PANDORA – An agriculture district has been established in the village to protect local farmers from lawsuits.
During
the March 26 council meeting, council gave approval for an agriculture
district after an application was filed by Daryl Bridenbaugh of Pandora.
The approval came following a required public hearing on the matter
before the regular meeting.
An agricultural district provides
protection for farmers from nuisance lawsuits, defers expensive
development assessments until the land is changed to a non-agriculture
use and offers state scrutiny of local eminent domain acquisitions in
certain cases.
Other municipalities, including Ottawa, have
approved agriculture districts since voters in Toledo approved an
initiative Feb. 26, named the “Lake Erie Bill of Rights.” The measure
allows citizens to sue polluters on behalf of the lake. Lake Erie
provides drinking water for 11 million people and past problems with
Lake Erie’s water quality prompted organizers to find new ways to
safeguard it. In 2014, Toledo issued an advisory for residents not to
drink municipal water after tests found unsafe levels of an algal toxin.
The bloom left 110 people sick and nearly half a million without tap
water.
Landowners can qualify for an agricultural district with 10
or more acres of land that generates an average of at least $2,500
annually for three years prior to application. This status needs to be
renewed every five years. Nuisance lawsuit protection is given if the
farmer follows acceptable best management practices. This can serve as
an affirmative defense in frivolous lawsuits for orders and noises
associated with agriculture.
Another aspect of development that
can impact a farm is the extension of water, sewer and electric lines.
These lines are usually paid for by the landowner and often assessed on
frontage, so farmers with extensive footage could face costs large
enough to require selling a portion of the farm. The law defers the
assessments on agricultural district farmland, excluding the homestead,
until the land is changed to another use or withdrawn from the
agricultural district.
Fiscal Officer Kim Reese informed council
the land involving the village lagoon system - 37.11 acres – is not in
the corporation limits and Council approval is not needed to include
that area in the district. But council approval was needed to allow her
to file the application with the County Auditor.
In other business, council:
•
following an executive session, approved a lot split for the proposed
Dollar General store. The company is pursuing the purchase of 1.45 acres
in the village industrial park. The village is supposed to be paid
$65,000 for land in the industrial park but the village needs to make
some improvements to the area that will take half that amount.
•
approved the recommendation of the village’s Tax Incentive Review
Committee to allow Pandora Grain to continue with its Community
Reinvestment Area.
• heard updates from Mayor Jeremy Liechty to
the Arthur-Lugibihl Community Center. There has always been a bad drain
in the facility and complaints have increased. The drain has now been
totally revamped thanks to volunteer help and minimal costs. There are
also plans to re-do the floor in the center.
The next regular meeting of the Pandora Village Council is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in the village offices.