Agricultural look-back

An engineer said the five-year ag look-back tramples right-to-farm concerns, warned aerial-photo tree counts can't distinguish species, and called the 13-trees-per-acre shade requirement excessive for commercial sites.

A property owner described his own "Rudyani loophole" concern — pine trees planted 25-30 years ago on commercially owned property — and said the Right to Farm Act should let him remove them without penalty.

Said a five-year look-back incentivizes landowners in the path of development to clear-cut now; also reported self-storage examples where the proposed code raised costs five- or six-fold, forcing six-figure mitigation payments.