A horse is a horse (of course, of course) But is it agriculture? Whether ranches dedicated to abused, abandoned, and aging horses qualify for "Agricultural" classifications under Florida's Greenbelt Law.

AuthorOlexa, Michael T.
PositionCover story

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In light of recent special sessions, hiring freezes, lagging real estate markets, and numerous articles on greenbelt abuse, (1) local governments need a legal adaptation to help ease the tensions between property owners and property appraisers. Despite tensions over property values, Florida's population continues to grow steadily, including Florida's equestrian community. Florida boasts the third largest horse population in the country, surpassed only by California and Texas. (2) With an economic impact on gross domestic product of over 6.5 billion dollars, and generating over 72,000 jobs, the Florida equestrian industry is a significant agricultural commodity. (3)

Florida's equestrian community is currently experiencing an influx of horse owners, equestrian facilities, and popular demand, all of which generate opposition with those counties that refuse to recognize equestrian property uses as "agricultural." Subject to the restrictions set forth in F.S. [section]193.461, otherwise known as the "Greenbelt Law," only property used primarily for bona fide agricultural purposes shall be classified "agricultural." (4) This article addresses whether the use of property to board, train, and graze abused, abandoned, and aging horses, referred to throughout this paper as "rescue" horses, should fall under the Greenbelt Law's "agricultural" tax classification. Several points support rescue ranches' classification as "agricultural." The use of property for rescue horse ranches is consistent with the purpose of the Greenbelt Law, and the rescue horse ranches provide other benefits and relief to Florida's communities. While acknowledging the quantitative and qualitative variations in each county's standards and application process, emphasis is given to substantive criteria and legal precedence of the Greenbelt Law, as applied to rescue horse ranches. (5)

Historical Background of the Florida Greenbelt Law

In 1959, the Florida Legislature created a separate ad valorem tax classification for agricultural land. (6) Effectively converting tax assessments from the traditional fair market appraisals to income valuation derived from the use of the land, the change in property tax assessments was intended to protect and foster the agricultural uses of property. (7) Without these agricultural assessments, the traditional fair market value of the land would overwhelm the incentive to continue any agricultural production of critical commodities, such as timber or staple crops. (8) If landowners' taxes are assessed based on a property's highest and best use, then it makes economic sense for them to convert rural lands into more intensive and profitable uses. Given the economic and environmental benefits of agriculture, the legislature saw the need to moderate tax assessments for agricultural use. As a result, the Greenbelt Law was instituted with the intent of increasing the economic feasibility of agricultural operations through a decrease in property tax assessments. (9)

The Legislative Intent of the Greenbelt Law Supports the Inclusion of Rescue Ranches

Amended over nine times in the last decade, the Greenbelt Law is one of the most contested statutes of recent time. (10) Determining whether the Greenbelt Law applies to rescue horse ranches requires consideration of the intent behind the statute as dictated by the legislature and clarified by Florida courts. The Greenbelt Law manifests the state government's declared policy for agriculture to remain a viable component of Florida's economy. (11) The 67 counties, as divisions of the state, are required to imple ment statutory provisions pursuant to the intent of the legislature, as enforced by the courts. (12) A strong correlation exists between the intended goals of the Greenbelt Law and the purpose and effects of rescue horse ranches. As one Florida court put it, "The reduced taxation for farmland is based on a legislative determination that agriculture cannot reasonably be expected to withstand the tax burden of the highest and best use to which such land might be put." (13) This principle clearly applies to rescue ranches. These ranches, working to rescue unwanted horses, cannot reasonably be expected to withstand the tax burden placed on the land unless they are given relief under the Greenbelt Law. Rescue ranches must shoulder the cost of food, shelter, and care for horses which lack most of the traditional markers of profit potential, yet they may not receive the preferential tax status given to farms raising, boarding, or breeding wealth-producing horses.

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The legislature has stated that preserving agriculture within Florida helps to further several important goals including 1) preserving the landscape and environmental resources of the state; 2) contributing to the increase of tourism; and 3) furthering the economic self-sufficiency of the people of Florida. (14) Including rescue horse ranches under the Greenbelt Law furthers these goals because rescue horse ranches produce the same benefits as horse breeding ranches. First, allowing more ranches to survive and preventing more intense development in Florida's scenic rural lands clearly preserves the landscape and environmental resources of the state. Second, protection for rescue ranches could lead to more tourism for the state. Florida is already the third most populous equine state in the nation. Cultivating the growth and protection of the horse community by showing support for rescue ranches can help increase the state's prestige in the horse-loving community at large, and such an improvement in reputation could help lead to increased horserelated investment and tourism in the future. Third, the Florida horse industry already generates thousands of jobs and acts as a multibillion dollar boon to the state's economy. (15) Fostering the growth of rescue horse ranches would provide new opportunities for jobs in the already economically productive horse industry.

Several Florida courts have agreed that the intent--not to mention the text--of the Greenbelt Law supports the inclusion of rescue-type activities. In several cases, property appraisers' decisions to exclude horse-related agricultural operations from inclusion under the Greenbelt Law have been reversed by the courts. (16) One example is Markham v. PPI, 843 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), which addressed whether horse boarding could qualify for agricultural status under the Greenbelt Law. (17) In Markham, the court determined that the boarding and training of horses constituted a bona fide agricultural purpose under Florida law. (18) The property appraiser had concluded that the boarding and training of horses was not an agricultural use since it did not lead to the production of an agricultural product. (19) The court disagreed, noting that the definition of "agricultural purposes" included the term "livestock." (20) The court concurred with the Third District's conclusion that the phrase "'all forms of farm products and farm production' contained in section 193.461(5) 'is not meant to be a limiting phrase but rather a catch-all' and that the term 'livestock' should be given its plain meaning." (21)

The Text of the Greenbelt Law Supports Inclusion of Rescue Ranches

The text of the Greenbelt Law, like the intent behind the law, supports the inclusion of rescue horse ranches. The text tends toward broad inclusion rather than narrowness. (22) The legislature chose to use inclusive language, such as "includes but is not limited to" and "factors may be taken into consideration." (23) The two following subsections of this article break down the language of the Greenbelt Law into its component parts and analyze the applicability of that language to rescue horse ranches.

* The Primary Purpose Requirement --The first criteria for rescue horse ranches to qualify for agricultural status requires that the agricultural use be the "primary" activity that takes place on the land. (24) Although the presence of a house on the part of the lands used for agricultural purposes does not itself preclude agricultural classification, (25) the area of the house will be excluded from the agricultural classification. (26) On the remainder of the land, the agricultural use must be the most significant activity and not merely an incidental use. (27) This statutory requirement is often unnecessarily muddled by the consideration of minimum acres, specific commercial unit size, and stocking rate. (28) Rescue ranches, however, would likely overcome any type of minimum acres requirement because of the significant space and resources used in housing and caring for multiple horses.

* Rescue Horse Ranches Exemplify a "Bona Fide Agricultural Purpose" --The Greenbelt Law also requires that "only lands which are used ... for bona fide agricultural purposes shall be classified as agricultural." (29) The statute, in a somewhat convoluted attempt to define "bona fide agricultural purposes," provides three different ways to assist in determinations of bona fide...

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