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4 <br /> Voluntary Agriculture Districts are non-monetary and are binding 10-year conservation <br /> agreements. <br /> SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to <br /> this item: <br /> • GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY <br /> The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary <br /> for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their <br /> dependents. <br /> The Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District Program ordinance conserves, protects and <br /> encourages the preservation and improvement of agricultural land within the County boundaries <br /> as a critical component of the County's cultural and rural character and its economy by virtue of <br /> the production of food, fiber and other products. The purpose of this Ordinance is to reduce the <br /> loss of productive and existing farmland by promoting agricultural values and the general <br /> welfare of the County, recognize the existence of important farmlands by seeking to minimize <br /> risks of nuisance suits that arise from the onset of other land uses, encourage participation in <br /> voluntary programs to preserve and protect farmland from non-farm development and increase <br /> identity and awareness of the agricultural community, and its role in the economic and cultural <br /> quality of life for all County residents. <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board certify the ten (10) farm <br /> properties noted above totaling 1,325 acres (VAD) and 530 acres (EVAD) (rounded acreage) as <br /> denoted in the attached documentation as qualifying farmland; designate the farms as a <br /> Voluntary or Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District farm within the Caldwell, Cane <br /> Creek/Buckhorn, High Rock/Efland, New Hope/Hillsborough, Schley/Eno, and White Cross <br /> Voluntary Agricultural Districts; and enroll the lands in the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural <br /> District (VAD) and the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) programs. <br /> With approval of these additional acres, the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District <br /> Program will have enrolled 70 farms, totaling 8,536 acres in the VAD and 1,859 acres in the <br /> EVAD, for a total of 10,395 acres (rounded) in the program. <br />