HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-17-1998 - 9g
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ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Action Agenda
Item No q..e
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT ~
Meeting Date: March 17, 1998
SUBJECT: Farmland Preservation Goals
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DEPARTMENT County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING YES NO x
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BUDGET AMENDMENT: _YES NO
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT
Commissioner Bill Crowther
Memo dated February 10, 1998 TELEPHONE NUMBER
Re: Goals for 1998-99 Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Mebane 227-2031
Durham .688-7331
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PURPOSE: To consider the Farmland Preservation Program goals and to
provide staff with direction on any of the five recommendations.
BACKGROUND: Dolly Hunter, Chair of the Agricultural Districts Advisory
Board gave a report to the Board of County Commissioners on February
10. She listed five recommendations which they feel will help to
preserve Orange County farms. Recommendation #~3 "Additional tax relief
measures should be adopted that can help improve the financial position
of farmers" would require a letter to our Legislative Delegation asking
them to consider legislation which would eliminate payment of deferred
taxes when farmland is sold for continued agricultural use.
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RECOMMENDATION: Review and discuss all five reconanendations and give
specific direction to staff.
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Orange County Agricultural Districts Advisory Board
MEMORANDUM
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TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners
FROM: Dolly Hunter, Chair
Agricultural Districts Ad isory Board
SUBJECT: Farmland Preservation Program: Goals for 1998-99 Fiscal Year
DATE: February 10, 1998
COPIES: Gene Bell, Acting Planning Director
Donald R. Belk, Preservation Planner
On behalf of the Orange County Agricultural Districts Advisory Board (ADAB), I want to thank
the Board of County Commissioners for its continued commitment to farmland preservation.
Over the last three years, the ADAB has carefully considered numerous ideas and proposals
that could help protect our diminishing farmland resources. Our driving philosophy has been
that farmland preservation works best when the property rights and property values of the
farmland owner are protected. As stated in the 1996 Economic Development Strategic Plan,
the goals of rural preservation are best served when farming remains profitable.
Our Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program will combine private landowner initiative with
financial incentives to preserve greater areas of farmland at far less cost than previously
thought possible. Furthermore, we believe this program can be a modeF for other rapidly
growing counties in North Carolina. By enhancing our existing Voluntary Farmland
Preservation Ordinance, Orange County can create an innovative and far-reaching farmland
protection program that will preserve valuable open space, boost the agricultural economy,
and protect one of our most precious assets -our splendid rural character.
Our current Voluntary Agricultural Districts Program can provide the basis for farmland
protection efforts in Orange County. By enhancing the benefits of Agricultural District
enrollment and increasing the number of participating farms, we can begin to achieve our
farmland preservation goals.
For our Fiscal Year 1998-99 goals, we urge you to consider the following recommendations
that will help preserve Orange County farms:
Recommendation #1: Orange County should allocate $200,000 for a Purchase of
Agricultural Conservation Easements, or PACE program. This ~ dollar figure represents
approximately one-third of one cent on the tax rate, but more importantly, represents the
average annual amount of deferred taxes the County receives when farmland is removed
from the use-value taxation program. Over the last 5 years, nearly 5.1,000,000 has been
do Orange Cortnry Planting ~ lrespeuions Dcparusxrst
306F Revere Road
Hillsborough, NC 27178
Hillsborough • 732-8181 Chapcl HiU • 967-92SI Durham •688-7331 Meba~+e • 227-2031
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Farmland Preservation Program: Goals for 1998-99 Fiscal Year
February 10, 1998
Page Two
returned to the County in deferred farm-use taxes. The Advisory Board believes these
revenues, which are generated when farmland is sold and converted to development, should
be re-invested in farmland that will be voluntarily preserved for the long term. A 5200,000
allocaticn in the coming fiscal year is important for another reason. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture, in its renewed emphasis on preserving farmland and its environmental attributes,
will distribute 518 million nationally to deserving state and local farmland preservation
programs. Utilizing our existing Agricultural Districts program, Orange County would be
positioned to receive matching federal funds.
Recommendation #2: Orange County should revise its Voluntary Farmland Preservation
Program to create more incentives for farmers to participate in the Voluntary Agricultural
Districts Program The following financial incentives should be provided:
• Farms enrolled in the Voluntary Agricultural Districts Program may defer 50% of
their use-value assessed property taxes. This would provide additional tax relief
beyond that offered by the use-value taxation program.
• Farms enrolled in the Voluntary Agricultural Districts Program that donate land as
a conservation easement can be exempted from property taxes on that land.
This will preserve farmland much more cheaply than through purchase of
development rights (PDR), and will result in more preserved farmland than could
ever be purchased outright. Furthermore, the community will be ensured of the
continued benefits that farmland provides.
• Enrollment as a Voluntary Agricultural District farm is a requirement for eligibility
in our proposed PACE program.
Implementing these measures will give Orange County one of the most innovative farmland
preservation programs in the country.
Recommendation #3: Additional tax relief measures should be adopted that can help
improve the financial position of farmers. Last year, you sent a letter to our Legislative
Delegation, asking them to consider legislation that would eliminate payment of deferred
taxes when farmland is sold for continued agricultural use. We commend that action, and
ask that you continue this request, and ask that you also consider a request to eliminate or
lower property taxes on farm machinery for full-time farmers.
Recommendation #4: The County should fund Family Land Planning seminars twice - -~---
annually to inform and educate rural landowners on the potential' benefits of conservation
easements in estate planning. Another important element in protecting farmland is helping
our rural landowners stay informed about estate planning. We know that conservation - ---
easements can be part of a long-term plan to keep farmland in the hands of the family.
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Farmland Preservation Program: Goals for 1998-99 Fiscal Year
February 10, 1998
Page Three
F We know these seminars will produce results. A workshop funded by the County in 1996 -
at cost of 5300 -led to the preservation of a 120-acre, 4th-generation family farm.
Recommendation #5: Orange County should establish a Transfer of Development Rights
(TDR) program based on amarket-driven system that is equitable for rural landholders. For a
TDR program to work, receivin4 areas must be designated. These areas, to which
development rights from preserved areas are transferred, should include mixed residential,
commercial, and industrial uses, as well as mass transit capabilities. Designation of receiving
areas is a zoning function. We urge that the Board of Commissioners move quickly to
establish a receiving area for the purpose of initiating a TDR program.
The Agricultural Districts Advisory Board believes these measures can help ensure the
continuation of profitable agriculture in Orange County, today and into the 21st century. We
have, at this time in our history, a unique opportunity to make a commitment for the future of
Orange County - a future where farming and the rural way of life are cherished attributes.
We respectfully request your full and careful- consideration of these recommendations.
Thank you.
DH/db
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