Zoning question

[Hobby_Man22]

Does a property zoned agricultural/residential mean you have to pick one or the other or is it both? To me this just means its a residential property and you can have farm animals like chickens, horses, cows or grow crops, you just cant make money off it.

 

[u2slow]

It means you have to learn from your zoning department what their definitions are.

Lot size can be a factor. Maybe you still need 2+ acres of that zoning 'label' to have animals.

 

[75gmck25]

The answer will be different based on location, so you need to go to your location property tax office to find out.

When I lived in Texas the agricultural property tax rate was much lower than residential. However, there were specific rules for what livestock was required if you wanted to keep it taxed as agricultural. Once you fell below that minimum livestock requirement to qualify, the property description was revised and it was taxed at the higher residential rate. If you missed even one year to qualify you had to show five years use for agricultural before your taxes went back down.

It wasn't real unusual to see a property inside the city limits (after the city expanded its boundaries) that had been fenced and they used it to graze horses. That kept the tax rate low until they could sell it to a developer.

 

[Stuart in MN]

As said, you have to check with your local government as the terms may have different meanings depending on location.

Coincidentally I just read a story in my local newspaper today about a suburb that made some changes to their zoning definitions, and inadvertently outlawed some things that had previously been allowed. For instance, they have some larger lots where people are allowed to have a roadside produce stand, but the new regulations prevent those people from growing their own produce to sell. Now, they're in the process of rolling back and/or revising their code definitions.

 

[u2slow]

The answer will be different based on location, so you need to go to your location property tax office to find out.

Yup - everywhere seems to be different. Property tax office has nothing to do with it here; it's the bylaw office.

 

[aka Larry]

When I lived in Texas the agricultural property tax rate was much lower than residential.

I'm in NC, and that is true where I live also. In my county we have tons of "AR" zoned properties outside the ETJ and most are farms. Once you put a house on it, your tax rate will definitely increase.

 

[KansasArt]

Does a property zoned agricultural/residential mean you have to pick one or the other or is it both? To me this just means its a residential property and you can have farm animals like chickens, horses, cows or grow crops, you just cant make money off it.

Just call your local zoning authority. It’s foolish to ask this on a national/international GJ when the only rules that apply are local to you.

 

[dcg9381]

It means you have to learn from your zoning department what their definitions are.

This. It's particular to your area.

And frankly, in my experience, the P&Z department doesn't know this as well as you can know it yourself if you look it up. If they say "you can" or "you can't" ask them for the appropriate supporting documentation. If it's not "R" (residential) here, they typically get it wrong.

Here's an example, this tells you "use type" but what it doesn't tell you is if you can build residential in addition to the use type and what the minimum requirements for that residential space are. This does NOT apply to your area:

 

[billconner]

Where I live, it's one classification:

"AR Agricultural and Rural Residential.
(a)
Purpose. To provide a low-density mix of agricultural and rural residential uses with compatible accessory uses so as to afford maximum preservation of rural open space and characteristics."

Setbacks and density are regulated as well as what uses. Tax wise, here, the assessed value is supposed to be market value. My AR is taxed at same rate as my purely residential R-1 property.

 

[NUTTSGT]

It doesn't matter what it means to you, you need to inquire with the AHJ as to what you can do and what you can't do. . .


But if you want, get half a dozen hogs if you want to impress the neighbors.

 

[The Metric System]

And frankly, in my experience, the P&Z department doesn't know this as well as you can know it yourself if you look it up.

This has been my experience as well, especially if you are trying to do anything that is atypical or creative.

IMO an essential step in any project planning process is becoming very familiar with the actual contents of any relevant local codes.

There were several things we wanted to do on our recent garage build that builders and local zoning people initially said were not permitted; being able to direct them to the exact sections of the code that indicated these things were specifically allowed caused them to change their mind and agree with our plan.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Where I live, it's one classification:

"AR Agricultural and Rural Residential.
(a)
Purpose. To provide a low-density mix of agricultural and rural residential uses with compatible accessory uses so as to afford maximum preservation of rural open space and characteristics."

Setbacks and density are regulated as well as what uses. Tax wise, here, the assessed value is supposed to be market value. My AR is taxed at same rate as my purely residential R-1 property.

That's the same classification here. AR

 

[Hobby_Man22]

It doesn't matter what it means to you, you need to inquire with the AHJ as to what you can do and what you can't do. . .


But if you want, get half a dozen hogs if you want to impress the neighbors.

All the neighbors have horses/chickens/goats etc. I've already been outdone lol

 

[johninct]

The zone name means nothing. It is what is listed as a permitted use in that zone that matters.

 

[75gmck25]

I went back to the first post and realized the OP is apparently in Texas. Texas does not have income tax, so most jurisdictions make up the difference with properly taxes or sales taxes. For example, where I live now in Virginia the residential property tax is $1.35 per $100 of assessed value. When I lived in San Antonio the residential property tax was $2.69 per $100 of assessed value.

The agricultural property taxes in Texas include Ag use exemptions and other factors that make it hard to quote a tax rate without knowing a specific county.

 

[dcg9381]

The agricultural property taxes in Texas include Ag use exemptions and other factors that make it hard to quote a tax rate without knowing a specific county.

The tax rate is generally pretty fixed. Generally you need 10 acres to qualify for Ag and there is an application process if it's not already Ag. If you have Ag, you'd know it. Improving something zoned as Ag doesn't necessarily change the assessment of the land value. Depends on what you're building.

Any "improvement" (especially an improvement that is permitted) will result in additional assessment on the "improvements" portion of land value. The problem I've run into is that the county often likes to evaluate the improvements at 100% complete while they are in process and those swings in taxes can be substantial. Take pictures if you're "under construction" as you may have go back and prove % complete to the assessor.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

I went back to the first post and realized the OP is apparently in Texas. Texas does not have income tax, so most jurisdictions make up the difference with properly taxes or sales taxes. For example, where I live now in Virginia the residential property tax is $1.35 per $100 of assessed value. When I lived in San Antonio the residential property tax was $2.69 per $100 of assessed value.

The agricultural property taxes in Texas include Ag use exemptions and other factors that make it hard to quote a tax rate without knowing a specific county.

Yeah, the state income tax is usually like 1 percent of your income last time I looked. Not in Texas though. I'd much rather pay that than our outrageous property taxes.