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March 2002 farmland preservation report Page 3
<br /> land Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation
<br /> ( MALPF) and request "owner ' s and child ' s lots"
<br /> without having to prove , or legally be held to, the
<br /> ing program goals of protecting large areas from
<br /> lots being used only by family members . Such lots
<br /> development .
<br /> designate certain areas to be are allowed by right, on approval , at a density of
<br /> TDR programs des
<br /> protected , called sending areas , and areas to be de- one per 20 acres owned, up to a maximum of 10 .
<br /> veloped or to receive increased density, called re- According to some who follow actions of the
<br /> ceivi MALPF Board of Trustees lot requests appear to
<br /> ng areas . Transfers are market driven , with de - , pp
<br /> ii have increased in recent years . Some local admmis -
<br /> velopers purchasand using them to n i g development r ncrease the density allowancesghts or credits , trators believe the intent of the law has been abused
<br /> in many cases over the history of the program .
<br /> on sites within the receiving zones .
<br /> MALPF staff was unable to provide statistics on
<br /> The Florida approach would most closely re-
<br /> semble the Pinelands program , which shifts devel - the number of lot requests that have occurred .
<br /> opment often from one rural location to another, House Bill 1384 , introduced by Delegates
<br /> with the objective of protecting the most environ - wheeler Baker and Nancy Stocksdale, both mem -
<br /> mentally sensitive locations . The Pinelands program bers of a task force that studied the MALPF pro-
<br /> has protected more than 16 , 000 acres of environ - gram last year, would restrict the number of resi -
<br /> mental lands since 1981 and is operated by the dent'
<br /> tial development rights on land excluded from
<br /> Pinelands Development Credit Bank, an independ - the district to a density of 1 : 50 and a maximum of
<br /> ent state agency created by the New Jersey legisla- four . And , unlike current regulations, landowners
<br /> ture in 1985 . The designated Pinelands area covers would have to stipulate the number of dwellings
<br /> 934 , 000 acres of pitch pine and cedar swamp for-
<br /> that would be built on the excluded land .
<br /> ests, cranberry bogs and blueberry farms . Further, the bill would enable the MALPF
<br /> Contact: Craig Evans, 5612894690; Ed Board of Trustees to approve applications based on
<br /> Kuester, 850 414-9929, Walker Banning, 850 922 - whether the owner has used buffer or other tech -
<br /> 1785 niques to protect the preserved portion from the ef-
<br /> fects of new homes on the excluded portion .
<br /> MAR YLAND The bill stipulates buffer areas, trespass pre-
<br /> ventatives including fences , placement of road ac-
<br /> Lot rights , upfront ex - cess in relation to farm machinery use, and other
<br /> factors "to protect the state ' s investment in agricul -
<br /> c l u s i o n s issue back on turally productive land and to prevent adjacent de-
<br /> velopment from compromising the potential for ag-
<br /> legislative agenda ricultural production on the proposed district or
<br /> easement . "
<br /> ANNAPOLIS, MD — What one observer called " a The bill also addresses requests for house
<br /> complicated and contentious issue, " has surfaced lots on the portion of the farm to be preserved , first
<br /> pro - by relating them to reserved rights on the excluded
<br /> again in Maryland ' s farmland preservation
<br /> portion of the farm in terms of total number of re-
<br /> gram : how to accommodate applicants who want to
<br /> retain some house lots without jeopardizing the ob- served rights allowed , and second, by increasing
<br /> jectives of the program . the monetary penalty for each lot request . Under
<br /> Some local administrators claim House Bill current rules , landowners who originally sold the
<br /> 1384 , now in the House Appropriations Committee, easement may request up to 10 lots at any time fol -
<br /> would tighten current rules , but create other, lowing easement sale . Under HB 1384 , that number
<br /> equally difficult problems . would diminish to one lot for the first 20 acres and
<br /> Under current rules , applicants to the agricul - one lot for each additional full 50 acres minus the
<br /> tural district program, the first step in easement sale number of reserved lots on any excluded portion of
<br /> eligibility, may exclude a certain portion of a farm the farm — up to a maximum of four on both the
<br /> from the preservation deal . And, even after an ease- preserved portion and any excluded portion .
<br /> ment is sold , landowners can go before the Mary- (continued on page 4)
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