Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
a. (i) Are best suited for providing food, seed, fiber, forage, timber, and oil <br />seed crops; <br />(ii) Have good soil qualities; <br />(iii) Are favorable for all major crops common to Chatham County; <br />(iv) Have a favorable growing season; and <br />(v) Receive the available moisture needed to produce high yields for an <br />average of eight out of ten years; or <br />b. be one on which at least two- thirds of the land has been actively used in <br />agricultural, horticultural or forestry operations as defined by N.C.G.S. <br />§ 105 -277.2 (1),(2), and (3) during each of the five previous years, measured <br />from the date on which the determination must be made as to whether the <br />land in question qualifies; <br />3. be managed, if highly erodible land exists on the farm, in accordance with the <br />Natural Resource Conservation Service defined erosion - control practices that are <br />addressed to said highly- erodible land; and <br />4. be the subject of a conservation agreement, as defined in N.C,G.S. §121 -35, between <br />the county and the owner of such land that prohibits non -farm use or development of <br />such land for a period of at least ten years, except for the creation of not more than <br />three lots that meet applicable county zoning and subdivision regulations. <br />ARTICLE VII <br />CREATION OF VOLUNTARY AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS <br />A. Creation <br />An agricultural district created pursuant to this Ordinance shall: <br />1. Consist of at least 20 contiguous acres of certified qualifying farmland; or <br />2. Consist of at least two or more certified qualifying farms which are one mile or less <br />from each other and contain not less than 20 acres in the aggregate. <br />B. Regions <br />Agricultural districts created hereunder shall be grouped for purposes of administration into <br />four geographic regions as follows: districts lying North of US 64 and East of NC 87 shall <br />be in the Northeast Region; districts South of US 64 and east of NC 87 shall be in the <br />Southeast Region; districts South of US 64 and west of NC 87 shall be in the Southwest <br />Region; and districts North of US 64 and west of NC 87 shall be in the Northwest Region. <br />El <br />