Section 324.36203 - Purchase of agricultural conservation easements; establishment of grant program; application; eligibility; form; contents; forwarding to board(1) The department shall establish a grant program to provide grants to eligible local units of government for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements.(2) A grant application shall be submitted by the local unit of government applying for the grant. A local unit of government is eligible to submit a grant application under this section if both of the following requirements have been met: (a) The local unit of government has adopted a development rights ordinance providing for a purchase of development rights program pursuant to the county zoning act, 1943 PA 183, MCL 125.201 to 125.240, the township zoning act, 1943 PA 184, MCL 125.271 to 125.310, or the city and village zoning act, 1921 PA 207, MCL 125.581 to 125.600, that contains all of the following: (i) An application procedure.(ii) The criteria for a scoring system for parcel selections within the local unit of government.(iii) A method to establish the price to be paid for development rights, which may include an appraisal, bidding, or formula-based process.(b) The local unit of government has adopted, within the last 10 years, a comprehensive land use plan that includes a plan for agricultural preservation or the local unit of government is included within a regional plan that was prepared within the last 10 years that includes a plan for agricultural preservation.(3) An application for a grant shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the department. The grant application shall include at a minimum a list of the parcels proposed for acquisition of agricultural conservation easements, the size and location of each parcel, the amount of local matching funds, and the estimated acquisition value of the agricultural conservation easements.(4) Upon receipt of grant applications pursuant to subsection (3), the department shall forward those grant applications to the board for consideration under section 36205.Add. 2000, Act 262, Imd. Eff. 6/29/2000.