                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SPECIAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF REAL ESTATE ESTABLISHED AND DEFINED (§ 58.1-3230)

For the purposes of this article the following special classifications of real
estate are established and defined:
		&#8220;Real estate devoted to agricultural use&#8221; shall mean real estate
devoted to the bona fide production for sale of plants and animals, or products
made from such plants and animals on the real estate, that are useful to man or
devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications for payments or other
compensation pursuant to soil and water conservation programs under an agreement
with an agency of the state or federal government under uniform standards
prescribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services in
accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
&#8220;Real estate devoted to agricultural use&#8221; shall include a property
that formerly participated in such a state or federal soil and water
conservation program and continues to meet the qualifications of such program
but is no longer receiving payments or compensation. Prior, discontinued use of
property shall not be considered in determining its current use. Real estate
upon which recreational activities are conducted for a profit or otherwise shall
be considered real estate devoted to agricultural use as long as the
recreational activities conducted on such real estate do not change the
character of the real estate so that it does not meet the uniform standards
prescribed by the Commissioner. Real property that has been designated as
devoted to agricultural use shall not lose such designation solely because a
portion of the property is being used for a different purpose pursuant to a
special use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning, provided that the property,
excluding such portion, otherwise meets all the requirements for such
designation. The portion of the property being used for a different purpose
pursuant to a special use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning shall be deemed
a separate piece of property from the remaining property for purposes of
assessment. The presence of utility lines on real property shall not be
considered in determining whether the property, including the portion where the
utility lines are located, is devoted to agricultural use. In determining
whether real property is devoted to agricultural use, zoning designations and
special use permits for the property shall not be the sole considerations. The
presence of noxious weeds, as defined in § 3.2-800, or woody growth shall not
be the sole basis for the denial of such designation or for the exclusion of
such land for the purposes of determining minimum acreage if the landowner
provides documentation, in the form of receipts or invoices, of a regular or
annual control method of such weeds or growth.
		&#8220;Real estate devoted to horticultural use&#8221; shall mean real estate
devoted to the bona fide production for sale of fruits of all kinds, including
grapes, nuts, and berries; vegetables; nursery and floral products; and plants
or products directly produced from fruits, vegetables, nursery and floral
products, or plants on such real estate or devoted to and meeting the
requirements and qualifications for payments or other compensation pursuant to a
soil and water conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the
state or federal government under uniform standards prescribed by the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services in accordance with the
Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). &#8220;Real estate devoted to
horticultural use&#8221; shall include a property that formerly participated in
such a state or federal soil and water conservation program and continues to
meet the qualifications of such program but is no longer receiving payments or
compensation. Prior, discontinued use of property shall not be considered in
determining its current use. Real estate upon which recreational activities are
conducted for profit or otherwise shall be considered real estate devoted to
horticultural use as long as the recreational activities conducted on such real
estate do not change the character of the real estate so that it does not meet
the uniform standards prescribed by the Commissioner. Real property that has
been designated as devoted to horticultural use shall not lose such designation
solely because a portion of the property is being used for a different purpose
pursuant to a special use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning, provided that
the property, excluding such portion, otherwise meets all the requirements for
such designation. The portion of the property being used for a different purpose
pursuant to a special use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning shall be deemed
a separate piece of property from the remaining property for purposes of
assessment. The presence of utility lines on real property shall not be
considered in determining whether the property, including the portion where the
utility lines are located, is devoted to horticultural use. In determining
whether real property is devoted to horticultural use, zoning designations and
special use permits for the property shall not be the sole considerations.
		&#8220;Real estate devoted to forest use&#8221; shall mean land, including the
standing timber and trees thereon, devoted to tree growth in such quantity and
so spaced and maintained as to constitute a forest area under standards
prescribed by the State Forester pursuant to the authority set out in §
58.1-3240 and in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et
seq.). Prior, discontinued use of property shall not be considered in
determining its current use. Real estate upon which recreational activities are
conducted for profit, or otherwise, shall still be considered real estate
devoted to forest use as long as the recreational activities conducted on such
real estate do not change the character of the real estate so that it no longer
constitutes a forest area under standards prescribed by the State Forester
pursuant to the authority set out in § 58.1-3240. Real property that has been
designated as devoted to forest use shall not lose such designation solely
because a portion of the property is being used for a different purpose pursuant
to a special use permit or is otherwise allowed by zoning, provided that the
property, excluding such portion, otherwise meets all the requirements for such
designation. The portion of the property being used for a different purpose
pursuant to a special use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning shall be deemed
a separate piece of property from the remaining property for purposes of
assessment. The presence of utility lines on real property shall not be
considered in determining whether the property, including the portion where the
utility lines are located, is devoted to forest use. In determining whether real
property is devoted to forest use, zoning designations and special use permits
for the property shall not be the sole considerations.
		&#8220;Real estate devoted to open-space use&#8221; shall mean real estate
used as, or preserved for, (i) park or recreational purposes, including public
or private golf courses, (ii) conservation of land or other natural resources,
(iii) floodways, (iv) wetlands as defined in § 58.1-3666, (v) riparian buffers
as defined in § 58.1-3666, (vi) historic or scenic purposes, or (vii) assisting
in the shaping of the character, direction, and timing of community development
or for the public interest and consistent with the local land-use plan under
uniform standards prescribed by the Director of the Department of Conservation
and Recreation pursuant to the authority set out in § 58.1-3240 and in
accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) and the
local ordinance. Prior, discontinued use of property shall not be considered in
determining its current use. Real property that has been designated as devoted
to open-space use shall not lose such designation solely because a portion of
the property is being used for a different purpose pursuant to a special use
permit or is otherwise allowed by zoning, provided that the property, excluding
such portion, otherwise meets all the requirements for such designation. The
portion of the property being used for a different purpose pursuant to a special
use permit or otherwise allowed by zoning shall be deemed a separate piece of
property from the remaining property for purposes of assessment. The presence of
utility lines on real property shall not be considered in determining whether
the property, including the portion where the utility lines are located, is
devoted to open-space use. In determining whether real property is devoted to
open-space use, zoning designations and special use permits for the property
shall not be the sole considerations.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 58-769.5; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 172; 1973, c. 209; 1984,
cc. 675, 739, 750; 1987, c. 550; 1988, c. 695; 1989, cc. 648, 656; 1996, c. 573;
1998, c. 516; 2006, c. 817; 2009, c. 800; 2012, c. 653; 2018, c. 504; 2023, c.
345.