APB Meeting Summary 03152023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 attendees, with great keynotes and engaging sessions. It was rewarding to see the county planning staff in attendance. c. Farmland Preservation in the Oaks Community: Staff provided an update on the status of the efforts down in Oaks, in Bingham Township, to prevent a large farm there from turning into another subdivision, as it is prime farmland now in active cultivation. Community members have made positive contact with the property owner/seller, who now seems to be more interested in keeping the land in farming. The Triangle Land Conservancy and the Conservation Fund continue to work together to pursue a possible farmland/conservation easement project to keep the open land in farming. This also includes some stream buffers to benefit the water quality of nearby Cane Creek reservoir, so OWASA is interested as well. The stream that runs through this farm empties into Caterpillar Creek and the reservoir. Preserving this farm ties into a community effort to create a historic district to protect the historic farms and agricultural history there, along with the remains of the 18t" century road and old mill site on the creek. This is an ongoing effort, with nothing yet certain, but the community is hopeful. Discussion followed. All agreed that the general trends in land values in the county are making it very difficult for full-time farmers to acquire land like this and use it for crop production, as prices move toward $15k to $20k per acre. And this trend is ruling out farming for the next generation of farmers. This is the sort of story that can help the BOCC understand the nature and scope of this challenge. Often, the simplest way to protect watershed land is to zone it for large lot subdivisions, which in fact is not an effecting water quality strategy in the long run. 8. Time for Information Sharing: a) Annual Piedmont Livestock Show: Compton reminded members to be sure to attend the upcoming livestock show being held on April 11-12, all are invited to support the 4-H kids, after having no show or a limited show for several years during covid. 9. Adjournment: Saiers moved to adjourn, seconded by McPherson. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm.