MoCo to protect Ag Reserve Easement Fund

The Gazette reported on the Council’s move to shift some of the Reserve’s costs to the General fund to cover a gap in funding for Ag Easements.

Ag Services Director Jeremy Criss says that there are 9,000 more acres of the Reserve that could be protected under these easements. Learn more about the easements here.

Balt Sun Op-Ed: Ban Arsenic in MD Chicken Feed

Arsenic in Chicken Feed? Yes its true, even though the  FDA pulled the arsenic-laden chicken feed ingredient Roxarsone off the market last year while they investigate its safety (really?), most Maryland chicken farms are against a ban. This Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun suggests that MD farmers are missing a huge opportunity to use a ban to tout their chicken as safer and healthier than that from surrounding states while the FDA takes its time to decide if a known poison has a place in our food system.

Historic Preservation: Tax Breaks and “Places from the Past” book

Announcing two developments in  Montgomery County Historic Preservation: tax breaks for 2011 work on historic structures and a re-release of the County’s “Places from the Past” book on county history. Read on…
Own a Historic Structure? Submit an Application for Tax Credits

SILVER SPRING, MD – Montgomery County is home to more than 3,000 structures designated as historic. Owners of historic properties who maintain and rehabilitate the structures may be eligible for tax credits that reward them for preserving a slice of county history.

The county Historic Preservation Commission is accepting applications for county tax credits on work completed in 2011. If you received a historic area work permit for a rehabilitation project that exceeded $1,000, the work may qualify for a tax credit. Many routine maintenance projects that do not require a HAWP are also eligible, although only exterior work qualifies.

Tax credits, which total 10 percent of renovation costs, are applied toward property tax bills. Eligible work ranges from a total rehabilitation to painting and roof replacements, although not all exterior projects are considered eligible.

The HPC is staffed by historic preservation planners at the county Planning Department, who review applications and assist applicants.

Submit applications by April 15. Visit the historic preservation section’s webpage for information and application materials.

The county Historic Preservation Commission is accepting applications for county tax credits on work completed in 2011. If you received a historic area work permit for a rehabilitation project that exceeded $1,000, the work may qualify for a tax credit. Many routine maintenance projects that do not require a HAWP are also eligible, although only exterior work qualifies.
Tax credits, which total 10 percent of renovation costs, are applied toward property tax bills. Eligible work ranges from a total rehabilitation to painting and roof replacements, although not all exterior projects are considered eligible.
The HPC is staffed by historic preservation planners at the county Planning Department, who review applications and assist applicants.
Submit applications by April 15. Visit the historic preservation section’s webpage for information and application materials.
Planners Release 10^th-Anniversary Edition of Book Featuring Montgomery County’s Historic Sites
SILVER SPRING – The 10^th- anniversary edition of the award-winning Places from the Past: The Tradition of Gardez Bien in Montgomery County, Maryland, a book that inventories the county’s historic sites, is now available online.
The coffee table-type publication, illustrated with photographs, architectural drawings and maps, is available as free downloads by chapter or as a print-on-demand digital edition for a fee. Visit www.montgomeryplanning.org/historic
Gardez Bien is the county motto adopted in 1976 that means to guard well or take good care.
Recognized with awards from the Maryland Historical Trust and Montgomery Preservation, Inc., Places from the Past documents the history of architecture and community planning in Montgomery County. The book features a series of essays on building traditions, housing types and outbuildings as well as an inventory of historic districts and sites. The inventory is organized by geography within the county and includes orienting maps as well as images and descriptions of some 400 individual historic sites and 20 historic districts. Those curious about how their communities were settled or the history behind some of the county’s oldest homes will find the book an informative and engaging read.
Initially printed a decade ago, the 357-page book had gone out of print. The new release, with an updated forward, makes the encyclopedic Places from the Past available again in durable paperback or, for the first time, in hardcover binding and electronic format.
A border county in a border state, Montgomery County’s architectural heritage has a dual nature:  metropolitan and rural, northern and southern. Early European settlers were tobacco planters from the Chesapeake and wheat farmers from Pennsylvania. During the Civil War, residents were divided in their loyalties, with those in the western county with Virginia family ties sympathizing with the South, while Sandy Spring Quakers and northern-born residents aligned with the North.
After the Civil War, African Americans, comprising over a third of the county population, lived in more than 40 settlements established throughout the county. The nation’s capital, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and the B&O Railroad’s Metropolitan Branch had tremendous influence on the county’s growth and development.
Author Clare Lise Kelly is a historic preservation planner who has been researching historic sites in the county since 1989. Kelly has dedicated the book to property owners and citizens who, through their hard work and commitment, have protected historic sites for the enjoyment and education of present and future generations.
Find book and digital ordering information at http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/historic/places_from_the_past/

County Ag Land Preservation Opportunities Now Open

Two County-sponsored agricultural land preservation opportunities are presently available to landowners within the agricultural reserve.  These programs are summarized below:

Building Lot Termination Program (BLT)

The Department of Economic Development Agricultural Services Division’s opened the purchase period for the Building Lot Termination Program on February 1, 2012.  This open purchase period will end on April 2, 2012 at 5 pm. Applications for the BLT program are now being accepted.

Agricultural Easement Program (AEP)

The Department of Economic Development Agricultural Services Division’s is also announcing an open purchase period for the Agricultural Easement Program.  The open purchase period for AEP will begin on March 1, 2012 and will end on May 1, 2012 at 5 pm. Applications can be downloaded here.

During open purchase periods, landowners submitting applications should make an appointment to discuss their applications and what information they need to provide.  Contact Ag Services here.

Washington Post Covers Right to Farm Legislation

MCA in the News:   Coverage of MC 16-12 and  comments aplenty!

“If this bill does not move forward, [state legislators would be] making a strong statement about what you really want the Ag Reserve to be,” David C. Plummer, district manager of the Montgomery Soil Conservation District, wrote to state delegates. “We [would] allow local agriculture to take a back seat to what people want to see when they look out their window in the morning.”

Click here for full article.

MC Turtles, Tadpoles and Salamanders Face Deadly Virus

Wildlife Biologists are alarmed at the high numbers of ranovirus victims, both reptiles and amphibians, in Montgomery County. Washington Post story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/2012/02/01/gIQA5O0Z9Q_story.htm

Cows Find Comfort… On Waterbeds!

And now for something completely different…

Curious?  Click here.

Washington Examiner: Farmer Fights for Right to Farm in the Reserve

Washington Examiner Article: “Farmer Fights for Right to Farm in the Ag Reserve”, a nice piece on state bill MC 16-12- meant to protect family farmers from being sued for farming within the Reserve.  Yes- that would be sued for farming within the nationally recognized Ag Reserve- an area set aside for farming, hear Farmer Keith’s story and take action here.

Farmers take on the farm bill (audio)

MCA staff always enjoy attending the Future Harvest CASA (Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture) annual conference.  This year’s keynote, a conversation about the most recent Farm Bill and government support for sustainable ag, was broadcast on WEAA.  Be sure to listen for Frederick County farmer Will Morrow of Whitmore Farm, one of the panelists.

HB 722 – Right to Farm in Ag Reserve: Does not pass

4/12/ Update: Despite the tireless efforts of Montgomery County and 20 stakeholder groups both HB 722 and emergency SB 1100 failed to pass.  Further update will be posted shortly.

The lack of understanding of the public policy that created the nationally recognized 106,000 acre Ag Reserve in Annapolis, including several MC Delegates, was quite astonishing. Delegate Kathy Dumais, and her staff, did not even acknowledge that there is a public policy for the preservation of agriculture in Montgomery County.

Homeowners in one covenanted subdivision (constructed after the creation of the Reserve), who seem keen on living in the Ag Reserve but find that farming itself conflicts with their way of life and perception of what maintains their property values, cried foul – loudly.  In Annapolis, they repeatedly misrepresented the issues and facts central to the serious problems created by allowing homeowners’ covenants to trump master plans, public policy and zoning.

This issue will be addressed in the fullness of time, as we press our General Assembly to embrace and support the Reserve and the public policy that guides it.

3/13 Update:
Fact and Law are helping stakeholders  move this important legislation, sponsored by Senators Garagiola and Montgomery,  forward.  The MC Senate Delegation, led by Chair Senator Jamie Raskin, voted unanimously in favor 8-0 to move the bill forward with important amendments that would ensure that the over 1300 acres encumbered with ag conflicting covenants would be covered.  Testimony before the Senate made clear that at the heart of this debate is clear, demonstrable public policy:  The Preservation of Agriculture in the County’s Ag Reserve.  Reserve Architect Royce Hanson offered a clear and compelling basis for passage of the legislation.  Also it is important to note that this legislation is not plowing new ground: The State has previously limited the scope of homeowner covenants that clash with important public policy (renewable energy) and as recently as 2008.

What can you do before the bill, with amendments making it retroactive, is back before the MC House delegation this Friday? Call your Delegate and ask them to support the Senate version. This is about the ability to farm on at least 1300 acres of Ag Reserve land.  A HB 722 myth.fact sheet should help you to understand some of the misconceptions that have entered into the issue.

Update 2/27 -  Good news! A compromise amendment is making its way through channels and has thus far been favorably received.  This compromise will ensure that the County would have standing, or the ability to participate, in any legal challenge to covenants that conflict with farming in the Reserve. Many thanks to the folks that have written in support of the bill and our farmers.  The list of organizations that support the legislation is growing and includes:

Audubon Naturalist Society
1000 Friends of Maryland
Environment Maryland
League of Women Voters
Montgomery County Civic Federation
1000 Friends of Maryland
Conservation Montgomery
Montgomery Countryside Alliance
Montgomery Victory Gardens
Maryland Horse Council
Montgomery Farm Bureau
Montgomery County Ag Advisory Committee
Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association
growingSoul
Manna Foods
Izaak Walton League
Montgomery Soil Conservation District
Mixed Greens Inc.
Montgomery County Park and Planning
Montgomery County Council
Montgomery County

Washington Post Coverage

With each passing week more is learned about how widespread this problem is. Last week the MC Planning Board voiced concern about these restrictions, noting that they want to make an affirmative statement that they support the farmers and agricultural activity as the primary focus of the Reserve. The Board continues to support the legislation with the accepted amendment that excludes conservation easements.

The farmer that was willing to come forward and put himself and his family in the spotlight, Keith Ohlinger, made numerous and varied efforts to address his situation (which included a threat of lawsuit, complaints filed with County agencies about his current farming activities (which were not cited as violations), complaints about a meadow planted on his acreage to attract pollinators and threats to utilize other provisions of the covenants including prohibition against any commercial activity). The farmer sought answers as to how to address the situation, at each turn being told that he should pursue “legislative solution.”  It was quite difficult to address this issue within the community once the formal letter of intent to sue was received The letter claimed the right to sue the farmer under provisions of covenants that were crafted by the developer days in advance of the final enactment of the Ag Reserve zone. What remains unknown, and is most troubling, is how many farmers have or will have abandoned their search for homes and farmland in the Reserve when they encounter these ag busting covenants. Thus, we, and a growing list of partners,  are seeking passage of this important legislation to help Farmer Keith and others that face similar legal challenge to their ability to farm in MC’s Ag Reserve.

Your emails and calls are very important, see below for contact list!

Please oppose a proposed amendment from Delegate Barclay that calls for this legislation to apply only to covenants created after July 1, 2012, effectively allowing existing farming restrictive covenants to remain in force.  MCA has met and talked with residents of the clustered subdivision in Laytonsville where the farmer profiled in our video lives. Our goal was to create a better climate for communication between neighbors in that community in order to ease concerns regarding the legislation and its purpose. We also wanted to see if there was a way to help folks mediate their issues rather than resort to litigation. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, a small group of neighbors in the Laytonsville development continue to assert that front yard farming (and fencing) will conflict with the vistas of rolling hills in their neighborhood and be unsafe for their children (this from their correspondence to the record). In should be noted that SDAT records reveal that every home in that subdivision was built and sold years after the Ag Reserve was created.

New links: Soil Conservation letter in support of MC 16-12

Royce Hanson, Architect of the Reserve supports MC 16-12

Washington Examiner Article: “Farmer Fights for Right to Farm in the Ag Reserve”

We Need Your Calls/Emails to Support Farmers’ Right to Farm in the Ag Reserve!

Background: Currently, farmers in the Ag Reserve are face the threat of lawsuit and effectively being prevented from farming by residents in developments that have formed homeowner’s associations and rules (covenants) that do not allow for certain farm activities or structures in the Reserve.  MCA, along with our partners including Audubon Naturalist Society and County Ag groups including the MC Farm Bureau, had confidence that this common sense legislation aimed at ensuring farmers the right to farm would easily make its way to passage at the State level. Other stakeholders, including the Maryland Environmental Trust, have been working with us to ensure that the legislation is crafted to protect farming as well as important conservation programs.  The process has been thoughtful, collegial and public.

MCA Testimony

Montgomery County Ag Advisory Committee

Manna Testimony

Letter from Reserve Farmer

« Previous Page — Next Page »