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829 <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that when-transfer of development rights <br />(TDR) was brought up five years ago it was to shift development to the rural <br />,yeas. This is an opportunity for the people who live in the urban area to <br />give their support. Five million dollars is not a lot of money. <br />Pearson Stewart said that he likes everything that Commissioner Halkiotis <br />said but what is being said to the person in Cedar Grove is that the County <br />is setting up a system to buy the development rights around Chapel Hill. To <br />make this more fair, the top three in each category could be given an <br />opportunity to enter into the program. <br />Bob Strayhorn noted that a bond issue is one way to fund this program but <br />that an assurance needs to be made that it will be continued over a long <br />period of time. If there are development pressures, then the working farm <br />would want to be preserved. <br />John Link suggested that if the Board wanted to pursue this program with <br />pay-as--you-go funds, they could designate a certain percentage of the property <br />tax generated in certain nodes for purchasing development rights. <br />Chair Carey was told that money could be used from a bond issue to create <br />a pool of money. <br />Commissioner Willhoit noted that not all five million would have to be <br />spent at one time. If two cents on the tax rate was what it took to retire <br />the five million, the County could continue to put this amount into the fund <br />each year and use it to pay the debt service and if the debt service is less, <br />the remainder of the money would go into the fund. Also they could devise <br />another source of revenue to add to this amount. <br />Bob Strayhorn would like to explore the possibility of giving people the <br />opportunity to contribute to preserve open space. <br />Chris Hogan suggested meeting with the TACs because their support is very <br />important. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis stated he is supportive of preserving open space. <br />He thinks the time is right. <br />Marvin Collins noted that the federal government passed an act entitled <br />"Farms for the Future" and set up an amount of ten million dollars. Most of <br />the money went to the state of Vermont. There are ten states that have passed <br />the necessary state legislation to qualify for funds. There is a lot of red <br />tape in applying for these funds. However, there is still a possibility that <br />if they get the process worked out that the County can apply for very low__ <br />_ <br />interest loans. One other source of revenue would be impact fees. It would-- <br />be very easy to do one for Purchase of Development Rights (PDR). <br />Dolly.Hunter noted that this is going to benefit everyone and everyone <br />should help pay for it. <br />Chris Hogan noted that there should be more than one way to do it. <br />Commissioner Willhoit said that he supports an ongoing pool to finance <br />PDR. The Committee could work on the conditions to protect the farmer and the <br />public. <br />Chris Hogan said that Forsyth County set up their program to expire in <br />a certain number of years. He feels that this may not be worth as much but <br />may be more attractive to the farmer. <br />Elizabeth Walters said that the program at Forsyth County is set up where <br />when it expires, the County can pay to continue the program or the farmer can <br />buy back their development rights. <br />Commissioner Willhoit said that it would be harder to sell for a fixed <br />Lerm. He would like for it to be forever. The County could buy the property <br />outright and lease it back to the farmer. The only problem is that it may not <br />continue to be a working farm.