APB Meeting Summary 03202024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 should be to create a system where the landowner feels like they don't lose money when they choose to protect farmland versus sell for development. e) Membership: Sandbeck reminded members that he is still looking for prospective candidates for the White Cross and Schley/Eno district positions. He referred everyone to the list handed out tonight, showing the VAD farm owners in both districts. The BOCC just approved Noah Rannels and Manley Palmer for appointment to our two vacant at-large positions, based on APB recommendations made at our January meeting. Staff will continue to seek new applicants. 7. Informational Items/Future Agenda Items: a. Extension and Ag Economic Development Activities: Ortosky provided a brief overview. The ag grant program continues to award grants. Farmland preservation policy continues to be a major focus. One approach is the traditional use of proscriptive guidelines or policies, along with programs like Lands Legacy and Conservation Easements. The existing flexible development component within our UDO, section 712, which is rarely/never used, does offer options to promote conserving open space and farmland with several options: estate lots of 4 acres or more with their open space counting toward the total acreage to be preserved; or conservation cluster development, with an internal transfer of density within a large farm parcel, allowing more houses in a higher density in a confined/small area, then preserving the rest of the farm as open space or active farmland. Then there is a village option, allowing for the creation of a small complete village with septic and water and multiple uses in one small area. Builders will need incentives to get them to buy into these concepts. Another path is to have ag zoning that utilizes the transfer of development rights. If a developer wants to develop higher density in a town, then he/she can pay toward land conservation at a designated high priority rural area, and in return obtains higher density. A variant is compensatory mitigation, whereby a developer pays a specific fee for developing farmland in one area, then that money goes toward protecting high priority land in another part of the county—much like the current wetlands programs. 8. Time for Information Sharing: Compton reminded members of the upcoming 77t" annual Piedmont Livestock show, on April 9t" and 101", with 116 kids will be entering this year. The Exchange Club will be having their flounder fish fry. Cedar Ridge will be hiring a new FFA teacher for the coming year. A new livestock agent is starting in the county this spring. Hughes reported that he's part of a group of interested citizens who are studying ways to restrain urban sprawl in the county, right now called Whole Orange. Let him know if you'd like to know more about this effort. Hooten noted that the historic Bingham School and its land, located on the corner of 54 and Mebane-Oaks will be coming up for sale. The 10-acre site is protected by preservation easements so it can't be subdivided. 9. Adjournment: Chair Hughes adjourned the meeting at 7:59 pm.