Land use benefit to require biennial validation

Albemarle County residents receiving tax benefits for keeping rural land undeveloped will soon have to revalidate every two years to keep their eligibility in the program.

After a public hearing Wednesday, in which only two residents spoke about the issue, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the ordinance.
“Few people will come [to a hearing] to approve of an item,” said Neil Williamson, executive director of the Free Enterprise Forum, explaining that a weak public showing represented rural landowners’ content with what he called the county’s “reasonable and rational” revalidation program. The Free Enterprise Forum is a nonprofit organization that analyzes local government policy.

In the past, when officials considered stiffer tax regulations on agricultural land, local activists showed up in flocks. A July 9 meeting attracted nearly 200 attendees, many at the urging of the Farm Bureau.
However, Williamson commended the Board Wednesday — as did a second speaker who identified himself as a farmer. The man said he was pleased with the county’s attempt to have a simple revalidation program that only permits deserving landowners to receive tax benefits.

The county’s land-use program allows rural landowners to defer taxes on undeveloped parcels while paying full taxes on their home and surrounding two acres. Under revalidation, the county would send out letters and forms to rural area landowners seeking proof that they are farming, harvesting trees or doing other rural-area activities that qualify them for the tax benefits.
County staff suggests that revalidation forms be mailed in late April, separately from tax bills, to all owners in the land-use taxation program. The deadline for landowners to file the forms would be Sept. 1. Participating owners who miss the deadline still would be able to file by Dec. 5, 2009, with a $125 late fee.

Supervisor Sally H. Thomas has been adamant about the importance of creating a revalidation form that includes all of the necessary components, yet is easy to understand. County staff created a draft revalidation form, but Thomas said it needs work. 
“I have probably two dozen questions about the form,” Thomas said. “I do think that we can make it more clear than what we have in front of us.”