Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
3 <br /> water supply. The Brooks Farm has been evaluated against each of the VAD certification <br /> requirement standards and meets or exceeds all of the measures above. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. Voluntary Agricultural <br /> Districts are non-monetary and non-binding conservation agreements. Enhanced Voluntary <br /> Agriculture Districts are non-monetary and are binding 10-year conservation 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 (Excerpt from the Orange Co. VAD program ordinance). <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board certify the five (5) farm <br /> properties noted above totaling 421 acres (VAD) and 126 acres (EVAD) (rounded acreage) as <br /> denoted in the attached documentation as qualifying farmland; designate them as a Voluntary or <br /> Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District farm within the Schley/Eno, Cedar Grove, New Hope, <br /> and High Rock/Efland Voluntary Agricultural Districts; and enroll the lands in the Orange County <br /> Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) and the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) <br /> programs. <br /> With approval of these additional acres, the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District <br /> Program will have enrolled 78 farms, totaling 9,320 acres in the VAD and 2,144 acres in the <br /> EVAD for a total of 11,464 acres (rounded) in the program. <br />