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7 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 22, 1993 <br /> Agenda Abstract <br /> Item #ct/ t. <br /> SUBJECT: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO VOLUNTARY FARMLAND <br /> PRESERVATION ORDINANCE <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HEARING: X Yes No <br /> ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Proposed Amendment Planning Director X2592 <br /> PHONE NUMBERS: <br /> Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Mebane 227-2031 <br /> Durham 688-7331 <br /> Chapel Hill 967-9251 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive citizen comment on a proposed amendment <br /> to the Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program <br /> Ordinance. <br /> BACKGROUND: When the Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program <br /> Ordinance was enacted in March, the minimum size of <br /> an agricultural district was set at: <br /> 1. At least 155 contiguous acres of certified <br /> qualifying farmland; or <br /> 2 . At least two or more certified qualifying <br /> farms, contiguous to each other, which will <br /> create a district of not less than 155 acres. <br /> On September 22, 1992, the ordinance was amended to <br /> reduce the minimum size of an agricultural district <br /> to 80 acres. During the course of administering the <br /> ordinance, it was discovered that small tracts or <br /> lots were being surrounded by larger farms <br /> designated as voluntary agricultural districts. <br /> To address the concern of creating "holes" in <br /> agricultural districts and permit the "squaring up" <br /> of district boundaries, a member of the Agricultural <br /> Districts Advisory Board asked staff to check if <br /> inclusion of such lots was possible under the <br /> existing ordinance. Discussions between the Planning <br /> Director and County Attorney confirmed that an <br /> ordinance amendment was necessary for small lots and <br /> tracts to be included as part of a voluntary <br /> agricultural district. <br />