s. 192.042,
the property appraiser shall rely on 5-year moving average data when utilizing
the income methodology approach in an assessment of property used for agricultural
purposes.
(c)1. For
purposes of the income methodology approach to assessment of property used for
agricultural purposes, irrigation systems, including pumps and motors,
physically attached to the land shall be considered a part of the average yields
per acre and shall have no separately assessable contributory value.
2. Litter
containment structures located on producing poultry farms and animal waste
nutrient containment structures located on producing dairy farms shall be
assessed by the methodology described in subparagraph 1.
(d) In years in
which proper application for agricultural assessment has not been made, the
land shall be assessed under the provisions of s. 193.011.
(7) Lands
classified for assessment purposes as agricultural lands which are taken out of
production by any state or federal eradication or quarantine program shall
continue to be classified as agricultural lands for the duration of such
program. Lands under these programs which are converted to fallow, or otherwise
nonincome-producing uses shall continue to be classified as agricultural lands
and shall be assessed at a de minimis value of no more than $50 per acre, on a
single year assessment methodology; however, lands converted to other
income-producing agricultural uses permissible under such programs shall be
assessed pursuant to this section. Land under a mandated eradication or
quarantine program which is diverted from an agricultural to a nonagricultural
use shall be assessed under the provisions of s. 193.011.
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