                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

VALUATION OF REAL ESTATE UNDER ORDINANCE (§ 58.1-3236)

A. In valuing real estate for purposes of taxation by any county, city or town
which has adopted an ordinance pursuant to this article, the commissioner of the
revenue or duly appointed assessor shall consider only those indicia of value
which such real estate has for agricultural, horticultural, forest or open space
use, and real estate taxes for such jurisdiction shall be extended upon the
value so determined. In addition to use of his personal knowledge, judgment and
experience as to the value of real estate in agricultural, horticultural, forest
or open space use, he shall, in arriving at the value of such land, consider
available evidence of agricultural, horticultural, forest or open space
capability, and the recommendations of value of such real estate as made by the
State Land Evaluation Advisory Council.

B. In determining the total area of real estate actively devoted to
agricultural, horticultural, forest or open space use there shall be included
the area of all real estate under barns, sheds, silos, cribs, greenhouses,
public recreation facilities and like structures, lakes, dams, ponds, streams,
irrigation ditches and like facilities; but real estate under, and such
additional real estate as may be actually used in connection with, the farmhouse
or home or any other structure not related to such special use, shall be
excluded in determining such total area.

C. All structures which are located on real estate in agricultural,
horticultural, forest or open space use and the farmhouse or home or any other
structure not related to such special use and the real estate on which the
farmhouse or home or such other structure is located, together with the
additional real estate used in connection therewith, shall be valued, assessed
and taxed by the same standards, methods and procedures as other taxable
structures and other real estate in the locality.

D. In addition, such real estate in agricultural, horticultural, forest or open
space use shall be evaluated on the basis of fair market value as applied to
other real estate in the taxing jurisdiction, and land book records shall be
maintained to show both the use value and the fair market value of such real
estate.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 58-769.9; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 172; 1984, c. 675.