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conservation easements will be held in public trust by Buncombe County, or <br />transferred to a'private nonprofit conservation. organization. Conservation <br />easements will be in perpetuity and in compliance with the North Carolina Historic <br />Preservation and Conservation Agreement Act and applicable Federal and state tax <br />laws. <br />C. Minimum Eligibility Criteria <br />The agricultural and/or open space land must be at least ten (10) acres in size or <br />contiguous to a ten (10) acre tract for which the County holds the conservation <br />easements, and be in agricultural and/or open space use. <br />D. Application Procedu re <br />An'application must be submitted to the Buncombe Agricultural Advisory Board <br />through the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District. <br />E. Review and Ranking of Application <br />The Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District will rank each of the <br />applications using the Soil Assessment and 'T' Formula of Conservation Criteria <br />of the Farmland Ranking System. The Buncombe County Soil and Water <br />Conservation District will forward the application and Soil Assessment to the <br />Buncombe County Planning Department which will rank each of the applications <br />using the Site Assessment Criteria of the Farmland Ranking System, will prioritize <br />applications and make recommendations to the Board. <br />F. Acquisition <br />1. The County Attorney will obtain two appraisals on tracts considered for <br />entry into the program: One appraisal will establish current fair market value of <br />the property at its current highest and best use. The second appraisal will establish <br />the value of the property for agricultural or open space use. Payment for these <br />appraisals will be based upon negotiations with the landowner at the County's <br />discretion. <br />2. Upon receiving the written appraisals, the County Attorney will present the <br />values to the landowner by_ certified mail. The landowner will have thirty (30) days <br />from receipt of the values to submit an offer to sell his/her conservation easements. <br />Failure to respond in- writing within the required time may constitute waiver of the <br />opportunity. Upon receiving-an offer to sell, the County Attorney and a member <br />of the Board will meet with the landowners and attempt to negotiate a price with <br />the landowner and recommend a purchase price to the Board of County <br />Commissioners. If an agreement-is reached, a contract to convey will be signed <br />