The Ulster County Legislature will accept requests from March 1 through March 30, 2016 from landowners wanting to have their agricultural lands included within a NYS Certified Agricultural District.

Landowners seeking inclusion into a Certified Agricultural District must submit a completed Agricultural District Inclusion Application with tax map identification number(s), a copy of the relevant portion to the tax map, and a description of the land to Burt Samuelson, Ulster County Planning Dept., 244 Fair St., PO Box 1800, Kingston, NY 12402-1800 within this thirty-day period.

Applications must be received from March 1 and March 30, 2016 at the Ulster County Planning Department. Applications should be mailed or hand delivered.

The Agricultural District Inclusion Application and a brochure explaining Agricultural Districts are available through the following website at http://ulstercountyny.gov/planning/annual-agriculturaldistrict-inclusions. To receive an application, brochure or more information about the inclusion process, please contact Burt Samuelson at (845) 339-2490 or via email bsam[at]co.ulster.ny[dot]us.

Agricultural District Law adopted by the New York State Legislature in 1971 provides for the creation of Agricultural Districts to protect and promote the availability of land for farming purposes. Lands within Districts are protected from unreasonable local regulation of farm practices, the acquisition by public entities through the use of eminent domain, and the advance of public funds to construct facilities that encourage non-farm development. Additionally, land used in agricultural production within an Agricultural District is not subject to benefit assessments, special ad valorem levies or other rates and fees for the financing of improvements such as water, sewer or non-farm drainage.

Ulster County has four certified Agricultural Districts containing over 70,000 acres of farmland