BOA agenda 111218 - cancelled - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

1 Andy Petesch agreed that was his argument. 2 3 Randy Herman asked LeAnn Brown if hypothetically the tax exemption was clearly issued to Wild Flora Farm, LLC, and 4 it read that way and then LeAnn Brown was able to show the board that Wild Flora Farm, LLC, did not actually have 5 any income to qualify for the certificate, in that case does LeAnn Brown believe that under the statute this board could 6 disregard the certificate? 7 8 LeAnn Brown answered that is an interesting question with this brand new statute and she should note James Bryan’s 9 observation earlier was a good one that the statute, inartfully written as it is, appears to give the county the ability to 10 look at things. Otherwise, who is making the determination whether or not it is a farm activity if not the county? LeAnn 11 Brown does think the board is allowed to look at what the statutes say and the statute says the certificate has to be 12 issued to the owner of the property. We know it wasn’t. When Michael Harvey made his decision, it was not yet merged. 13 The board is also to look at 105 and 105 states that a qualifying farmer has income from farming operations for the 14 preceding tax year of $10,000 or more. And we know the entity didn’t exist. She thinks the board can look at that. If the 15 board gives the Department of Revenue the benefit of the doubt, whether or not Kara Brewer amended her return, it is 16 impossible for Wild Flora Farm, LLC, to earn income in a year in which it did not exist. She thinks that is not the entity to 17 whom the Department of Revenue issued the certificate and that is why it is written the way it is, because that entity did 18 not exist in 2016 to have generated income. In answer to the deeper question Randy Herman is asking whether the 19 board can look at whether the Department of Revenue erred in issuing a certificate, she said she does not know that 20 she knows the answer to that but the Board of Adjustment has pretty broad power to enforce the UDO. But in this case, 21 she doesn’t think the board has to worry about it because the board knows that the entity did not have income in 2016 22 so the board knows that the Department of Revenue did not issue the entity a certificate. It must be to Kara Brewer 23 individually, DBA Wild Flora Farm. 24 25 Barry Katz said starting with this process in 2015, the board was under the impression that this was a qualified farm 26 because there were forests on it and whatnot. The whole time there was the impression that this was a qualified farm, 27 but is obtaining the exemption certificate what documents it as a qualified farm? 28 29 LeAnn Brown answered no, the statute still contains the factors it had before with the exception of one of the factors 30 she relied on earlier which was the farm number. One of the positive changes in the statute, from LeAnn Brown’s 31 perspective, is that it removed the requirement of the farm number. The other factors are still there. The forestry plan is 32 still there, although you have in your evidence that the forest isn’t still there. This is a separate thing. This is something 33 that bootstraps a building on very special facts. 34 35 Susan Halkiotis said she would like to point out, especially for Randy Herman’s benefit, that beginning in 2015, the 36 board had questions all along about the determination that we were starting with a farm and this was an agritourism 37 activity. So, in fact tonight’s meeting probably is no different in character from our first meeting in 2015 in that so much 38 circuitous information was presented at the time. Susan Halkiotis acknowledged that Andy Petesch was not present at 39 that time, but even going back nearly three years ago, this board had a lot of questions and skepticism about what was 40 being presented to qualify this property as a farm. And so, how that relates to tonight is that this is déjà vu. 41 42 Barry Katz said he can recall Kara Brewer’s testimony as she characterized the farming activities at the public hearing 43 for the Special Use Permit. She had two young children who were in grade school. She would pick them up after school 44 and take them out there to transplant seedlings. That was her farm. She had these beds of flowers and she was going 45 to transplant flowers. And then came the chestnut trees when she got advice that she needed to have something that 46 looked like a farm. The chestnut trees and the bees and all that came later. 47 48 James Bryan asked to speak. He said he would like to clarify whether the board can consider new evidence. James 49 Bryan said it is clear that the board can. He referred to a handout he has given the board from the School of 50 16