Orange County NC Website
3 <br /> as a critical component of the County's cultural and rural character and its economy by virtue of <br /> the production of food, fiber and other products. The purpose of this Ordinance is to reduce the <br /> loss of productive and existing farmland by promoting agricultural values and the general welfare <br /> of the County, recognize the existence of important farmlands by seeking to minimize risks of <br /> nuisance suits that arise from the onset of other land uses, encourage participation in voluntary <br /> programs to preserve and protect farmland from non-farm development and increase identity and <br /> awareness of the agricultural community, and its role in the economic and cultural quality of life <br /> for all County residents (from the Orange County Farmland Preservation/VAD program <br /> ordinance). <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board certify the five (5) farm <br /> properties noted above totaling 121 acres*; designate them as Voluntary Agricultural District farms <br /> within the Caldwell, New Hope, and Schley/Eno Voluntary Agricultural Districts; and enroll the <br /> lands in the Orange County Farmland Preservation Program's Voluntary Agricultural District <br /> (VAD) program. <br /> With approval of these farms, the Orange County Farmland Preservation program will have <br /> enrolled 143 farms, totaling 14,371 acres* in the VAD and 2,595* acres in the EVAD for a total of <br /> 16,966 acres* in the program. <br /> *acres are rounded numbers <br />