Agenda - 08-21-2007-3b; VAD - John Pope Farm

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«- ORANGE COUNTY ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM To: Agricultural Preservation Board From: Tina Moon, Cultural Resources Specialist Date: .7une 5, 2007 Subject: Sohn Pope Farms LLC, Voluntary Agricultural District Application Copies: David Stancil, ERC Director In March John Pope submitted an application to include the John Pope Farms, LLC, in the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) Program. As you- can see from the attached map and soils analysis chart, the tract is located in Cedar Grove Township and contains a little more than 65 acres. Section V. of the Orange County Voluntary Farmland Protection Ordinance (VFPO) outlines the required application procedure. Once the application is deemed complete ERCD staff forwards it to the Tax Assessor and Natural Resources Conservation Service to ensure that the property meets specific criteria. ERCD staff received the attached memoranda from NRCS and the Tax Assessor certifying the Pope Farm as qualifying farmland, eligible to participate in the VAD program. The next step in the process is for the Agricultural Preservation Board (APB) to determine whether or not it wishes to recommend the application to the Board of County Commissions. Please review the attached materials and relevant sections of the VFPO, and be prepared to consider this application for VAD status. Should the Agricultural Preservation Board decide to recommend the John Pope Farms, LLC, for inclusion in the County's Voluntary Agricultural District program, ERCD staff will forward the recommendation along with the appropriate agenda materials to the Board of County Commissioners for their review and consideration. Should the BOCC approve the application, the Pope Farm would become the second farm in the Cedar Grove Voluntary Agricultural District.