Agenda - 01-24-2013 - 4f; VAD - Rogers, Shambley, Lackey

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: January 24, 2013 Action Agenda Item No. 4 -f SUBJECT: Voluntary Agricultural District Designation for Multiple Farms — Rogers (Three Farms /Landowners); Shambley; and Lackey DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No Parks and Recreation; Soil & Water Conservation ATTACHMENT(S): 1) Applications and Maps INFORMATION CONTACTS: 2) Certifications from NRCS /Soil and Water; Soils Evaluation David Stancil, 245 -2510 3) Certifications from Tax Office Gail M. Hughes, 245 -2753 4) Draft Agricultural Preservation Board (APB) Minutes - November 28, 2012 5) Conservation Agreement (sample) 6) VAD Brochure PURPOSE: To consider applications from multiple landowners /farms to certify qualifying farmland within the Cedar Grove, Buckhorn, and Caldwell voluntary agricultural district, and enroll the lands in the Orange County Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program. BACKGROUND: As the Board may recall, Orange County has had a Voluntary Farmland Preservation Program since 1992. To date, 17 farms have enrolled in the Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program, totaling 3,249 acres within the seven districts comprising the non -urban portions of the County. The County's Voluntary Farmland Protection Ordinance (VFPO) outlines a procedure for the Agricultural Preservation Board to review and approve applications for qualifying farmland, and to make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners concerning the establishment and modification of agricultural districts. Section VII of the VFPO contains the requirements for inclusion in a voluntary agricultural district. To be certified as qualifying farmland, a farm must: 1. Consist of the minimum number of contiguous acres to participate in the present -use- value taxation program (20 acres for forestry, 10 for agriculture and 5 for horticulture); 2. Be participating in the farm present- use -value taxation program established by N.C.G.S. §105 -277.2 through §105- 277.7, or is otherwise determined by the county to meet all the qualifications of this program set forth in G.S. 105 - 277.3;