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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 20, 2010 <br /> Action Agenda 1 <br /> Item No. — C� <br /> SUBJECT: Proposed Revisions to the Volunta Farmland Protection Ordinance (VFPO) <br /> DEPARTMENT: Department of Environment, PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> Agriculture, Parks and <br /> Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1) ADFP Trust Fund Brochure David Stancil, 245-2510 <br /> 2) Recommended Changes to Voluntary <br /> Agricultural Farmland Protection <br /> Ordinance (from APB) <br /> PURPOSE: To consider a proposal from the Agricultural Preservation Board (APB) for revisions ; <br /> to the County's Voluntary Farmland Protection Ordinance. ' <br /> BACKGROUND: In 1986, the North Carolina General Assembly passed the Farmland <br /> Preservation Enabling Act, which provided counties with the authority to establish farmland <br /> preservation programs including voluntary agricultural districts (VADs) and agricultural advisory <br /> boards. In 1992, Orange County became one of the first North Carolina counties to enact a <br /> Voluntary Farmland Protection Ordinance (VFPO). The Ordinance was revised in 1993, 2000 and <br /> 2005 to modify the role and title of Orange County's board from the Agricultural District Advisory <br /> Board to the Agricultural Preservation Board (APB), to address membership issues and to reduce <br /> the acreage requirement to participate in the VAD program. <br /> The North Carolina General Assembly amended the state farmland protection program in 2005, <br /> with an expanded focus. The new Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Enabling <br /> Act and Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation (ADFP) Trust Fund support <br /> agricultural development projects such as business planning and incubator programs as well as <br /> agricultural easements and other traditional farmland preservation programs. <br /> The 2005 legislation established a new tool for voluntary farmland preservation efforts — <br /> Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural Districts (EVAD). EVADs provide all of the benefits of VADs <br /> plus: 1) eligibility for a higher percentage of cost-share funds under the Agriculture Cost Share <br /> Program and 2) the potential for up to 25% of gross sales from the sale of non-farm products <br /> while retaining the bona fide farm zoning exemption. Participating farmers in the EVAD program <br /> sign a non-revoking conservation agreement to limit non-farm development for ten years. The <br /> North Carolina ADFP Trust Fund brochure (Attachment #1) provides a quick comparison of the <br /> VAD and EVAD programs). <br />