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Nov. - Dec. 2000 Page 3 farmland preservation report Local ballots, continued from page 2 In Bucks County, two townships, Hilltown and Springfield, approved income tax increases and one township, Upper Makefield, approved a $15 million bond issue, the largest spending approval in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. "I think most of it is for farmland — parkland is not as high a priority," said Rich Harvey, adminis- trator for the Bucks County farmland preservation program. Upper Makefield has a track record of pursuing farmland protection, he said. The Bucks County program has preserved 4,500 acres on the fringes of Philadelphia where a $10,000 per -acre cap was established to limit costs. Three years ago the program got $13.5 million from a $59 million bond issue, of which $5.8 million was allocated last year along with $3.5 million from the general fund. The county pro- gram currently has $7.5 million. "We have a lot of money, but it's hard to keep up. We're really short staffed here at the planning commission," Harvey said, with four or five planner vacancies. New Jersey New Jersey clearly won the local initiative sweepstakes, with 45 localities voting to spend money on open space and farmland preservation. Only one locality with a land protection referen- dum rejected the measure. At least one -third of the measures specifically mentioned farmland preservation. However, "nearly all the measures are for both farmland and open space," said Steve Jandoli of the state's Green Acres Program. Sussex County was more explicit, designating 90 percent of funds for farmland, he said. According to Jandoli, 19 of the state's 21 counties now have dedicated reve- nues for open space acquisition, as well as 144 of 566 municipalities. Countywide initiatives were also passed in Gloucester, Camden and Union Counties. Two established new taxes In Burlington County, the state's most aggres- sive in farmland protection, seven townships passed local measures supporting open space and farmland protection, six using a dedicated portion of the property tax, and one, Mansfield, approving a bond issue of $1 million for open space and farmland preservation. Two years ago, New Jersey voters approved the nation's largest land preservation fund — $1.4 billion in bond money over 10 years. With an ambitious goal of preserving a million acres in 10 years, the money is split between the state farm- land preservation program, administered by the State Agricultural Development Committee and the Green Acres Program. Ohio Ohio voters approved $200 million for conser- vation initiatives and $200 million for brownfields revitalization projects. The Clean Ohio Fund, a bond act, passed by 57 percent of the vote. A campaign chaired by Gov. Bob Taft and U.S. Sen. John Glenn promoted passage of the act, and more than 200 organizations statewide endorsed it. According to a campaign press release, the $400 million fund will be used for "locally driven projects such as protecting Ohio's water, revitaliz- ing urban areas by stimulating new investment in blighted neighborhoods, expanding outdoor recreational opportunities and preventing the loss of valuable farmland through voluntary agricul- tural easements." The next step, according to Howard Wise of the Ohio Farmland Preservation Office, is for the General Assembly to pass implementing legisla- tion. "Gov. Bob Taft will ask the legislature to earmark $25 million for a pilot agriculture ease- ment purchase program," he said. Ohio's program is already established, but will receive its first funds through the bond act. The $25 million will be spread over four years. Taft originally pro- posed the open space and farmland preservation fund in November 1998 when he was governor - elect, following passage of legislation that author- ized PDR. In 1996, proponents discovered that please turn to page 4