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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: October 3, 2006 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 5 -~_ <br />SUBJECT: Authorization to Develop Appendix to Lands Legacy Program Document <br />DEPARTMENT: ERCD PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Lands Legacy Action Plan Issue Paper David Stancil, 245-2590 <br />on Farmland Preservation Legislation <br />PURPOSE: To authorize ERCD staff to create a new appendix to the Lands Legacy Program <br />Document (adopted April 4, 2000) modifying the farmland preservation section to make it <br />consistent with new State farmland preservation legislation (this appendix was suggested in one <br />of the three "issue papers" presented with the Lands Legacy Action Plan for 2006-08). <br />BACKGROUND: Legislation adopted by the General Assembly in 2003 and again in 2005 <br />amended sections of the NC General Statutes addressing the preservation of farmland. In <br />particular, NCGS 106-744 (`Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements; Establishment of <br />North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund') modifies the <br />way matching funds for grant monies toward this purpose are made available. <br />The provisions provide for different levels of local matching dollars based on the economic "tier" <br />of the County and whether the County has a "countywide farmland protection plan." Orange <br />County is a "Tier 5" county, and Tier 5 counties must provide a 30% match if they have no <br />countywide farmland protection plan, but only a 15% match if they do. Orange County's Lands <br />Legacy Program predates this legislation, and incorporates many of the provisions of a <br />"countywide farmland .protection plan" already, including criteria not required by the statutes. <br />However, some provisions related to the new legislation are not included in the Lands Legacy <br />Program, or exist elsewhere in other materials and need to be added to Lands Legacy. <br />Primarily, these include updates on agricultural activity and economic challenges to family farms <br />in order to be certain of meeting the new definition. <br />ERCD staff proposes to create an Appendix to the Lands Legacy Program Policy document <br />(adopted. April 4, 2000) that coordinates the needed information in a manner that satisfies the <br />legislation's description of a Countywide Farmland Protection Plan, using data from ERCD, <br />Economic Development Commission, and other agricultural agencies. This will enable the <br />County to qualify for the lower matching funds ratio outlined above. The appendix would be <br />reviewed by the Agricultural Preservation Board, the Soil and Water District Board, and the <br />