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January 2002 farmland preservation report Status of local PDR programs in Virginia Loudoun Co. In operation; 0 acres completed Clarke Co. Proposed; Albemarle model Fauquier Co. Proposed; targeted area City of Va. Beach 5,000 acres preserved Albemarle Co. 5 projects approved; income test James City Co. Enacted; non - Albemarle model Conservation Easement Authority that would set up operational procedures, publicize the program, identify high- scoring parcels, and apply for matching funds from Virginia's Land Conserva- tion Fund. Funding would initially come from the county's general fund, federal and state grants and private sources. The citizen committee rec- ommended the county annually set aside reve- nues from its deed tax, rollback penalties for ter- mination of agricultural use assessment, and rec- ordation tax, all three generating about $178,000 annually in the county's $15 million budget. Clarke County has been in the forefront in Virginia in its attempts to protect rural lands over the past 20 years, most notably as early as 1980 establishing sliding scale zoning. The method differs from conventional zoning in that the num- ber of allowed dwellings in relation to parcel size decreases as the parcel size increases. Parcels of between 80 and 129.99 acres are allowed four development rights, a density that compares fa- vorably to the most restrictive agricultural zoning found in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The zoning also restricts the maximum lot size to two acres, with a minimum lot size at one acre. Northern Virginia block of programs Clarke, and its neighbors Loudoun and Fauquier Counties, make up a block across the Potomac River from Maryland's Montgomery and Frederick Counties. The three counties not only share boundariessbut a -desire to retain agri- culture and the scenic and historic resources that characterize the region. Potentially adding to this block is neighboring Culpeper County, which has in- cluded farmland protection for discussion in its Page 3 upcoming strategic plan. In addition; across the state line, north into West Virginia, adjacent Jef- ferson and Berkeley Counties have been develop- ing local programs. Fauquier County, noted for its high number of acres under easement through donation, is de- veloping a program that will target more conven- tional farms in an area south of Warrenton where dairy operations predominate, and where a power plant soon to be constructed has promised $1.5 million for farmland preservation within a five - mile radius. The target area is adjacent to Culpeper County. Like Albemarle, Fauquier's payment scheme differs from all other local programs. It will use a valuation formula based on a property's number of development units, which, like in Clarke County, are determined by a sliding scale allocation. The county will pay $20,000 per de- velopment right. In addition, farms must earn at least $25,000 gross income and be zoned for agri- culture or rural conservation. "We hope [the program] will come out of the Ag Advisory Committee this month," said Pe- ter Mitchell, program administrator in the county Agriculture Development Office. "We've got sev- eral landowners who have expressed interest. It's a reasonable level [of payment]. The numbers do work out." Deed searches are necessary, Mitchell said, to determine whether a parcel has been subdi- vided, an action that would reduce the number of development rights under the sliding scale zoning. One farm of about 460 acres has 49 development rights, which would cost the county $980,000 to preserve. In addition to the funds promised from the power plant, Mitchell said the county looks poised to allocate general funds. Loudoun County, which has long been at- tempting to save its remaining farmland from a persistent onslaught of sprawl from Washington, D.C., inaugurated a PDR program last year and has $8 million on hand for its first and second rounds. Ten properties are before the county board, comprising 1,875 acres. The program is conventional, using appraisals and paying by the acre. The county will also attempt to preserve (Continued on page 4) 36