AGRICULTURAL AREAS

Amends the Agricultural Areas Conservation and Protection Act. Provides that an agricultural area, at the creation of any such area, shall not be less than 350 acres in all counties with a population under 100,000 (rather than (600,000) and not less than 100 acres in all counties with a population of 100,000 (rather than (600,000) or more. Provides that all land within an agricultural area will be primarily used for agricultural production, and shall be assessed as part of a farm, as defined in the Property Tax Code. Provides that any resident or landowner (rather than person) may submit a petition to the county board requesting the withdrawal of land from an agricultural area located within the county in which he or she lives or owns land. Provides that the county board may collect a fee from owners of land that is removed from an agricultural area before the end of the current review period. Provides that the county board may collect a fee in an amount not to exceed 3 times the difference between the amount of property taxes collected from removed land during the review period under farmland assessment and the amount of property taxes that would have been collected during the full review period under non-farmland assessment. Provides that lands within agricultural areas designated by a county board under the Act shall qualify as preservation districts and individual properties within agriculture districts shall qualify as landmarks, as those terms are defined in the Counties Code. Makes other technical changes.