Agriculture Preservation AP Agriculture Preservation AP Smart Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit.

Agriculture Preservation AP

Agriculture Preservation AP

Smart Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit

Smart Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit Agricultural Preservation

Loss of Agricultural Lands to Development

Loss of Agricultural Lands to Development

Images used with permission from Julie Campoli and Alex MacLean

Shelburne Road, South Burlington, Vermont

1930’s 1995


Maintain Active Farming in Massachusetts

Maintain Active Farming in Massachusetts


Agricultural Preservation ToolsAgricultural Preservation Tools

• Chapter 61A

• Agricultural Commissions

• Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (APRs)

• Community Gardens

• Right to Farm

• Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)

•Community Preservation Act (CPA)


Chapter 61A —The Chapter 61 Program provides a tax break to owners of recreational, forest or agricultural lands as long as the land remains in the specified use.

Agricultural Preservation Tools

Specific information regarding how these incentives are calculated and which lands can qualify can be found in the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Division of Local Services Property Tax Bureau’s “Taxpayer’s Guide to Classification and Taxation of Agricultural/Horticultural Land in Massachusetts” Brochure dated October 1997.


Agricultural Commissions

These commissions are formed by passing a local bylaw and serve as advocates for local farms. Thirty-six existing commissions as of summer of 2005

Responsibilities can include:

• protecting farmland

• providing assistance for natural resource management

• providing visibility for local farmers

• assisting local boards with community development decisions.More information on this program can be found on the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources website at : http://www.mass.gov/agr/bureaus.htm



Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (APRs)

This program is designed to protect the most productive agricultural lands in the Commonwealth and establishes permanent deed restrictions on agricultural lands protecting them from any use that might diminish the area’s agricultural potential.



Community Gardens

Community garden programs have been successfully developed in cities such as Somerville and Lowell and provide residents with an opportunity to grow food or horticultural varieties in heavily urbanized settings.



Farm Viability Enhancement Program

Comprehensive plans developed by farmers and other agricultural, economic and environmental consultants used to increase on-farm income through improved management practices, diversification, direct marketing, value-added initiatives and agritourism.




agricultural landsagricultural lands

Owner of “sending” Owner of “sending” parcel sells parcel sells development rights in development rights in exchange for exchange for permanent permanent conservation conservation easement.easement.

Owner of Owner of “receiving” parcel “receiving” parcel buys development buys development rights to build at rights to build at densities higher densities higher than allowed than allowed under base under base zoning.zoning.

growth areagrowth area

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)


Right to Farm Bylaw

The Right to Farm is vested in all residentsof the Commonwealth under Article 97 of the state Constitution.

Clearly states the priorities of the community relative to fostering agricultural activities and allowing farms to operate "with minimal conflict with abutters and Town agencies" (Massachusetts Attorney General).

Establishes the notification procedure for informing all residents of the Town of the community's status as a Right to Farm entity.



Other Zoning Protections

Mandatory Cluster Design or Open Space Residential Design for agricultural lands being converted to residential use.

True large-lot zoning with a range of 10-acre to 25-acre minimum lot size

Transfer of Development Rights program can establish a higher “transfer density” than what is allowed for development. Example…


Developable Density 1 unit per 10 acres

Transferable Density 1 unit per 2 acres



Community Preservation Act (CPA)

Communities vote to add a surcharge to local property tax surcharge between 0.5% and 3%.

Local revenues are matched with state funds.

Up to 80% of the total revenues can be allocated to open space preservation.

Over 100 communities have adopted the CPA!


CASE STUDY

Town of Dartmouth Agricultural Commission

Funding from an override was used to match other state-level sources to place an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) on thousands of acres.


CASE STUDY

Somerville Community Growing Center

Local initiatives in the city have created the Somerville Community Growing Center (SCGC). These gardens are managed by volunteer Garden Coordinators who assign plots on a first-come first-served basis.

The SCGC is located on a ¼-acre parcel and has become much more than a community garden, offering both educational and cultural performance programs.


CASE STUDYMontgomery CountyMaryland

Local Transfer of Development Rights Program made 90,000 acres of farmland eligible for TDR. To date, more than 40,000 acres of farmland are permanently preserved with this technique.

“Receiving Area” can accommodate higher levels of development density

“Sending Area” identified as high priority agricultural lands


USEFUL LINKS:

www.mass.gov/agr/Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) homepage contains further links to state and local-level programs including:• Agricultural Preservation Restrictions• Farm Viability Enhancement Program• Right to Farm• Agricultural Commissions

www.communitypreservation.org/index.cfmCommunity Preservation Act website

www.farmlandinfo.org/documents/27746/FS_TDR_1-01.pdfA Fact Sheet from the Farmland Information Center, a public/private partnership between the American Farmland Trust and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.


USEFUL LINKS:government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/html/Transfer%20of%20Development%20Rights%20Programs.htmTDR Programs: Using the Market for Compensation and Preservation, a paper written by Jason Hanly-Forde, George Homsy, Katherine Lieberknecht, Remington Stone that gives a good overview of this technique.

www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bpoladm/suswshed/pdfs/tdrreprt.pdfTransfer of Development Rights Report, , a study produced for the South County Watershed Technical Planning Assistance Project by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. It is one of several reports about creative land use techniques to accommodate growth while minimizing impacts to the environment and community character.

www.state.nj.us/dobi/pinelands/pinelandsbank.htmPinelands Development Credit Bank webpage from the NJ Department of Banking and Credit gives information about a program begun in 1985 which has helped increase the value of development rights and assisted owners in selling their land.

Agriculture Preservation AP Agriculture Preservation AP Smart Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit.

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