100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5720

 

Introduced , by Rep. Sonya M. Harper

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that the corporate authorities of a municipality may establish an urban agricultural area after receipt of a petition by a qualified farmer or farmers to establish the area. Provides for the formation of an urban agricultural area committee that shall conduct the activities necessary to advise the corporate authorities on the designation, modification, and termination of an urban agricultural area. Provides requirements for the application, notice and public hearing, and adoption of an ordinance designating the urban agricultural area. Provides that a municipality may provide for rebates, reductions, or other compensation for property taxes levied against real property located within an urban agricultural area that is used for processing, growing, raising, or otherwise producing agricultural products. Provides that a municipality may authorize an entity providing water, electricity, or other utilities to an urban agricultural area to allow qualified farmers in the urban agricultural area to pay wholesale or otherwise reduced rates or pay reduced or waived connection charges. Makes other changes. Amends the Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules consistent with the purposes of the new provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code, including, at a minimum, rules defining specified terms.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5720LRB100 18889 AWJ 34133 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil
5Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section
6205-65 as follows:
 
7    (20 ILCS 205/205-65 new)
8    Sec. 205-65. Municipal Urban Agricultural Areas. The
9Department shall adopt rules consistent with the purposes of
10Division 15.4 of the Illinois Municipal Code. The Department
11shall adopt, at a minimum, rules defining "small or medium
12sized farmer", "beginning farmer", "limited resource farmer",
13and "socially-disadvantaged farmer" as used in Section
1411-15.4-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
 
15    Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
16adding Division 15.4 to Article 11 as follows:
 
17    (65 ILCS 5/Art. 11 Div. 15.4 heading new)
18
DIVISION 15.4. MUNICIPAL URBAN AGRICULTURAL AREAS

 
19    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-5 new)
20    Sec. 11-15.4-5. Definitions. As used in this Division:

 

 

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1    "Agricultural product" means an agricultural,
2horticultural, viticultural, aquacultural, or vegetable
3product, either in its natural or processed state, that has
4been produced, processed, or otherwise had value added to it in
5this State. "Agricultural product" includes, but is not limited
6to, growing of grapes that will be processed into wine; bees;
7honey; fish or other aquacultural product; planting seed;
8livestock or livestock product; forestry product; and poultry
9or poultry product.
10    "Aquaculture" and "aquatic products" have the meanings
11given to those terms in Section 4 of the Aquaculture
12Development Act.
13    "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
14    "Livestock" means cattle; calves; sheep; swine; ratite
15birds, including, but not limited to, ostrich and emu; aquatic
16products obtained through aquaculture; llamas; alpaca;
17buffalo; elk documented as obtained from a legal source and not
18from the wild; goats; horses and other equines; or rabbits
19raised in confinement for human consumption.
20    "Locally grown" means a product that was grown or raised in
21the same county or adjoining county in which the urban
22agricultural area is located.
23    "Poultry" means any domesticated bird intended for human
24consumption.
25    "Qualifying farmer" means an individual or entity that
26meets at least one of the following:

 

 

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1        (1) is a nonprofit organization that meets standards
2    set forth by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
3    and whose mission includes supporting small, beginning,
4    limited resource, or socially disadvantaged farmers within
5    municipalities;
6        (2) is a small or medium sized farmer;
7        (3) is a beginning farmer;
8        (4) is a limited resource farmer; or
9        (5) is a socially-disadvantaged farmer.
10    "Small or medium sized farmer", "beginning farmer",
11"limited resource farmer", and "socially-disadvantaged farmer"
12have the meanings given to those terms in rules adopted by the
13Department as provided in Section 205-65 of the Department of
14Agriculture Law.
15    "Urban agricultural area" means an area defined by a
16municipality within which one or more qualifying farmers are
17processing, growing, raising, or otherwise producing
18locally-grown agricultural products.
 
19    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-10 new)
20    Sec. 11-15.4-10. Urban agricultural area committee.
21    (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality that seek
22to establish an urban agricultural area shall first establish
23an urban agricultural area committee after it receives an
24application to establish an urban agricultural area under
25Section 11-15.4-15. There shall be 5 members on the committee.

 

 

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1One member of the committee shall be a member of the
2municipality's board and shall be appointed by the board. The
3remaining 4 members shall be appointed by the president or
4mayor of the municipality. The 4 members chosen by the
5president or mayor shall all be residents of the municipality
6in which the urban agricultural area is to be located, and at
7least one of the 4 members shall have experience in or
8represent an organization associated with sustainable
9agriculture, urban farming, community gardening, or any of the
10activities or products authorized by this Division for urban
11agricultural areas.
12    (b) The members of the committee annually shall elect a
13chair from among the members. The members shall serve without
14compensation, but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary
15expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.
16    (c) A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum of
17the committee for the purpose of conducting business and
18exercising the powers of the committee and for all other
19purposes. Action may be taken by the committee upon a vote of a
20majority of the members present.
21    (d) The role of the committee shall be to conduct the
22activities necessary to advise the corporate authorities of the
23municipality on the designation, modification, and termination
24of an urban agricultural area and any other advisory duties as
25determined by the corporate authorities of the municipality.
26The role of the committee after the designation of an urban

 

 

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1agricultural area shall be review and assessment of an urban
2agricultural area's activities.
 
3    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-15 new)
4    Sec. 11-15.4-15. Application for an urban agricultural
5area; review; dissolution.
6    (a) A qualified farmer may submit to the municipal clerk an
7application to establish an urban agricultural area. The
8application shall demonstrate or identify:
9        (1) that the applicant is a qualified farmer;
10        (2) the number of jobs to be created, maintained, or
11    supported within the proposed urban agricultural area;
12        (3) the types of products to be produced; and
13        (4) the geographic description of the area that will be
14    included in the urban agricultural area.
15    (b) An urban agricultural area committee shall review and
16modify the application as necessary before the municipality
17either approves or denies the request to establish an urban
18agricultural area.
19    (c) Approval of the urban agricultural area by a
20municipality shall be reviewed every 5 years after the
21development of the urban agricultural area. After 25 years, the
22urban agricultural area shall dissolve. If the municipality
23finds during its review that the urban agricultural area is not
24meeting the requirements set out in this Division, the
25municipality may dissolve the urban agricultural area by

 

 

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1ordinance or resolution.
 
2    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-20 new)
3    Sec. 11-15.4-20. Notice and public hearing; urban
4agricultural area ordinance. Prior to the adoption of an
5ordinance designating an urban agricultural area, the urban
6agricultural area committee shall fix a time and place for a
7public hearing and notify each taxing unit of local government
8located wholly or partially within the boundaries of the
9proposed urban agricultural area. The committee shall publish
10notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in
11the area to be affected by the designation at least 20 days
12prior to the hearing but not more than 30 days prior to the
13hearing. The notice shall state the time, location, date, and
14purpose of the hearing. At the public hearing, any interested
15person or affected taxing unit of local government may file
16with the committee written objections or comments and may be
17heard orally in respect to, any issues embodied in the notice.
18The committee shall hear and consider all objections, comments,
19and other evidence presented at the hearing. The hearing may be
20continued to another date without further notice other than a
21motion to be entered upon the minutes fixing the time and place
22of the subsequent hearing.
23    Following the conclusion of the public hearing required
24under this Section, the corporate authorities of the
25municipality may adopt an ordinance establishing and

 

 

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1designating an urban agricultural area.
 
2    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-25 new)
3    Sec. 11-15.4-25. Taxation of property; water rates and
4charges.
5    (a) If authorized by the ordinance that establishes an
6urban agricultural area under Section 11-15.4-20, a
7municipality may provide for rebates, reductions, or other
8compensation for property taxes levied against real property
9located within an urban agricultural area that is used for
10processing, growing, raising, or otherwise producing
11agricultural products. Parcels of property assessed under
12Section 10-110 of the Property Tax Code are not eligible for
13the rebates, reductions, or other compensation for property
14taxes provided in this subsection; except that if real property
15assessed under Section 10-110 is reassessed and is subsequently
16no longer assessed under Section 10-110, that property becomes
17eligible for the rebates, reductions, or other compensation as
18provided for in this Section.
19    (b) A municipality may authorize an entity providing water,
20electricity, or other utilities to an urban agricultural area
21to allow qualified farmers in the urban agricultural area to
22(1) pay wholesale or otherwise reduced usage rates; or (2) pay
23reduced or waived connection charges.
 
24    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-30 new)

 

 

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1    Sec. 11-15.4-30. Unreasonable restrictions and
2regulations; special assessments and levies.
3    (a) A municipality may not exercise any of its powers to
4enact ordinances within an urban agricultural area in a manner
5that would unreasonably restrict or regulate farming practices
6in contravention of the purposes of this Act unless the
7restrictions or regulations bear a direct relationship to
8public health or safety.
9    (b) A unit of local government providing public services,
10such as sewer, water, lights, or non-farm drainage, may not
11impose benefit assessments or special ad valorem levies on land
12within an urban agricultural area on the basis of frontage,
13acreage, or value unless the benefit assessments or special ad
14valorem levies were imposed prior to the formation of the urban
15agricultural area or unless the service is provided to the
16landowner on the same basis as others having the service.
 
17    (65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-35 new)
18    Sec. 11-15.4-35. Severability. The provisions of this
19Division are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on
20Statutes.

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    20 ILCS 205/205-65 new
4    65 ILCS 5/Art. 11 Div.
5    15.4 heading new
6    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-5 new
7    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-10 new
8    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-15 new
9    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-20 new
10    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-25 new
11    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-30 new
12    65 ILCS 5/11-15.4-35 new