Agenda - 08-24-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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E= O R A N G E C O U N T Y BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 24, 1992 Agenda Abstract Item # C 4(a) SUBJECT: MINIMUM FARM SIZE - VOLUNTARY AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS ------ -- DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HEARING: % Yes No ATTACHMENT(S): Proposed Amendment INFORMATION CONTACT: Planning Director X2592 PHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732 -8181 Mebane 227 -2031 Durham 688 -7331 Chapel Hill 967 -9251 PURPOSE: To receive citizen comment on a proposed amendment which would change the minimum farm size required for participation in the voluntary agricultural districts program from 155 acres to 80 acres. BACKGROUND: When the Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program Ordinance was enacted in March, the minimum size of an agricultural district was set at: 1. At least 155 contiguous acres of certified qualifying farmland; or 2. At least two or more certified qualifying farms, contiguous to each other, which will create a district of not less than 155 acres. Since the adoption of the ordinance, 13 applications have been received by the Planning Department. Of these, all may be certified as qualifying farmland, but only three applications contain sufficient acreage (at least 155 acres) to be designated as a voluntary agricultural district. A fourth application may be eligible for designation, but questions exist regarding ownership and size of the farm. A fifth application involves 150.5 acres and is only 4.5 acres short of qualifying for designation. The rationale for using the 155 -acre threshold was the figure represented the average farm size in Orange County according to the 1987 Census of Agriculture. Historically, Orange County and the counties surrounding it have demonstrated a general