§ 8. Application; evaluation.

(a)

Applications to sell development rights shall be on a form prescribed by the director and shall be signed by the landowner and submitted to the director. The director may require supporting documentation, including deeds, surveys or other legal instruments, to be submitted with the application. A landowner may submit an application for each parcel or may submit a single application for more than one contiguous parcel. Applications for batched parcels shall follow the same procedure, but shall be signed by all landowners.

(b)

The director shall review each application to determine whether the eligibility criteria set forth in section 7 are met and all required information is provided, and shall notify the landowner of his determination. Incomplete or otherwise deficient applications shall be rejected and returned to the landowner with a statement of reasons for the rejection.

(c)

In the event a parcel, or portion thereof, fails to meet the eligibility criteria set forth in section 7, such parcel, or portion thereof, shall not be considered for inclusion in the program. In the event the ineligibility of a parcel, or portion thereof, renders the remaining property which is the subject of the application ineligible, none of the property shall be considered for inclusion.

(d)

In the event available funding is insufficient to purchase the development rights on all properties which are the subject of pending applications under this ordinance, the director shall evaluate each application, using the criteria of the farmland ranking system set forth in section 12, and shall ascertain all necessary facts and information for ranking the priority of acquisition of the lands included in the application. In performing such evaluation, the director may request the assistance of such other city departments and agencies as may be appropriate and beneficial. The evaluation shall include a recommendation for the number of farmland ranking system points to be assigned to the application. No later than ninety (90) days after receipt of the completed application, he shall forward a copy of the evaluation to each member of the commission and to the city manager and the landowner.

(e)

The submission of an application shall not be deemed to constitute a binding contractual offer to convey any interest in the landowner's property, but shall be revocable at will by the landowner prior to the execution of an installment purchase agreement, without penalty.

(Ord. No. 2585, 6-6-00)

(Ord. No. 2585, 6-6-00)