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I <br />u <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No 16-16 <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 6, 1998 <br />SUBJECT: AGRICULTURAL LAND PRESERVATION PROPOSAL <br />1 <br />-------------------------- - - - - -- ------------------------------- <br />DEPARTMENT County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING YES NO _x- <br />-------------------------------- ------------------------------- <br />BUDGET AMENDMENT: _YES NO <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT <br />Commissioner Bill Crowther <br />PACE Program TELEPHONE NUMBER <br />Questions and Answers Hillsborough 732 -8181 <br />Agricultural Trends Chapel Hill 968 -4501 <br />Mebane 227 -2031 <br />Durham 688 - 7331 <br />----------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />PURPOSE: To consider allocating $200,000 in the Capital Investment <br />Plan for a Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements (PACE) <br />program. <br />BACKGROUND: After hearing recent recommendations from the Agricultural <br />District Advisory Board and a report on land -use taxation, it is clear <br />that we should re- address the issue of declining agricultural land <br />resources. The competition for land - especially productive <br />agricultural land - will intensify as more people come to our area to <br />live and work. The irreplaceable land that produces food and fiber and <br />provides scenic vista, wildlife habitat, and clean water is <br />increasingly at risk. As commercial and residential development <br />patterns continue to reach out into the countryside, there should also <br />emerge a pattern of natural resource preservation. Agricultural land <br />should be an integral part of our natural resource infrastructure. <br />This capital investment represents approximately one -third of one cent <br />on the tax rate and is less than the average annual amount of deferred <br />taxes the County receives when farmland is removed from the use -value <br />taxation program. Over the last 5 years, $1.2 million has, been <br />returned to the County in deferred farm -use taxes. <br />This revenue from deferred taxes is generated when farmland is sold, <br />often for the creation of new parcels for residential or other <br />development purposes. These funds should be re- invested in farmland <br />that will be voluntarily preserved for the long term. <br />