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DRAFT/March 27,2026 <br /> based approach that considers cultural criteria such as ownership, farm size and <br /> type, and location. <br /> While the APB favors a resource-based approach over a farm-based approach <br /> as a framework for guiding land use decisions and policies, a farm-based <br /> approach that considers secondary criteria in addition to soil quality might be <br /> most appropriate for guiding administration of farmland protection programs. <br /> Recommendations <br /> The APB recommends that County land meeting the following criteria be <br /> designated as most important to protect for agriculture through policies and <br /> practices including avoidance, minimization, and mitigation: <br /> • The land is Prime Farmland* as defined by the US Department of <br /> Agriculture (USDA). Agricultural lands are designated for protection based <br /> on soil type and slope determined from soil map units in the Orange <br /> County Soil Survey (which may be further verified by field determination). <br /> A soil map unit in the Orange County Soil Survey comprises a specific soil <br /> type and a slope modifier (e.g., Georgeville soil on slopes of 2-6%). The <br /> following map units indicate Prime Farmland conditions: <br /> o HrB Herndon <br /> o CfB Cecil <br /> o CrB Creedmoor <br /> o EnB Enon <br /> o HeB Helena <br /> o VaB Vance <br /> o ApB Appling <br /> o GeB Georgeville <br /> o HwB Hiwassee <br /> o Aa Altavista <br /> o HhA Helena-Sedgefield <br /> • The land has <8% slope. <br /> • The land is not developed (as specified in the definition of Prime Farmland) <br /> and is outside the municipalities and the Extraterritorial Jurisdictions. <br /> Prime Farmland is a widely recognized and understood designation with <br /> extensive historic and current precedent as a primary criterion for delineating <br /> agricultural land for protection. It is among the criteria in the Orange County <br /> Lands Legacy Program ranking matrix for prioritizing farmland for conservation. <br /> Further, Prime Farmland lends itself to simple, objective, site-specific <br /> identification and mapping of lands designated for protection. While Prime <br /> Farmland is arguably the most suitable criterion for identifying County farmland <br /> for protection, it should be applied with the understanding that it is based on <br /> map units in the 1977 Orange County Soil Survey, which has limitations <br /> associated with mapping scale, methods used at the time, dated aerial <br /> 43 <br />