For the purposes of this article, the following special classifications
of real estate are established and defined:
REAL ESTATE DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURAL USE
Real estate devoted to the bona fide production for sale
of plants and animals useful to man under uniform standards prescribed
by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or real
estate devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications
for payments or other compensation pursuant to a soil conservation
program under an agreement with an agency of the federal government.
REAL ESTATE DEVOTED TO FOREST USE
Land, including the standing timber and trees thereon, devoted
to tree growth in such quantity and so spaced and maintained as to
constitute a forest area under standards prescribed by the State Forester.
REAL ESTATE DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURAL USE
Real estate devoted to the bona fide production for sale
of fruits of all kinds, including grapes, nuts, and berries; vegetables;
nursery and floral products under uniform standards prescribed by
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or real estate
devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications for payments
or other compensation pursuant to a soil conservation program under
an agreement with an agency of the federal government.
Land lying within an agricultural district, a forestal district
or an agricultural and forestal district that has been established
under § 15.2-4300 et seq. and is used in agricultural or
forestal production shall automatically qualify for an agricultural
or forestal use value assessment if the requirements for such assessment
contained in Article 4, Chapter 32, of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia
(§ 58.1-3229 et seq.) are satisfied.
Real estate devoted to agricultural or horticultural use upon
which recreational activities are conducted for a profit, or otherwise,
shall be assessed and taxed pursuant to this article as long as the
recreational activities conducted on such real estate do not change
the character of the real estate so that it does not meet the uniform
standards prescribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer
Services. Real estate upon which recreational activities are conducted
for profit, or otherwise, shall still be considered real estate devoted
to forest use as long as the recreational activities conducted on
such real estate do not change the character of the real estate so
that it no longer constitutes a forest area under standards prescribed
by the State Forester.
Real property that qualifies for land use taxation under this
article shall not lose such designation solely because a portion of
the property is being used for a different purpose pursuant to a special
use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning, provided that the property,
excluding such portion, otherwise meets all the requirements for such
designation. The portion of the property being used for a different
purpose pursuant to a special use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning
shall be deemed a separate piece of property from the remaining property
for purposes of assessment. The presence of utility lines on real
property shall not be considered in determining whether the property,
including the portion where the utility lines are located, is devoted
to agricultural use. In determining whether real property is devoted
to agricultural use, zoning designations and special use permits for
the property shall not be the sole considerations.
Prior to the assessment of any parcel of real estate under this
article, the Commissioner of Revenue shall:
A. Determine that the real estate meets the criteria set forth in § 58.1-3230
and the standards prescribed thereunder to qualify for one of the
classifications set forth therein; the Commissioner of Revenue may
request an opinion from the Director of the Department of Conservation
and Recreation, the State Forester or the Commissioner of Agriculture
and Consumer Services; and
B. Determine further that real estate devoted solely to: (1) agricultural
or horticultural use consists of a minimum of five acres; (2) forest
use consists of a minimum of twenty acres. These minimum acreage requirements
shall be determined by adding together the total area of contiguous
real estate, excluding recorded subdivision lots recorded after July
1, 1983, titled in the same ownership. Properties separated only by
a public right-of-way are considered contiguous.
Where contiguous real estate in agricultural, horticultural
or forest use in one ownership is located in more than one taxing
locality, compliance with the minimum acreage shall be determined
on the basis of the total area of such real estate and not the area
which is located in the particular taxing locality.
The taking of real estate which is being valued, assessed and
taxed under this article by right of eminent domain shall not subject
the real estate so taken to the roll-back taxes herein imposed.
The provisions of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia applicable
to local levies and real estate assessment and taxation shall be applicable
to assessments and taxation hereunder mutatis mutandis, including,
without limitation, provisions relating to tax liens, boards of equalization
and the correction of erroneous assessments; and for such purposes,
the roll-back taxes shall be considered to be deferred real estate
taxes.