Agenda 04-21-2026; 8-d - Enhanced Voluntary and Voluntary Agricultural District Designation

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2 ten years, except for the creation of not more than three lots that meet applicable County zoning and subdivision regulations. The Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board reviewed the findings of the staff assessments for the attached applications for the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District program at its regular meeting in March 2026. All farm applications were reviewed and verified to have met or exceeded the minimum criteria for certification into the program. The Agricultural Preservation Board voted to recommend approval of the certification for these four (4) farms, and their inclusion in the Voluntary and/or the Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District programs. The certification documentation is on file in the DEAPR/Soil and Water Conservation District office. The farms are described briefly below: Brief Farm Descriptions: 1) Owners Benjamin Grimes and Salem Neff of Dawnbreaker Farms submitted an application to enroll one (1) parcel of land totaling 20.01 acres as qualifying farmland for a Voluntary Agricultural District in the Caldwell Agricultural District Region. The farm operation includes pasture areas for livestock (swine, beef cattle, poultry) along with woodlands. 2) Owners Vera Fabian and Gordon Jenkins of Ten Mothers Farm submitted an application to enroll one (1) parcel of land totaling 6.3 acres as qualifying farmland for a Voluntary Agricultural District in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District Region. The farm operation includes organic vegetable production. 3) Owners Hannah Dowling and Mark Harris of La Finca submitted an application to enroll one (1) parcel of land totaling 10.04 acres as qualifying farmland for an Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District Region. The farm operation includes seasonal vegetable production along with livestock production (swine, ducks). 4) Owners Chad Corbett, Junius Corbett, Ines Degraffenreidt, Patty Corbett, Ronald Corbett, Carolyn Walker, Michael Corbett, Mia Corbett Heirs, and Maya Corbett submitted an application to enroll two (2) parcels of land totaling 107.84 acres as qualifying farmland for a Voluntary Agricultural District in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District Region. The farm operation includes a rotation for tobacco and wheat on cropland along with managed forestry land. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item. Voluntary Agricultural Districts are non-monetary and require a non-binding ten-year conservation agreement. Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural Districts are non-monetary and require a binding ten-year conservation agreement. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GOAL 1: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND CLIMATE ACTION OBJECTIVE 4. Incentivize and promote sustainable agriculture and local food systems development through supportive policy, funding, farmland protection and educational outreach. OBJECTIVE 6. Protect water supply/watersheds.