Orange County NC Website
December 15, 2010 Meeting Summary 2 <br />can serve as an information hub for advertisements particularly, if kept current. The county could also <br />pursue Andrew Branan’s idea from the November meeting to develop a regional map showing agricultural <br />infrastructure, which could be used for planning and locating new faculties. <br /> <br />b. Updates & Information Sharing <br />1. Ag Summit 2011—March 21, 2010 <br />Moon provided a brief summary of the Agricultural Summit Planning Committee’s efforts to date. Staff will <br />update the APB as the planning process continues. <br /> 2. Unified Development Ordinance <br />Work on the Unified Development Ordinance continues, with public outreach meetings leading the formal <br />public hearing. Staff encouraged APB members to follow the Planning Departments website for more timely <br />updates and to participate as their schedule permits. <br />3. Other (wildlife conservation present use value taxation) <br />Moon referred APB members to the information included in their packets. The wildlife conservation present <br />use tax program is a parallel to the existing 3-category present use value system. Staff has been following <br />the legislation about the wildlife program for some time, hoping that it would offer an opportunity for retiring <br />farmers to keep large tracts of land in the PUV system. However, the program requires property owners to <br />meet a number of stringent criteria; it does not look as though many Orange County farmers would be <br />eligible for the program—maybe one or two. The APB members present agreed that its important to know <br />about the program, but that it does not appear to offer much benefit for local farmers. <br />4. Board of County Commissioners Code of Ethics <br />The County Attorney asked for staff to share information on the Board of County Commissioner’s recently <br />adopted Code of Ethics. APB members read through the material focusing on the two sections, identified by <br />the County Attorney, as most relevant to the volunteer boards. <br /> <br />ITEM# 7: INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS <br />a. American Farmland, “New Conservation Ideas from California” <br />b. Handouts at the meeting <br /> <br />ITEM #8: ADJOURNMENT <br />Elizabeth Walters made a motion to adjourn the meeting; McAdams seconded the motion. The meeting was <br />adjourned at 9:05 p.m. <br /> <br />Next meeting scheduled for January 19, 2011, in the small Conference Room in the Environment and <br />Agriculture Center.