Recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Agricultural Policy Working Group and by

Park & Planning

In 2006, the County Council established an Ad Hoc Agricultural Policy Working Group. The charge given to the Ad Hoc Group was “to provide comprehensive advice on ways to ensure the long-term protection of the Agricultural Reserve and preservation of our Agricultural industry.” The Ad Hoc Group presented its report to the County Council in January 2007. In March 2007, the Montgomery County Park & Planning Board performed a careful review of this report. Park & Planning was in agreement with two of the major recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Group - namely to strengthen both the transfer development rights (TDR) and the building lot termination (BLT) programs. Additionally, Park & Planning took a stronger conservation position regarding sand mounds and child lots than was taken by the Ad Hoc Group. Further details on these issues follow.

BLT program. The goal of the BLT program is to reduce potential development and prevent fragmentation of farmland in the Ag Reserve. This would be accomplished by providing compensation to a landowner in exchange for an easement that eliminates future development of a lot shown to be viable for building through a soil percolation test. Clearly, public funding is needed to establish this program. Existing sources of funding are the County’s Capital Improvements Program and the Agriculture Transfer Tax. Additional sources of revenue could include a bond issue for preservation and perhaps a small tax for limited period of time.

TDR program. This program provides compensation to land owners in the Ag Reserve who were impacted by down-zoning (one house every five acres to one house for 25 acres) that occurred at the time that the Ag Reserve was established. This compensation was made in the form of transfer development rights (TDRs) that can be used for additional development in designated receiving areas. These TDRs can be bought and sold on the open market. Among the recommendations made by The Ad Hoc Group were the following:

(a) That the Master Plan evaluation process should formally include the creation or expansion of TDR receiving areas whenever any additional density is planned.

(b) That buildable TDRs be designated for use in floating zones as well as in commercial and industrial zones, central business districts, and research and development zones.

(c) A clarification of the limits on non-agricultural, non-residential uses (e.g., private institutional facilities) where land is covered by a TDR easement.

Park & Planning concurred with all of the TDR recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Group.

Sand mounds. Park & Planning is standing on the original intent of the Master Plan that created the Agricultural Reserve and thus is opposed to the proliferation of sand mounds in the Reserve. Park & Planning recommends a revision of the 1994 Council legislation that provided the basis for the use of sand mounds in the Reserve. This revision would place the responsibility for approving sand mounds in the hands of the Planning Board.

Child lots. Park & Planning recommended a ten-year ownership of the child lot dwelling. Exceptions to this rule would be allowed for hardships. Park & Planning also recommended a correction of an earlier misplaced administrative interpretation of the (market + child) lot provision.

The Montgomery County Sierra Club strongly endorses the positions taken by both the Ad Hoc Group and Park and Planning in regards to the TDR and BLT programs. We endorse the stronger conservation approach taken by Park & Planning in regards to sand mounds and child lots. The recommendations made by Park & Planning have been given to the County Council, which will make the final decisions on these issues. A public hearing will most likely be held this summer. Further discussions by the Council will follow the hearing and then the Council will vote on how to proceed on these various issues.

http://www.mc-mncppc.org/board/meetings_archive/master_archive.shtm

See March 1 and March 8 - items #12