Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) The
open enrollment application period for the easement
purchase program as set by the department shall not exceed
ninety days.
(B) Application shall
be made on a form approved by the director. The application must contain, but
is not limited to, the following information:
(1) A resolution, ordinance, or recorded
action from the certified local sponsor
supporting the landowner's application, certifying the availability and
committing to pay the required local match, if applicable, and agreeing to
share legal responsibility to monitor, supervise, and enforce the agricultural
easement.
(2) The printed name,
address, telephone number, and signature of all owners of the application
property, including land contract holders`.
(3) The municipality, county, township, and
street address where the application property is located.
(4) The name, address, and telephone number
of the person to be contacted regarding the application property if other than
the landowner.
(5) Identification
of any known restrictive covenants or third party interests.
(6) The current agricultural use value of the
application property and the market value of the application property as
determined by the county auditor's most recent assessment.
(7) The most recent copy of the real property
record from the county auditor establishing that the application property is
valued for purposes of real property taxation at the property's
current value for agricultural use under section
5713.31 of the Revised Code, as
applicable, in paragraph (A)(1) of rule
901-2-02 of the Administrative
Code.
(8) The most recent copy of
the real property record from the county auditor establishing that the
application property is currently enrolled in an agricultural district as
provided for in section
929.02 of the Revised Code, as
applicable, in paragraph (A)(6) of rule
901-2-02 of the Administrative
Code.
(9) A copy of the
grantor's
deed of record.
(10) A map or aerial photograph of the
application property including delineated homestead area, existing
roads and buildings, boundaries, total road frontage of the farm, known power
easements, and any land excluded from the easement.
(11) A map or aerial photograph showing an
adequate radius around the application property to include the proximity of the
application farm from any protected properties (easement and non-easement), to
neighboring applicant farms, accessible public roadway
intersections, including boundaries, distance from
sewer and water, interchanges, known pipelines, and/or any other reported
distances supported in the application.
(12) Indication of:
(a) Proximity to other protected
lands;
(b) Best management
practices;
(c) Development
pressure;
(d) Local comprehensive
planning and farmland preservation efforts; and
(e) Other factors as determined by the
director prior to each application funding round.
(C) The application shall contain
a section approved by the county soil and water conservation district or the
county natural resource conservation service, which includes, but is not
limited to, the following:
(1) Total number of
acres considered prime, unique, or locally important;
(2) The date and status of the conservation
plan, if any, which has been approved by the county soil and water conservation
district or county natural resource conservation service; and
(3) A color-coded soils map containing a list
of soil mapping unit names and symbols on the application property.
(D) If the application is being
made by a charitable organization, then the application shall contain an
ordinance or resolution supporting the agricultural easement from the
applicable municipal corporation or township and
county(ies) where the application property is located.
(E) The application must be signed by the
local sponsor or the local sponsor's authorized representative
completing the application.
(F) The
county or municipal planner, engineer or other qualified official as approved
by the director must also sign the application to verify that all reported
distances are accurate and complete.
(G) No application shall be accepted which
is:
(1) Completed and postmarked after the
closing date for submission; or
(2) Incomplete, or not accompanied by all of
the information required within the application.
(H)
An
amendment to an easement application will
only be accepted if the amendment is received prior to the application
deadline.
(I) During the
application review process the department or the certified local sponsor may
request clarification from an applicant\landowner and may provide an applicant
an opportunity to correct typographical errors\defects in the
application.
(J) Applications must
contain all material requested within the application. Any application failing
to meet the requirements of the rule shall automatically be disqualified,
unless the director believes that it is in the department's best interest to
waive any defect in the application.
