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10. What if the landowner didn't sell his /her development rights? <br />Would the County stop him /her from developing the land? <br />If the landowner did not sell his /her development rights, <br />he /she would retain all the rights to development subject to <br />the same zoning, subdivision, building, and health code <br />restrictions as other landowners. <br />11. Could the County build on the acquired property or sell the <br />development rights to someone else to build on the acquired <br />property? <br />No. Once the County paid for the development rights, the <br />rights would be held in public trust and could not be used by <br />anyone without the owner's consent. <br />12. Would this mean the public has a right to come on the land- <br />owners property? <br />No. Even though the landowner sells the development rights to <br />his /her land, it does not become public property. It is still <br />the landowner's private property and subject to the laws of <br />trespass. The general public cannot enter the property without <br />the landowner's permission. <br />13. Could the property owner elect to lease his /her development <br />rights instead of selling them? <br />Yes. As part of the application process, a landowner may offer <br />to lease his /her development rights. Such offers would be <br />handled in the same manner as offers to sell. However, <br />compensation for development rights leases would be based on a <br />determination of cash rent values of comparable land. The term <br />of any lease should be consistent with the program objective <br />of long -term farmland protection. In Forsyth County, this <br />period is generally 25 years. The lease should also include an <br />option to purchase the development rights at a future date. <br />14. Could the property owner re- purchase his /her development <br />rights? <br />Yes. The purchase of development rights is intended to create <br />areas with sufficient amounts of contiguous agricultural land <br />to facilitate the permanent agricultural use of the land. <br />While program activity will be directed to that goal, success <br />is dependent on the voluntary participation of landowners. If <br />a landowner or several owners of small tracts are the only <br />participants in an area, the goal may not be achieved. The <br />landowners could become landlocked by development, and <br />agricultural activity may become impractical. <br />In such situations, it would be in the best interest of the <br />landowner and the public to allow re- purchase of the <br />development rights. However, repurchase of development rights <br />Page - 15 <br />