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July -Aug. 2002
<br />farmland preservation report
<br />Lancaster nation's
<br />toplarm program
<br />Continued from page 1
<br />391,836 acres, compared to Montgomery's 77,266,
<br />producing a much higher pool of applicants, particu-
<br />larly considering differences in land markets,
<br />Zawitoski said. That difference is evident in average
<br />per -acre costs for the two programs - Lancaster's at
<br />$1809, and Montgomery's at $3565 per acre.
<br />The Iast available farms are the hardest to get,
<br />Zawitoski said. The two counties are on a par when it
<br />comes to zoning, however, with development rights in
<br />agricultural areas restricted to one unit per 25 acres.
<br />The Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve
<br />Board, established in 1980 - nine years before the
<br />Pennsylvania state program - logged a whopping
<br />9,944 acres since last July. It is the largest single -year
<br />gain of any county in the ranking since 1996 when
<br />Sonoma County placed more than 10,000 acres under
<br />easement in one year.
<br />Lancaster's acreage total is helped significantly
<br />by the work of the Lancaster Farmland Trust, which
<br />has preserved 9,584 acres, many under a cooperative
<br />agreement with the Lancaster County program.
<br />"We've had a record year," said executive direc-
<br />tor Heidi Schellenger. The organization logged 1,364
<br />acres since last July.
<br />Lancaster County has an agricultural identity that
<br />makes its new number -one status in preservation more
<br />than due. It is the nation's leading non - irrigated local
<br />farm economy. It is the top - producing farm county in
<br />the northeast, and contains some of the most produc-
<br />tive soils in the United States.
<br />Even though just 60 miles from Philadelphia, the
<br />nation's fourth - largest city, all Lancaster townships
<br />have followed the recommendation of county planning
<br />- as well as the Agricultural Preserve Board - and
<br />established effective agricultural zoning at a 1:25
<br />density. Urban growth boundaries, backed by rings of
<br />preserved farms strategically placed by the Preserve
<br />Board, are in place around some municipalities.
<br />The county's population has edged upward from
<br />450,000, yet Lancaster's farm support businesses
<br />thrive, and draw business from 100 miles away.
<br />June Mengel, director of the Agricultural Preserve
<br />Board, said the county has come a long way, but still
<br />Page 3
<br />has a long way to go, with a large and growing
<br />backlog of farmers' eager to preserve their land.
<br />Other counties that have made substantial gains
<br />are Baltimore County, Berks County, Pa. and
<br />Burlington County,*NJ.
<br />Land trust activity boosts Baltimore County
<br />Land.trusts focusing their efforts in Baltimore
<br />County resulted in four of the county's five Rural
<br />Legacy Areas between 1997 and 2000. Land trust
<br />implementation of Rural Legacy Program grants in
<br />those areas accounts for most of the county's increase
<br />in preserved acres this year, from 31,438 acres in July
<br />2001 to 38,183 acres, an increase of 6,745 acres from
<br />all programs. That jump moves the county from 7th
<br />into 6th place in the ranking. It is the county's first
<br />move up since 1999 when survey methodology
<br />allowed inclusion of agricultural acres from other
<br />entities and programs. In the 1999 survey the county
<br />reported 24,399 acres in all programs.
<br />Baltimore County's success in easement pur-
<br />chases and donations is supported by its restrictive
<br />agricultural zoning, which allows, overall, a density
<br />of one unit per 50 acres (1:50). It is the most restric-
<br />tive zoning among farmland programs in.the eastern,
<br />United States. The next strongest protection is 1:25.
<br />During the past year, Baltimore County has put
<br />forth additional county funds to boost Rural Legacy
<br />grants, and has added an "imminent threat" provision
<br />to its local program that allows the county board to
<br />channel funds to a farm not next in line for easement
<br />purchase, but in imminent danger of development.
<br />Berks County added 6,779 acres since last
<br />August, and moves up in the ranking from 1 Ith to
<br />10th place. Sliding scale zoning of varying protection
<br />has been adopted by nearly half of all townships, and
<br />bond funding of $30 million in 2000 put the county in
<br />the ranking for the first time.
<br />Working with a pool of more than 200 applicants,
<br />the program has logged 12,455 acres since it entered
<br />the ranking. What is at stake is substantial - along
<br />with Lancaster and Chester Counties, Berks ranks in
<br />the nation's top 100 counties for production.
<br />While its ranking didn't change, Burlington
<br />County got a boost of 4,741 acres in the past year,
<br />many of those from the Pinelands transfer of develop-
<br />ment credits program, which has increased in activity
<br />due to development in Atlantic City, according to John
<br />Ross of the Pinelands Development Credit Bank. The
<br />price of credits increased dramatically in recent years.
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