Farmland assessment denied where non-agricultural activity outweighs farming

Name: McKirdy & Riskin, P.A.
Address: 136 South Street, Morristown, NJ, 07850
Telephone: 973-539-8900

Home » Property Tax Appeal » Farmland assessment denied where non-agricultural activity outweighs farming

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle

28 Jul 2011

The New Jersey Tax Court upheld the municipal tax assessor’s denial of an application for a farmland assessment holding that the agricultural use was subordinate to the taxpayer’s non-agricultural exploitation of the property.
In Atlantic Coast LEH v. Township of Little Egg Harbor, the property at issue is a mostly vacant twelve-acre parcel used to house beehives for the production of apiary products, including honey and wax. The bees forage on plants scattered throughout the entire lot. The beehives are maintained by an out-of-state beekeeper that pays the owner for the apiary products in an amount just above that required to qualify for farmland assessment. The other use of the property is for a 290 foot cellular communications tower that occupies less than one-acre of the property. The taxpayer collects rent from the tower owner.

The court held that the predominant use of the property is for the generation of income form the cellular tower lease and not an agricultural use. While the beekeeper’s activities might otherwise qualify for farmland assessment, the Court held that these activities were subordinate to the non-agricultural of the property rendering farmland assessment inapplicable.