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<br />Citizens Urge
<br />rpH Preservation of
<br />Z rmland
<br />Open Spaces
<br />by Rebecca Jackson
<br />Virginia's urban sprawl has breached
<br />its concrete dikes and floods over near-
<br />by farmland like a lava flow, forever
<br />converting furrows to pavement.
<br />It's happening everywhere, from the
<br />Washington, DC suburbs of northern
<br />Virginia and the Tidewater corridor, to
<br />the fertile fields of the still largely rural
<br />Piedmont.
<br />Many people feel a cause for alarm,
<br />considering that the food on their plates
<br />Is produced not in some big -city labora-
<br />tory, but from land devoted to agricul-
<br />ture.
<br />Agriculture is a viable industry in the
<br />commonwealth. But Virginia lost nearly
<br />450,000 acres of prime farmland from
<br />1987 to 1997, about five percent of the
<br />state's total land devoted to agriculture,
<br />according to the Conservation Land
<br />Coalition. Virginia's Northern Piedmont,
<br />a breadbasket since Colonial times, was
<br />ranked the second most imperiled farm-
<br />land region in the nation In a 1997
<br />study by the American Farmland Trust.
<br />There is hope, however, with steps be-
<br />ing taken across the state to preserve
<br />agricultural land for the future.
<br />Land preservation, too, has the back-
<br />ing of Virginia's new Governor, Mark L.
<br />Warner, who took office in January.
<br />When he campaigned for the post,
<br />Warner told audiences he wants to keep
<br />Virginia's land preservation efforts more
<br />In line with the other mid- Atlantic and
<br />Southern states.
<br />Warner wants to dedicate $40 million
<br />annually towards green space and
<br />farmland preservation by permanently
<br />allocating a portion of state recordation
<br />tax revenues. That levy, which is as-
<br />sessed on land and real estate transac-
<br />tions, brings in $150 million each year.
<br />A farmland preservation agenda un-
<br />veiled by Warner would phase the mon-
<br />ey in over several years. The state cur-
<br />rently has no dedicated funding and
<br />spends no money on open space preser-
<br />vation.
<br />Virginia lags far behind other states
<br />In this area, with North Carolina, New
<br />Jersey and Florida spending $60 mil-
<br />lion, $100 million and $300 million re-
<br />spectively. Maryland plans to spend
<br />more than $170 million this year, ac-
<br />cording to a report in the Washington
<br />Business Journal.
<br />At the same time, a poll conducted
<br />last year by the American Farmland
<br />trust shows taxpayers want family
<br />farms preserved for the future. Four
<br />hundred registered voters residing In
<br />Northern Virginia's Fauquier County
<br />were interviewed in the survey, with 94
<br />percent of them saying they thought it
<br />was important to preserve farmland.
<br />The Fauquier County board of Super-
<br />visors is considering a plan, much like
<br />one already in place In Virginia Beach,
<br />that helps protect remaining, at -risk
<br />farmland and green space. As in the
<br />Sites like this - prime farmland converted to housing devlopments - are becoming com-
<br />monplace throughout the commonwealth.
<br />Photos by Rebecca Jackson
<br />4
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<br />The, idea of Tarml�and Ilretietvatioci noin farm purppaes , If:t11e landown
<br />19 foreign to mahy'farmerg. llxi Vir- I' ers dr anyone else Win developing
<br />giril Beach program offers the fol- ; the..propetfy for'norl4arin purposes
<br />lowing ariewera, to farmers ooncerng if the ltvridowntr:wished to. chatyge
<br />Doer the landowner / aue to offer ' fit& typ+~'of tarihing; he would .be,pera ."
<br />all of tile/ her proptrtyp ' ::''" i tectiy free ,Jo do'9o; tithe didii't'warit
<br />Noy They may offer to sell all; or y .fa fainx-thc -F, ,6rty et.alI,; he. would ;,'
<br />any pack of theirprdperty ''' be rfee to lease it':to someo*n6 else tot,
<br />What u►ould,/tappert (f the r._!: `
<br />Wit or sell it. -'Che only: restribitone
<br />landowner iroLd ,his deaelnpment. on'ttlp latldotl�mer or anj� substqueni
<br />rishta and ti►eeri decided !o change ovlrArr Is it the`propt, cannot be
<br />thg type of fprmtny, or guff farm -' rr developed for non =farm purposes
<br />treg all tQyrthar? liven if tZic 1>indownbr'sold the prep ,:+
<br />Nottiingin ihie prograt>r!! cegttiree�; *t +erty+,tiiCet3trictlgii a�aingt develop �l
<br />the faitdtrwner bo farm his prvperty� uSent arouid contlquc with the land
<br />Stlltng developintnf rights blmpl>t'e ;Wha! i�eiitirictions would 6e':;
<br />sbrlcta >Ehs landaWaer or lsn blx jpifaiZed �y >the land in the A$ricu[
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<br />Virginia Beach plan,
<br />which was successfully
<br />implemented In 1995,
<br />Fauquier's effort would
<br />call for the county to pay
<br />farmers for the develop-
<br />ment rights to their
<br />property. This means
<br />the owner could still
<br />farm the land, or sell the
<br />land for farming, but no
<br />one could build a resi-
<br />dential subdivision or
<br />commercial develop-
<br />ment on this land.
<br />Virginia Beach's Agri-
<br />cultural Reserve Pro-
<br />gram (ARP) was de-
<br />signed and promoted by
<br />a coalition of farm, con-
<br />servation, business and Balancing the needs for housing and development with the
<br />civic leaders. They need to preserve the region's agricultural and rural foundation
<br />shared a common con- are key goals for farmland protection organizations.
<br />cern for resource and
<br />growth management, as
<br />well as preservation of agribusiness and
<br />a balanced tax base.
<br />It's going to take several years, but
<br />the city hopes to buy development
<br />rights on as much as 20,000 acres in
<br />the southern portion of Virginia Beach.
<br />When a farmer sells the development
<br />rights to property, he or she not only
<br />ensures the land will be used for agri-
<br />cultural purposes, the producer also
<br />reaps several federal, local and state tax
<br />breaks. This Includes deferral of taxes
<br />on capital gains and tax- exempt Inter-
<br />est.
<br />Concern over the mounting loss of
<br />farmland to development led to Vir-
<br />ginia's adoption of the Virginia Agricul-
<br />tural Vitality Program (VAVP) In 2000.
<br />Current legislation calls for strengthen-
<br />ing the program In response to demand.
<br />"We must fortify the Virginia Agricul-
<br />tural Vitality Program because Vir-
<br />ginia's farm families need all the help
<br />they can get to transition these farms
<br />and businesses to the next generation,"
<br />said state Sen. Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.
<br />"Seventy percent of the family farms in
<br />Virginia will change hands in the next
<br />15 years. Agriculture is the leading eco-
<br />nomic engine In the commonwealth;
<br />Virginia cannot afford to just hope that
<br />all that land stays in farming."
<br />On Dec. 18, 2001, federal, state and
<br />county officials, along with citizens of
<br />the Mason Neck region of Fairfax Coun-
<br />ty (Northern Virginia) celebrated the
<br />eulmins::_ ...o years of
<br />working together to preserve more than
<br />800 acres of open land on the Mason
<br />Neck Peninsula. One of Fairfax Coun-
<br />tv's commissioners, Gerry Hyland,
<br />hailed the completion of the Meadow -
<br />land Farm - Lorton Land Exchange as
<br />the epitome of collaboration between
<br />government and citizens.
<br />The land exchange was a complicated
<br />deal involving the General Services Ad-
<br />ministration, the Bureau of Land Man-
<br />agement- Eastern States, the county, a
<br />developer and a private landowner. But
<br />It was a natural for the Mason Neck
<br />community, which already was home to
<br />6,000 acres of protected land. The
<br />area's open space provides both recre-
<br />ation for Mason Neck residents and pro-
<br />tection of wildlife habitat.
<br />A similar campaign, to preserve farm-
<br />land, green space and monitor the
<br />placement of development, is under way
<br />across the state in Bedford County, Vir-
<br />ginia.
<br />Members of Bedford Citizens for Land
<br />Preservation (BCLP) don't tote taunting
<br />banners, stage sit -ins, or lie down in the
<br />path of developers' bulldozers.
<br />Instead, this fledgling group labors
<br />quietly behind the scenes, mustering
<br />support by educating others about the
<br />vital Importance of preserving farmland
<br />for agricultural enterprises and open
<br />spaces for everyone to enjoy for many
<br />generations in the future.
<br />Although it is still primarily rural,
<br />Bedford County is witnessing the high-
<br />est growth rate for any Virginia county
<br />outside of the Northern Virglna- Tidewa-
<br />ter urban crescent. Those who've lived
<br />In Bedford County -which is sand-
<br />wiched between the metropolitan areas
<br />of Roanoke and Lynchburg - for Just the
<br />past decade have seen farm after farm
<br />carved up for development.
<br />BCLP formed late last year, according
<br />to member Annis McCabe, as a grass
<br />roots group to see how Bedford County
<br />was planning for anticipated future
<br />growth and what kind of measures
<br />would be taken to preserve agriculture
<br />land.
<br />The organization, which held its third
<br />meeting in October, set of three commit-
<br />tees to explore conservation, easement
<br />and preservation of development rights;
<br />agricultural opportunities; and plan-
<br />ning and zoning. With the information
<br />Its members gather, BCLP will be a vo-
<br />cal and vital force in the development of
<br />a new comprehensive plan for Bedford
<br />County.
<br />"Our mission statement is that we
<br />'are dedicated to the support of respon-
<br />sible growth while maintaining a rural
<br />quality of life'," said Nancy Raine, an-
<br />other member of BCLP.
<br />"How well growth is managed is the
<br />will of the people in an area," added Mc-
<br />Cabe. "We don't know what that is yet,"
<br />but an informal survey of members in-
<br />dicates rural land preservation is a clear
<br />priority for Bedford as well as the rest of
<br />Virginia.
<br />At the group's next meeting, BCLP
<br />will hear a presentation by Mary Hein -
<br />richt, Mid- Atlantic director of the Amer-
<br />ican Farmland Trust. She will share kev
<br />elements of the Virginia Beach Agricul-
<br />ture Reserve Program, and how parts of
<br />this successful program can be applied
<br />to rapidly growing Bedford County.
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