Agenda - 05-19-2008-C.3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment 3 ao C)range County Comprehensive Plan IJpclate Public input 1Vleeting January 2~, 200 7:OOp~; - 9:OOpm Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, l®TC Written Public Co~~ents Staff Note: The following are wf°itten comments submitted by the public with Yegard to the Comprehensive Plan Update Public Input Meeting. 'WRITTEl~T C®MIViE1~TT #l: Ken Dawson On preserving the future of agriculture in Orange County Agriculture should be a significant component of Orange County's future. It is well known that agricultural lands present less demand on county services than residential areas. Agriculture that is focused on providing food for the local community will become more and more important as fuel costs continue to rise. It will become more expensive and make less sense to import food froi~a across the country and around the world; therefore, maintaining land for agricultural production will benefit the community at large. Further, the environmental costs of burning fuel to transport food long distances will be seen to be too high and thus local food production for the community will make sense from an environmental perspective. Local food production should be considered a component of a secure and sustainable future for the county. The demand for local food is growing rapidly and small farms that produce for the local market are thriving. With over $3 billion dollars spent annually on food in Orange, Durham and Wake Counties, the opportunities are excellent for Orange County farmers who produce for local consumption, and particularly for those who direct market their products. Dollars spent on food locally stay in the community longer and therefore boost the local economy. The county should support local marketing efforts for local farm products. In order for agriculture to have a place in the county's future, several things need to be considered in creating the Comprehensive Plan: ® Taxes on agricultural land must be kept low enough so that farmers can afford to hold land for farming. ® Farmers should b~e protected from nuisance suits brought by their new neighbors who move from the city to the country and then discover they don't like the smell of manure. ® Farmland must be preserved for future agricultural use. ® Farmland must be affordable for those who wish to begin to farm and must buy land to do so. Farmland in Orange County has become valuable for its development potential. For many rural landowners, this value is all they have to finance their retirement and to pass on to their children. It would be unfair to such landowners to restrict their ability to cash in on the equity in their land. At the same time, farmland should be preserved for agricultural use and be affordable for those who will farm it, for the benefits to the community that are mentioned above. There must be a provision whereby rural landowners can be compensated for giving up the right to sell their farmland to the highest bidder for development. The burden of providing the above mentioned benefits should be born by all members of the community, not just by current rural landowners. 1of16