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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - 06-16-20; 8-d - Voluntary Agricultural District Designation - Multiple Farms ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 16, 2020 Action Agenda Item No. 8-d SUBJECT: Voluntary Agricultural District Designation – Multiple Farms DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR) – Soil and Water Conservation ATTACHMENT(S): 1) Overall Map, Applications and Maps INFORMATION CONTACT: David Stancil, (919) 245-2510 Gail M. Hughes, (919) 245-2753 Peter Sandbeck, (919) 245-2517 PURPOSE: To consider applications from two (2) landowners/farms to certify qualifying farmland within the White Cross Voluntary Agricultural District; and enroll the lands in the Orange County Farmland Preservation Program’s Voluntary Agricultural District program. BACKGROUND: Orange County’s Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program was started in 1992. As of December 31, 2019, there are 121 farms; in both the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) and the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) program; totaling 15,434* acres. The County’s Voluntary Farmland Protection Ordinance (VFPO) outlines a procedure for the Agricultural Preservation Board to review and approve applications for qualifying farmland, and to make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners concerning the establishment and modification of agricultural districts. Section VII of the VFPO contains the requirements for inclusion in a voluntary agricultural district. To be certified as qualifying farmland, a farm must: a) Be located in the unincorporated area of Orange County; b) Be engaged in Agriculture as that word is defined in NCGS 106-581.1 c) Be certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture as being a farm on which at least two-thirds of the land is composed of soils that are best suited for providing food, seed, fiber, forage, timber, forestry products, horticultural crops and oil seed crops; d) Be managed in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and NC Soil and Water Conservation Service defined erosion-control practices that are addressed to said highly-erodible land; and have a current conservation farm plan and/or forestry management plan associated with the current usages and owner; e) Be the subject of a non-binding conservation agreement, as defined in N.C.G.S. §121-35, between the County and the owner that prohibits non-farm use or development of such land for a period of at least ten years, except for the creation of not more than three lots that meet applicable County zoning and subdivision regulations. The Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board reviewed the findings of the staff assessments for the attached applications for the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District 1 program at the January 2020 meeting. All farm applications were reviewed and verified to have met or exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the program. The Agricultural Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the certification for these two (2) farms, and their inclusion in the Voluntary Agricultural District program. The certification documentation is on file in the DEAPR/Soil and Water Conservation District office. The farms are described briefly below: Brief Farm Descriptions: 1) Owner James W. Rogers has submitted an application to enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling 46.05 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program in the White Cross Agricultural District. The farm operation includes corn, wheat, soybeans, and hay crops. The farm has been evaluated against each of the VAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. 2) Owners Betsy Pierce and Gaston Pierce have submitted an application to enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling 50.8 acres as qualifying farmland for the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program in the White Cross Agricultural District. The farm operation includes wheat, corn, and soybean crops. The farm has been evaluated against each of the VAD certification requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. Voluntary Agricultural Districts are non-monetary and non-binding conservation agreements. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to this item: • GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their dependents. The Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District Program ordinance conserves, protects and encourages the preservation and improvement of agricultural land within the County boundaries as a critical component of the County's cultural and rural character and its economy by virtue of the production of food, fiber and other products. The purpose of this Ordinance is to reduce the loss of productive and existing farmland by promoting agricultural values and the general welfare of the County, recognize the existence of important farmlands by seeking to minimize risks of nuisance suits that arise from the onset of other land uses, encourage participation in voluntary programs to preserve and protect farmland from non-farm development and increase identity and awareness of the agricultural community, and its role in the economic and cultural quality of life for all County residents. (from the Orange County Farmland Preservation/VAD Program Ordinance) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: The following Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal impacts are applicable to this item: • ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND WASTE REDUCTION Initiate policies and programs that: 1) conserve energy; 2) reduce resource consumption; 3) increase the use of recycled and renewable resources; and 4) minimize waste stream impacts on the environment. • RESULTANT IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND AIR QUALITY 2 Assess and where possible mitigate adverse impacts created to the natural resources of the site and adjoining area. Minimize production of greenhouse gases. Enrollment of the proposed farms into the Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program will promote farmland protection, protect natural resources and air quality throughout the county, and minimize greenhouse gases. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board certify the two (2) farm properties noted above totaling 96.9 acres*; designate them as Voluntary Agricultural District farms within the White Cross Voluntary Agricultural District; and enroll the lands in the Orange County Farmland Preservation Program’s Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program. With approval of these acres, the Orange County Farmland Preservation program, will have enrolled 123 farms; totaling 12,965 acres* in the VAD and 2,566* acres in the EVAD for a total of 15,531 acres* in the program. *acres are rounded numbers 3 Caldwell White Cross Schley/Eno New Hope Cedar Grove Cane Creek/Buckhorn High Rock/Efland Betsy &Gaston Pierce JamesRogers CHAPEL HILL MEBANE CARRBORO HILLSBOROUGH DURHAM Voluntary Agricultural Districts [ Map prepared by Land Records GISOC 129Q O:gishome\gisprojects\land_resources\VAD_Designations.mxd M Jones 6/4/2020 VAD applicants Voluntary Agricultural Districts Streets Reservoirs and lakes Participating farms Municipal boundary 0 5,500 11,0002,750 Feet 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12