Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
7 <br />into a workable plan that provides new development options with <br />respect to these four objectives, as well as incentives for <br />landowners who help meet these objectives by aiding the <br />maintenance of the rural character in the area through <br />environmentally - sensitive practices in future development. <br />The Committee, in its deliberations and meetings with rural <br />residents throughout the County, has come to several <br />recommendations in the form of policy statements. The manner in <br />which these statements address the goals and objectives of the <br />study can be examined by looking at the study's components. <br />1. Agricultural Preservation <br />The need to preserve agricultural land is a long -term need. It <br />goes beyond the short -term economics of agriculture as a <br />business, to the long -term food production needs of society. <br />Farming is resource - dependent, and therefore much of the <br />attention is based on the resource - the land. But the land is <br />valuable for food production only when there are farmers who can <br />make a living in agriculture. The amount of land in farms and the <br />amount of farms themselves has declined dramatically since 1955. <br />Since 1982, the County has lost another 13% of its farms, and <br />another 11% of its land in agriculture. <br />The Committee has met with a number of rural residents. In these <br />meetings, including the Rural Buffer, this loss of land and <br />difficulty in making a living in agriculture was a significant <br />concern. But of an equal concern was any potential loss in the <br />farmers investment in his land, since the land serves as the <br />farmer's pension - providing savings for retirement and other <br />family needs. <br />Mindful of these concerns, and in order to be receptive to the <br />needs and concerns of farmers and rural residents, the Committee <br />has gathered input from these residents, as well as the members <br />of the farm community on the Committee itself. This has led the <br />RCSC to recommend the following direction for the protection of <br />agriculture in the Rural Buffer. <br />1. The Committee recognizes agricultural activities as being in <br />keeping with the preservation of open space and the <br />protection of resources. The committee recommends that <br />agricultural activities should be a permitted land use in <br />designated open space set asides. <br />2. The Committee recommends that.a Purchase of Development <br />Rights system be instituted and used-as a tool to assist the <br />farm community and other users. <br />3. The Committee endorses and recommends an Expedited <br />subdivision review process to allow large -tract owners (such <br />as farmers) to subdivide small parcels of land as needed for <br />family members and other purchasers, as this will enable <br />many farmers to realize small immediate needs without <br />complete subdivision and sale of the farm. <br />4. The Committee endorses the "Right To Farm" law, and further <br />recommends that the County adopt the provisions and <br />3 <br />