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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19940519827 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS ADVISORY BOARD MAY 19, 1994 The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Agricultural Districts Advisory Board met on May 19, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. in the Planning and Agricultural Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Stephen Halkiotis (arrived at 8:15), Verla Insko (arrived at 7:45) and Don Willhoit. COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Alice M. Gordon ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Dolly Hunter and members Elizabeth Walters, Chris Hogan, Robert Nutter, Pearson Stewart, Nancy Goodwin and Robert Strayhorn. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Patricia Dickinson, Todd Dickinson, Tom Allison and Robert Rich COUNTY STAFF PRESENT* County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe, Administrative Assistant Joanna Bradshaw, Planning Director Marvin Collins, and Planning Technician Beth Wickham INTRODUCTIONS AND OPENING REMARKS BY CHAIRS Chair Moses Carey said that the Board appreciated all the work that the agricultural Districts Advisory Board has done in setting and implementing goals. He thanked the members for their commitment. Chair Dolly Hunter gave background information on preservation of farmland. She noted that the average farm is 55 years old. The farms are going to have pressures to divide into smaller pieces. People are moving here because of the market and although farmers want to stay on the farm, there is a lot of pressure to sell. Some of these pressures include (1) shortage of farm labor, (2) uncertainty of the tobacco market, and (3) dangers of driving a tractor down. the road. This committee feels it is very important that agriculture be protected and she feels it can be done. She made reference to an article from Forsyth County in which they sited ways to preserve the farms and also have open space. Commissioner Insko arrived at 7:45. Marvin Collins gave a brief overview of what the committee has been doing. He talked about the model that Forsyth County uses and explained the process they follow in determining eligibility in their program. He made reference to a map that shows cropland suitability and forestland. They have identified 10 groups and broken these down further into three groups: 1 - 3 groups are more productive 4 - 7 groups are less productive 8 - 10 groups are those that require a lot of money to make them -productive. Some of the other things they looked at included a site assessment -- how much area adjacent to the farm is in farm use, how much of the farm itself is 828 used and how much of the area within 1/2 mile is used. He made reference to a map showing wetlands and talked about the type of information they reviewed Marvin Collins continued through the information in the abstract including IL-1: comparison of LESA System scores for selected Orange County farms, farmlanu, evaluation, and other options. With regard to development rights, Marvin Collins noted that they could buy development rights on a certain portion of the acreage and not on the entire tract. There is a lot of flexibility with transfer of development rights. The Agricultural Advisory Board asked for feedback on the three options presented in the agenda abstract so they will know which direction to pursue. Commissioner Willhoit made reference to the Board's goals and preservation of farmland and noted that another way to say this. is to say that the County is interested in preserving operational farms to insure that the farm will still be operational. People want to see real cows and crops growing. Farmland preservation will depend on funding. A bond referendum could be used to finance the program or it could be done through a fund similar to what recreation does. He feels the overall ranking would be important. John Link noted that 2/3 of the tax base is urban. Active farms could be preserved by either using sales tax or a property tax setaside. He favors the property tax approach. Commissioner Halkiotis arrived at 8:15 Commissioner Willhoit asked how much it would cost if they wanted t` select five farms for this program. Chris Hogan stated that they have been trying to determine how mach their land is worth. The only way to be sure the property will stay as open space is to purchase it. There will be a lot of variations. Commissioner Willhoit feels that people will be supportive of trying to acquire operating farms if there is an assurance that the farm will remain operational. He feels the Board needs to discuss a concrete proposal. Dolly Hunter said that an average farm is 325 acres and the average cost would be $2200 an acre or $715,000. -- Elizabeth Walters asked that the Board indicate which area of the county would get the most benefit of preserving. Chair Carey emphasized that the land that is preserved can be used as a working farm which is the assurance to the taxpayers. It will create open space. He inquired about using development rights for golf courses and was told that development rights preclude such things as golf courses or anything else. A conservation easement is recorded on the property saying exactly for what it can be used. Bob Strayhorn said that in selling something like this, what they are actually preserving is open space. He sees a problem with selling this program to active farmers who are not interested in open space. He asked why should a farmer help pay for open space when they already have open space. Commissioner Halkiotis feels this is an opportunity to pay for preserving open space and that there would be a lot of support for a program of thin magnitude. Chair Carey feels that the benefit to the property owner would be to (1) keep their farm, and (2) maintain the beauty of open space. 829 Commissioner Halkiotis said that when-transfer of development rights (TDR) was brought up five years ago it was to shift development to the rural ,yeas. This is an opportunity for the people who live in the urban area to give their support. Five million dollars is not a lot of money. Pearson Stewart said that he likes everything that Commissioner Halkiotis said but what is being said to the person in Cedar Grove is that the County is setting up a system to buy the development rights around Chapel Hill. To make this more fair, the top three in each category could be given an opportunity to enter into the program. Bob Strayhorn noted that a bond issue is one way to fund this program but that an assurance needs to be made that it will be continued over a long period of time. If there are development pressures, then the working farm would want to be preserved. John Link suggested that if the Board wanted to pursue this program with pay-as--you-go funds, they could designate a certain percentage of the property tax generated in certain nodes for purchasing development rights. Chair Carey was told that money could be used from a bond issue to create a pool of money. Commissioner Willhoit noted that not all five million would have to be spent at one time. If two cents on the tax rate was what it took to retire the five million, the County could continue to put this amount into the fund each year and use it to pay the debt service and if the debt service is less, the remainder of the money would go into the fund. Also they could devise another source of revenue to add to this amount. Bob Strayhorn would like to explore the possibility of giving people the opportunity to contribute to preserve open space. Chris Hogan suggested meeting with the TACs because their support is very important. Commissioner Halkiotis stated he is supportive of preserving open space. He thinks the time is right. Marvin Collins noted that the federal government passed an act entitled "Farms for the Future" and set up an amount of ten million dollars. Most of the money went to the state of Vermont. There are ten states that have passed the necessary state legislation to qualify for funds. There is a lot of red tape in applying for these funds. However, there is still a possibility that if they get the process worked out that the County can apply for very low__ _ interest loans. One other source of revenue would be impact fees. It would-- be very easy to do one for Purchase of Development Rights (PDR). Dolly.Hunter noted that this is going to benefit everyone and everyone should help pay for it. Chris Hogan noted that there should be more than one way to do it. Commissioner Willhoit said that he supports an ongoing pool to finance PDR. The Committee could work on the conditions to protect the farmer and the public. Chris Hogan said that Forsyth County set up their program to expire in a certain number of years. He feels that this may not be worth as much but may be more attractive to the farmer. Elizabeth Walters said that the program at Forsyth County is set up where when it expires, the County can pay to continue the program or the farmer can buy back their development rights. Commissioner Willhoit said that it would be harder to sell for a fixed Lerm. He would like for it to be forever. The County could buy the property outright and lease it back to the farmer. The only problem is that it may not continue to be a working farm. 830 John Link said that assuming they go to the voters and assuming that it will have an impact on the tax rate, the Board will be talking with clubs arnA organizations about this program and why they should support it. Some of t" following questions may be asked: 1. What is PDR and what does it mean for the farmer and the citizen? 2. How much will be spent on the program and why? 3. How many years will the County pursue this program? 4. What PDR does not mean. All, this information would be put into the bond package before going to the citizens. Commissioner Willhoit said that he would like to see if they could get a reading on the interest level of participants and asked that information be obtained on how many of the owners of the twelve farms listed would be interested in this program. Chair Carey noted that the Agricultural Advisory Board may want to expand their membership. Commissioner Willhoit suggested that, instead of expanding the membership, to appoint a steering committee, like they had for the school bond. After a package is developed, they will have a better idea of the additional support they need. Commissioner Insko feels that the public needs to be informed about what is happening. John Link feels that the Cooperative Extension Service could be a big help in pursuing this bond issue. There are other groups that logically may need to be brought in also. Bob Strayhorn sees two problems. One is that it is difficult to reach those in the farming community and the other problem is that the money i being generated by the people in Orange County. Commissioner Willhoit noted that the more specific the information, the better it can be understood. If two or three-farms are interested in this program, it would help sell it across the County. ADJOURNMENT With no further comments, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting of the Board will be held on May 23, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. in Superior Courtroom in Hillsborough,..North Carolina. Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk Moses Carey, Jr., Chair