Section 306. Agricultural lands outside of districts; agricultural assessments

1. Any  owner  of  land  used  in  agricultural  production  outside   of   an   agricultural  district  shall  be  eligible  for  an
  agricultural assessment as provided herein. If an applicant  rents  land
  from  another  for  use in conjunction with the applicant's land for the
  production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products, the gross
  sales value of such products on such rented land shall be added  to  the
  gross sales value of such products produced on the land of the applicant
  for  purposes  of determining eligibility for an agricultural assessment
  on the land of the applicant.
    Such assessment shall be granted pursuant to paragraphs a, b and f  of
  subdivision one of section three hundred five of this article as if such
  land  were  in an agricultural district, provided the landowner annually
  submits to the assessor an application for an agricultural assessment on
  or before the taxable status date. In  the  year  of  a  revaluation  or
  update of assessments, as those terms are defined in section one hundred
  two  of the real property tax law, the application may be filed with the
  assessor no later than the thirtieth day prior to the day by  which  the
  tentative  assessment  roll  is  required  to  be  filed by law. Nothing
  therein shall  be  construed  to  limit  an  applicant's  discretion  to
  withhold  from  such application any land, or portion thereof, contained
  within a single operation.
    2. a. (i) If land which received an agricultural  assessment  pursuant
  to  this  section  is  converted at any time within eight years from the
  time an agricultural assessment was last received, such conversion shall
  subject the land so converted to payments in compensation for the  prior
  benefits  of  agricultural assessments. The amount of the payments shall
  be equal to five times the taxes saved in the last year  in  which  land
  benefited  from an agricultural assessment, plus interest of six percent
  per year compounded annually for each  year  in  which  an  agricultural
  assessment was granted, not exceeding five years.
    (ii)  The  amount  of  taxes saved for the last year in which the land
  benefited  from  an  agricultural  assessment  shall  be  determined  by
  applying the applicable tax rates to the amount of assessed valuation of
  such  land  in excess of the agricultural assessment of such land as set
  forth on the last assessment roll which indicates  such  an  excess.  If
  only  a  portion  of  such  land  as described on the assessment roll is
  converted, the assessor shall apportion the assessment and  agricultural
  assessment  attributable to the converted portion, as determined for the
  last assessment roll on which the assessment of  such  portion  exceeded
  its  agricultural  assessment.  The  difference  between the apportioned
  assessment and the apportioned  agricultural  assessment  shall  be  the
  amount upon which payments shall be determined. Payments shall be levied
  in  the  same  manner  as  other  taxes,  by or on behalf of each taxing
  jurisdiction on the assessment roll prepared on the basis of  the  first
  taxable  status  date  on  which the assessor considers the land to have
  been converted; provided, however, that no payments shall be imposed  if
  the  last  assessment  roll  upon  which  the property benefited from an
  agricultural assessment, was more than eight years prior to the year for
  which the assessment roll upon which payments would otherwise be  levied
  is prepared.
    (iii)  Whenever  a  conversion  occurs,  the  owner  shall  notify the
  assessor within ninety days of the date such conversion is commenced. If
  the landowner fails to make such  notification  within  the  ninety  day
  period,  the assessing unit, by majority vote of the governing body, may
  impose a penalty on behalf of the assessing unit of up to two times  the
  total  payments  owed, but not to exceed a maximum total penalty of five
  hundred dollars in addition to any payments owed.

    b. (i) An assessor who determines that there is liability for payments
  and any penalties pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph  shall
  notify  the  landowner  of such liability at least ten days prior to the
  day for hearing of complaints in relation to  assessments.  Such  notice
  shall  specify  the area subject to payments and shall describe how such
  payments shall be determined. Failure to provide such notice  shall  not
  affect the levy, collection, or enforcement of payments.
    (ii)  Liability  for  payments  shall be subject to administrative and
  judicial review as provided by law for the review of assessments.
    (iii) An assessor who imposes any such payments  shall  annually,  and
  within  forty-five days following the date on which the final assessment
  roll is required to be filed, report such payments to the state board of
  real property services on a form prescribed by the state board.
    (iv) The assessing unit, by majority vote of the government body,  may
  impose a minimum payment amount, not to exceed one hundred dollars.
    c.  If such land or any portion thereof is converted by virtue of oil,
  gas or wind exploration,  development,  or  extraction  activity  or  by
  virtue  of  a  taking  by eminent domain or other involuntary proceeding
  other than a tax sale, the land or portion so  converted  shall  not  be
  subject  to payments. If land so converted constitutes only a portion of
  a parcel described on the assessment roll, the assessor shall  apportion
  the  assessment,  and adjust the agricultural assessment attributable to
  the portion of the parcel not subject to such conversion by  subtracting
  the  proportionate  part  of the agricultural assessment attributable to
  the  portion  so  converted.  Provided  further  that  land  outside  an
  agricultural  district  and  eligible  for  an  agricultural  assessment
  pursuant to this section shall not be considered to have been  converted
  to  a  use  other  than  for  agricultural  production solely due to the
  conveyance of oil, gas or wind rights associated with that land.
    d. The purchase of land in fee by the city of New York  for  watershed
  protection  purposes or the conveyance of a conservation easement by the
  city of New York to the department of environmental  conservation  which
  prohibits  future use of the land for agricultural purposes shall not be
  a conversion of parcels  and  no  payment  for  the  prior  benefits  of
  agricultural assessments shall be due under this section.
    3.  Upon  the  inclusion of such agricultural lands in an agricultural
  district formed pursuant to section three hundred three, the  provisions
  of section three hundred five shall be controlling.
    4.  A  payment  levied  pursuant to subparagraph (i) of paragraph a of
  subdivision two of this section shall be a lien  on  the  entire  parcel
  containing the converted land, notwithstanding that less than the entire
  parcel was converted.
    5.  Use  of  assessment  for certain purposes. The governing body of a
  water, lighting, sewer, sanitation, fire, fire protection, or  ambulance
  district  for whose benefit a special assessment or a special ad valorem
  levy is imposed, may adopt a resolution to provide that the  assessments
  determined  pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of this section for property
  within the district shall be used for the special assessment or  special
  ad valorem levy of such special district.