Section 2580.20  Eligibility

a)         Conservation management plans will be accepted only for unimproved land of 5 contiguous acres or more.  Unimproved land in Cook County is not eligible for the special valuation under this Section.

b)         A taxpayer may apply for reassessment under this Section, and shall not be penalized for doing so, if the taxpayer owns land:

1)         included in a forestry management plan under Section 10-150 of the Property Tax Code [35 ILCS 200/10-150];

2)         registered or encumbered by conservation rights under Section 10-166 of the Property Tax Code [35 ILCS 200/10-166]; or

3)         registered as a Land and Water Reserve under Section 16 of the Natural Areas Preservation Act [525 ILCS 30/16].

c)         A taxpayer may apply for reassessment of land formerly assessed as farmland under Sections 10-110 through 10-145 of the Property Tax Code [35 ILCS 200/10-110 through 10-145] during the first year in which the land is not used for farm purposes as defined in Section 1-60 of the Property Tax Code.  The special valuation offered under this Section cannot be applied to land formerly assessed as farmland until the second year in which the land is not used for farm purposes.