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farmland preservation report Covering the policies, practices and initiatives that save farmland and open space Since 1990 • Deborah Bowers. Editor MARYLAND LEGISLATION & BUDGET Law to cut lot rights La on farms preserved ANNAPOLIS, MD — After a decade of failed attempts to more tightly restrict the number of new homes allowable on preserved farms, Mary- land legislators approved changes recommended by a task force to cut that number from 10 to a maximum of three.. BB 805, sponsored by Delegate Mary Dulany- James, will allow one lot for farms of 20 to 70 acres, two lots for farms of 70 to 120 acres, and three lots for farms of 120 acres or greater. Under old rules, up to 10 lots for chil- dren were allowed by request, but enforcing the family restriction was at best impractical, accord- Rural Legacy funding stashed, p. 5 ing to local administrators. Lot exclusions prior to easement sale, an equally thorny issue for the Maryland Agricul- Continued on page 4 LIMN COUNTY. IA "Reverse LESA" scores building sites CEDAR RAPIDS, IA — In Linn County, which surrounds the city of Cedar Rapids in eastern Iowa, county officials treat development propos- als like many localities treat agricultural land — they give it a LESA score. Many localities seeking to protect farmland from development turn to the Land Evaluation and Site Assessment formula devised by the USDA Soil Conservation Service in the early 1980s. The scoring system, which rated such aspects as soil quality and proximity to sewer hook -up, offered an objective approach to deter- mining which lands were most important to protect. But Linn County Director of Planning and Development Les Beck "turned LESA on its head," to use it as part of the county's Rural Land Use Plan and Interim Development Ordi- nance in July 2002. The ordinance states that a proposed development must receive a minimum threshold score on the LESA system as the initial requirement for development approval. A differ- Continued on page 2 Volume 13, Number 6 April 2003 High land values sustain interest in IPAs ................. 3 Conference examines compensatory options .............. 6 Newsbriefs .................................. ............................... 6 Jobpostings ................................. ............................... 8 Farmland Preservation Report is published by Bowers Publishing, Inc. 10 times per year. Subscription rate of $205 includes index and hotline services. Editorial and circulation offices: 900 La Grange Rd., Street, Maryland 21154 • (410) 692 -2708 • bowerspub @hotmail.com • ISSN: 1050 -6373. @ 2003 by Bowers Publishing, Inc. Reproduction in any form, or electronic forwarding of this material without permission is prohibited.