Mille Lacs Soil and Water Conservation District  

     1016 5th St. SE  ·  Milaca, MN 56353        

5/21/10

Rural Preserves Property Tax Program

BACKGROUND     The Rural Preserve Property Tax program was enacted by the Minnesota Legislature in 2009. the program was a response to concerns raised by property owners and farmers regarding changes that had been made to the Green Acres program in 2008. Many farm properties in Minnesota include land that is not actually farmed. In some instances, the choice to not farm a portion of land is based on a property owner's decision to  use it for other purposes (e.g. hunting or future residential development). However, other farmers choose not to farm portions of their property to maintain natural wildlife or to preserve "green" lands for future generations... The Rural Preserve program was enacted to provide similar tax benefits as the Green Acres program to property owners who were sincerely interested in land preservation. Persons choosing to enroll must be willing to commit their land to a conservation management plan and covenant for a minimum of ten years in order to receive the tax benefits of the program.

What is the application process?

The process for applying for the Rural Preserve Property Tax program is a four-step process. It begins and ends with the assessor’s office. The “four steps” include:

1. The Assessor’s Office

2. The Soil and Water Conservation District

3. The County Recorder’s Office

4. The Assessor’s Office

 The Assessor’s Office: Property owners seeking to enroll lands into the Rural Preserve program should first contact their assessor’s office for an explanation of the program. You have been provided with fact sheets which may be of help in this part of the process. Assessors should work with property owners to determine program eligibility (Green Acres or agricultural homestead requirements are met, no delinquent taxes, at least ten contiguous acres, etc.). If parcels contain 10 or more contiguous eligible acres, the assessor should provide a list of parcel numbers, provide aerial photos of the parcels, and provide the application to the property owner. If your office is unable to produce maps or aerial photos, we recommend working with the SWCD in your county, or request that the property owner get maps from the Farm Service Agency.

 Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03 allows assessors to charge a minimal fee for some of these aerial photos and copies. However, assessors may not charge for delineating eligible acres on a map, as this is a part of the assessor’s duty.

 The Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD): Property owners should contact the SWCD to review requirements of the conservation management plans. Property owners should provide parcel numbers and aerial photos to the SWCD for purposes of creating the plan. A plan will be prepared for any applicable acres (it does not need to be all eligible acres, so long as at least ten are enrolled). Only the acres covered by the plan are eligible for enrollment in Rural Preserve, which may mean that upon the assessor’s second review, the total acreage to be considered may decrease. Assessors should therefore review the plan when it is returned to the office to ensure that only appropriate acreage receives the benefit. The SWCD will approve the plan. In some cases, the property owners may already have a plan which meets the SWCD’s requirements, such as a forest management plan. In this case, the SWCD approver will acknowledge that the prepared plan meets the requirements of this program. Again, the assessor does not need to read and understand the minutiae of the plan, but needs to know that it has been signed by an approved plan writer. 

 Follow this link for information on SWCD plan development, plan approval and associated fees...read

 The County Recorder’s Office: The property owner will fill out and sign the Covenant form. The covenant will bind the property to the terms of the conservation management plan. This covenant must include the required exhibits (legal description and a map or survey of the affected area). Property owners will file the covenant at the County Recorder’s office. The property owner will make a copy of the recorded covenant to submit with the final and complete application to the assessor’s office.

 The County Assessor’s Office: At this part of the application process, the assessor will review the required items. Applications for deferral under Rural Preserve are due by May 1 of the year prior to the year in which taxes are payable. A completed and signed application must be returned to the assessor along with a copy of the conservation management plan signed by an approved plan writer and a copy of the recorded covenant agreement. As the assessor has already determined qualifications for the program at the initial meeting, the assessor needs only to review the additional documentation for approval or denial of deferral, and to review the exact acreage affected (by reviewing the conservation management plan, the covenant, and the map). The assessor should contact the property owner of the approval or denial.

 As with similar special programs, if the assessor denies the application, the property owner may appeal to Minnesota Tax Court. Local and county boards of appeal and equalization are not able to grant special programs to property owners.

 Follow this link to view a flow chart of this application process…view.

Other links:

Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR)

Mille Lacs County Assessor