(a) The assessor in valuing land which qualifies as land actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or forestry use under the tests prescribed by this section, and as to which the owner thereof has made timely application for valuation, assessment and taxation under this section for the tax year in issue, shall consider only those indicia of value of such land as established by the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee.
(b) In determining the total area of land actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or forest use there shall be included the area of all land under barns, sheds, silos, cribs, greenhouses and like structures, lakes, dams, ponds, streams, irrigation ditches and like facilities, but land under, and such additional land as may be actually used in connection with the farmhouse, shall be excluded in determining such total area.
(c) All structures which are located on land in agricultural, horticultural or forest use and the farmhouse and the land on which the farmhouse is located, together with the additional land used in connection therewith, shall be valued, assessed and taxed by the same standards, methods and procedures as other taxable structures and other land in the taxing district.
(d) When land in agricultural use and being valued, assessed and taxed under the provisions of this chapter, is applied to a use other than agriculture, it shall be subject to additional taxes, hereinafter referred to as roll-back taxes, in an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the taxes paid or payable on the basis of the valuation and the assessment authorized hereunder and the taxes that would have been paid or payable had the land been valued, assessed and taxed as other land in the taxing district, in the current tax year immediately preceding, in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder.
(1) If in the tax year in which a change in use of land occurs the land was not valued, assessed and taxed under this chapter, then such land shall be subject to roll-back taxes in the following manner. If the change of the use of land occurs prior to January 1, 1996, then such land shall be subject to roll-back taxes for the 5 tax years immediately preceding in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder. If the change in use of land occurs between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 1996, then such land shall be subject to roll-back taxes for the 6 tax years immediately preceding in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder. If the change in use of land occurs between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 1997, then such land shall be subject to roll-back taxes for the 7 tax years immediately preceding in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder. If the change in use of land occurs between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 1998, then such land will be subject to roll-back taxes for the 8 tax years immediately preceding in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder. If the change in use of land occurs between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 1999, then such land shall be subject to roll-back taxes for the 9 tax years immediately preceding in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder. If the change in use of land occurs on January 1, 2000, or thereafter, then such land shall be subject to roll-back taxes for the 10 tax years immediately preceding in which the land was valued, assessed and taxed hereunder.
(2) In determining the amounts of the roll-back taxes chargeable on land which has undergone a change in use, the assessor shall for each of the roll-back tax years involved, ascertain:
a. The full and fair value of such land under the valuation standard applicable to other land in the taxing district;
b. The amount of the additional assessment on the land for the particular tax year by deducting the amount of the actual assessment on the land for that year from the amount of the land assessment determined by the assessing authority; and
c. The amount of the roll-back tax for that tax year by multiplying the amount of the additional assessment determined under paragraph (d)(2)b. of this section by the general property tax rate of the taxing district applicable for that tax year.
(3) Roll-back taxes as provided herein shall become payable when the land is applied to a use other than agricultural, horticultural or forestry. The terms “applied to a use other than agriculture” and “change in use” for purposes of this subsection shall include any of the following:
a. The actual use of the land for an activity other than agricultural, horticultural or forestry;
b. The rezoning of the land to a nonagricultural category;
c. The approval of a site plan or issuance of a certificate of occupancy which allows for a nonagricultural usage; and
d. The loss of eligibility for valuation under §§ 8330-8337 of this title.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to the contrary, whenever land in agricultural use is applied to a use other than agriculture, and such land is but a portion of a larger tract of land, the remainder of which continues in agricultural use, roll-back taxes as provided herein shall become payable only with respect to the portion of the land which is applied to a use other than agricultural, and the remainder of the land which continues in agricultural use shall remain eligible for valuation under §§ 8330-8337 of this title, provided the criteria for land use set forth under § 8333 of this title continue to be satisfied. The owner of the land which continues in agricultural use shall not be required to apply for eligibility for valuation, and the burden for establishing ineligibility shall rest with the assessing authority.
(5) Roll-back taxes hereunder shall be paid within 90 days of their due date, and payment thereafter shall include a penalty of 6 percent of the amount due for the first month thereafter, and 1 percent of the amount due for each consecutive month until payment is made. The amount due for roll-back tax shall become a lien on the land which was subject to a change in use or applied to a use other than agriculture as of the due date. The school tax component of the roll-back tax shall be paid to the respective school districts which established the tax rates applicable to the lands through a payment first to the appropriate county receiver of taxes, treasurer or director of finance, who collects school taxes. The balance of the roll-back tax shall, when collected by the appropriate county receiver of taxes, treasurer or director of finance, be paid to the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation; provided, however, that 7 1 / 2 percent of such balance shall be withheld and paid to the county as a charge for administration. For purposes of this paragraph, the due date shall be the earlier of the date following conversion under paragraph (d)(3) of this section which is established by the respective counties for annual taxes or the date indicated by the county in any special billing for roll-back taxes.
(6) When land in agricultural use and being valued, assessed and taxed under the provisions of this chapter, is acquired for public use by State agencies, whether by condemnation, gift or purchase, and is then applied to a use other than agriculture, that portion of the land which is applied to such other use shall be subject to a payment by the agency in lieu of roll-back taxes, to be paid to the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation. The amount of this payment in lieu shall be determined as if it were the roll-back tax chargeable under this section for the tax year in which the land was acquired by the agency, or the tax year in which the land is applied to such other use, whichever is greater, after first deducting the school tax component of the roll-back tax chargeable for that year. This payment shall be made directly by the agency to the Foundation, after obtaining the assessment information from the appropriate county receiver of taxes, treasurer or director of finance, and shall not be subject to any charge for administration by the county. In all other respects, the land so acquired for such public use shall not be assessed or charged for roll-back or other property taxes by any county, school district or other political subdivision.
