(a) Any owner or owners of contiguous farmland and/or forestland containing at least 200 usable acres of such lands located in the State may submit on a voluntary basis, on such forms as the Foundation prescribes, an application for establishment of an Agricultural Preservation District. Upon receipt of a completed application, the Foundation shall review within 45 days the application to determine if it satisfies the criteria for eligibility established under § 908 of this title and any regulations adopted and related thereto. The Foundation shall, following its review to determine eligibility, notify the applicant of its findings. The Foundation shall be entitled to provide assistance to potential applicants regarding the completion of necessary application forms. (b) If an application for establishment of an Agricultural Preservation District satisfies the criteria for eligibility, the Foundation shall submit the application to the Board and Planning and Zoning Commission for the county in which the farmlands and/or forestlands are located for purposes of obtaining a recommendation. The application shall be reviewed by the Board in accordance with the procedures set forth under § 906(d) of this title. The Planning and Zoning Commission, upon receipt of an application from the Foundation, shall timely notice consideration of the application at its next regularly scheduled meeting, and shall recommend in favor or against approval, and include any reasons for its decision. If the Planning and Zoning Commission fails to render a decision on an application within 90 days of receipt, the application shall be deemed approved. (c) The Foundation shall consider applications for establishment of Agricultural Preservation Districts at its next noticed regularly scheduled meeting after the review process has been completed at the Board and Planning and Zoning Commission levels. The Foundation shall render a decision in favor or against approval of the application. An Agricultural Preservation District shall be established if the application is approved by any 2 of the 3 entities which considered the application, namely: The Foundation, the Board and the Planning and Zoning Commission. (d) An owner of farmland and/or forestland consisting of less than 200 acres in the State may submit on a voluntary basis, on such forms as the Foundation prescribes, an application for expansion of an established Agricultural Preservation District if the application satisfies the criteria for eligibility established under § 908 of this title and any regulations adopted thereunder, as determined by the Foundation, and the farmland and/or forestland is either (1) contiguous to the established Agricultural Preservation District, or (2) located in whole or part within a 3-mile radius of an established Agricultural Preservation District. The Foundation shall render decisions in favor or against applications for expansions of Agricultural Preservation Districts at noticed regularly scheduled meetings. (e) Upon the establishment of an Agricultural Preservation District or the expansion of an Agricultural Preservation District, the Foundation shall provide appropriate notice and a description of the established or expanded District to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Assessment for the county in which such District is located. Upon receipt of such information from the Foundation, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Assessment shall provide appropriate reference in their real property records and notations on maps which are utilized and maintained that the subject farmlands and/or forestlands are included in an Agricultural Preservation District.
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