Public Act 490 Guide - CT.gov

RECOMMENDED PA 490 LAND VALUES
PA
490
SECTION 4: RECOMMENDED PA 490 LAND VALUES
CGS Section 12-63 Rule of Valuation states that: The
present true and actual value of land classified as farmland
pursuant to Section 12-107c, as forest land pursuant to
Section 12-107d, as open space pursuant to Section 12-107e
or as maritime heritage land pursuant to Section 12-107g,
shall be based upon its current use without regard to neighborhood
land use of a more intensive nature.
What this means is that classified land will not be
assessed at the higher fair market value but at a lower
land use value. This has been affirmed by the courts:
Rustici v. Town of Stonington 1977 and Bussa v. Town of
Glastonbury 1968.
CGS Chapter 201 Section 12-2b provides that the
Office of Policy and Management in consultation
with the Commissioner of Agriculture shall develop a
recommended schedule of land use values for PA 490
valuation. These values are required to be updated
every five years. These recommended values are
made available to each municipality and to the
general public.
It is strongly urged that towns use these values.
However, a municipality may choose not to use these
recommended values. If this occurs, the values used
by that town for each classified property must be
supported by data and an approved methodology.
Values other than those recommended by the
Office of Policy and Management must be justified
in the context of CGS Chapter 203 Section 12-63:
Rule of valuation.
METHODOLOGY USED TO OBTAIN
RECOMMENDED PA 490 FARMLAND
USE VALUES
The development of the Public Act 490 2010 Land Use
Values, based on the capitalization of rent, was initiated in
June of 2009 by the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association
in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of
Agriculture, and the PA 490 Guide Advisory Committee
that redesigned the Net Rental Land Use Value Survey
(See Appendix C). This tool proved quite successful as the
information received was more reliable, and much easier
to understand and interpret than in the past 2000 and
1995 surveys. More than 1,500 surveys were distributed
using mailing lists compiled by Connecticut Farm Bureau
Association and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
The survey also was distributed at various agricultural
meetings and venues and through personal contact by
Farm Credit East, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture,
Connecticut Farm Bureau, Farm Service Agency, and
the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The importance
of returning the survey was emphasized, and 129
individual farmers and property owners returned surveys
representing 361 individual rent values (332 were used,
equaling 89%). The 2009 survey provided more usable
data compared to the 2000 survey, which included 742
rents (635 were used, equaling 85%). The total number of
submitters in 2000 was not counted.
An overview of the data indicates a significant increase
in the dollar per acre rents for Tillable A and Tillable B
farmland, particularly river valley land. There are two
reasons for this increase. One, the rent information has
not been collected for ten years, and two, the continued
decline in the amount of quality valley farmland available
with fewer, but much larger and dominant farms. Farmers
are competing for this land not only through rental agreements,
but as evident in the marketplace. The demand is
a combination of a very strong residual tobacco industry,
coupled with a strong demand for valley land for fruits
and vegetables.
For the less productive Tillable C and D land, the competition
is varied. There are a number of large dairy farms
with over 500 cows. Only a small number of these farms
submitted rental information, believed to indicate the
significance of competition for rental lands. The other
significant factor is the percentage increase in the amount
of land that is being rented for no cash consideration.
In 2000, the total percentage of rent values submitted as
zero was 15% and in 2010 it was 37%. This also indicates
there is more Tillable C, Tillable D and pasture land in the
hands of non-farmers who want to keep their land open
by allowing farmers to use their land for no fee. A few
landowners were receiving non-cash consideration from
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Public Act 490: A Practical Guide and Overview • http://www.cfba.org/pa490guide.htm • Connecticut Farm Bureau Association