APB agenda 052103 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1,Y rALOrange County Agricultural Preservation Board Memorandum To: Board of County Commissioners From: Agricultural Preservation Board Date: May 21, 2003 Subject: Land Use Element Update Copies: CPLUC Planning Board Planning Staff Farmland is an irreplaceable physical, cultural, and economic asset in Orange County. The Board of Commissioners has long recognized the importance of farmland preservation and created the Agricultural Preservation Board in 1992 to ensure that the vitality of farming and agricultural activities continue to make Orange County a unique and desirable place to live. The Agricultural Preservation Board supports the following land use tools for farmland preservation and encourages their inclusion in the planned update to the Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan: ➢ Agricultural Priority Areas • The Agricultural Preservation Board has been working over the last several months to identify Agricultural Priority Areas as part of the Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program (VFPP) Ordinance. These Areas would identify "communities" of existing agricultural activity, threatened farmlands and prime soils, based on mapping of farmlands (ongoing). These Areas also will provide a basis for coordinating Voluntary Agricultural Districts and helping to denote key areas for future agricultural conservation easements through Lands Legacy. The APB would like to share these ideas, once completed later this spring with the Board of Commissioners and the Planning Board for possible incorporation into the Land Use Element. • Once identified and mapped, the APB would propose that County land use policies serve to direct development away from Agricultural Priority Areas using a right -to- farm approach. Ideally, the location of existing farms would be discussed during the development review process for proposed subdivisions and special use permits to limit future nuisance complaints. Disclosure statements would be required on all deeds and land records management systems for newly developed properties within one half mile of pre- existing farms. • While the existing Voluntary Agricultural District program is (as required in the State and local VFPP Ordinance) a separate program, additional benefits from VA District participation could dovetail into land use planning and other programs.