Bannock County adopts voluntary Agricultural Protection Area ordinance and amends future land-use map

Bannock County Commissioners voted to adopt a new zoning ordinance establishing a voluntary Agricultural Protection Area (APA) and to amend the county's future land-use map to include a countywide overlay, the board said during a public hearing.

Hal Jensen, Bannock County planning director, told commissioners the ordinance was created to comply with a state legislative mandate requiring an APA option. Jensen said the county's ordinance adds new definitions to section 200 of the zoning code and creates section 461, Agricultural Protection Area. "This particular ordinance is to protect agriculture but is strictly voluntary from a landowner standpoint," Jensen said. "It is not mandatory in any way, shape, or form. It just needed to be in place as a tool for those people that would like to participate."

Jensen said the APA designation remains in place for 20 years unless a landowner chooses to remove it. He said the ordinance allows parcels as small as five acres to qualify and that the county applied a single overlay covering the entire county so eligible landowners could request APA status. "It just means that anybody that has that would qualify in the ordinance, they have ag land that's within the overlay, which is the entire county, then, therefore, they could come before the APA commission, and they could then go forward with taking care of that," Jensen said. He added the county did not adopt the state model ordinance verbatim because staff and the planning commission made changes they felt were necessary for local conditions.

During public comment, a resident identified as Dennis, who said he had helped draft agricultural-protection provisions in other states, urged caution and cited examples where property owners faced higher taxes or other consequences after seeking protection. "In Wyoming, his grandfather tried to protect his property near Jackson Hole, and he basically got taxed out of existence," Dennis said, describing concern that land could later be reassessed at development values. Jensen acknowledged he could not say definitively what local benefits or long-term effects would be, saying, "I honestly can't say what is or isn't the benefit other than this land stays with this designation for 20 years until they decide to re up or remove it from the APA."

Paul (county staff) summarized uses the ordinance would exclude from APAs unless the board specifically approves them. "Under paragraph J, unless otherwise approved by the board, the following land uses are not allowed within an APA: the siting of residential, commercial, manufacturing, industrial, solar energy, wind energy or battery storage structures," Paul said. Jensen said the overlay and ordinance were intended as interim, general measures and would be refined as the county completes a comprehensive plan rewrite and a zoning ordinance rewrite next year.

Commissioners opened the hearing, accepted public comment, and then moved to adopt the ordinance and the future land-use map amendment as presented. Commissioners voted in favor by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were given in the record. The board directed staff to publish the ordinance and bring it forward for signature. No compensation mechanism for landowners enrolled in an APA was included in the adopted ordinance, Jensen said; he noted compensation has been discussed elsewhere but was not part of the current text.

The ordinance and map amendment establish a voluntary, 20-year APA designation available to qualifying landowners across Bannock County and prohibit certain land uses within APAs unless the board grants exceptions. The county plans to refine the overlay and related rules when it advances the comprehensive plan and ordinance rewrite next year.