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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: March 1, 2022 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-e <br /> SUBJECT: Approval of Revisions to Orange County Voluntary Farmland Protection Program <br /> Ordinance (Code of Ordinances Chapter 48) and Boundary Adjustment for the <br /> New Hope Voluntary Agricultural District <br /> DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br /> and Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1) Ordinance With Proposed Revisions Peter Sandbeck, (919) 245-2517 <br /> 2) Maps Showing Proposed District Jessica Perrin, (919) 245-2753 <br /> Boundary Adjustment <br /> PURPOSE: To: <br /> 1) approve minor technical adjustments to the language in the Orange County Voluntary <br /> Farmland Protection Program Ordinance (Chapter 48, Orange County Code of <br /> Ordinances) to update the Ordinance to make it consistent with revisions made by the <br /> North Carolina General Assembly in 2021; and <br /> 2) approve an adjustment to the boundary line of the New Hope Voluntary Agricultural District. <br /> BACKGROUND: Orange County's Voluntary Farmland Protection Program provides a range of <br /> benefits to encourage the preservation and viability of the County's farms. Authority for this <br /> program was established by the State in 1985 (North Carolina General Statutes 106-735 to 106- <br /> 744). In 1992, the County adopted its own ordinance (Chapter 48 — Voluntary Farmland <br /> Preservation Program) to help encourage the County's farm owners to protect their farm <br /> operations through a program of short-term voluntary conservation agreements. Farms enrolled <br /> in the program enjoy certain benefits and protections as allowed by State law. To date, 138 farms <br /> have enrolled in the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program, totaling 16,845 acres within <br /> the seven districts comprising the non-urban portions of the County. The Agricultural Preservation <br /> Board oversees this program. <br /> In 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly amended the underlying General Statutes for the <br /> program to clarify certain program definitions and requirements needed to qualify for the program. <br /> DEAPR staff collaborated with the County Attorney's Office to incorporate these revisions into <br /> existing Ordinance, last updated in 2015. The Agricultural Preservation Board voted unanimously <br /> at its regular meeting on January 19, 2022, to recommend the approval of these technical changes <br /> to the County's Voluntary Farmland Protection Program ordinance. The proposed changes will <br /> bring the Ordinance and program into alignment with the revised State legislation. <br />