§ 8. Agricultural lands planning criteria

(a) The Secretary shall establish guidelines to assist municipal and regional planning commissions in identifying agricultural lands. The guidelines shall provide, but not be limited to:

(1) soil characteristics appropriate to agricultural land;

(2) appropriate size of the parcel and use of adjacent land;

(3) the importance of agriculture to the region or locality;

(4) the availability and capacity of agricultural services and labor to support farming in the region; and

(5) the importance of the land, as agricultural land, to the character of the locality.

(b) The guidelines established by the Secretary under subsection (a) of this section may be applied by each regional and municipal planning commission to establish specific criteria for identifying agricultural lands within that region or municipality. (Added 1987, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 30, eff. May 19, 1988; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)