Urgent! Support Farming in the Reserve with Bill MC 16-12

Update: The committee has put off the vote on this issue a second time. It will be heard on Thursday February 9. Your calls and emails matter even more as we make the case for this bill! 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.

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

Background: Currently, farmers in the Ag Reserve are being sued and prevented from farming by residents in developments that form homeowner’s associations and rules (covenants) that do not allow for 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

Midwinter Garden Dreams Event: Jan 28

Join Sugarloaf Citizens Association for the annual Midwinter Garden Dreams event to discuss your garden plans for the coming year over tea and snacks. January 28th, 1-3pm at Linden Barn in Dickerson. More info here.

Global Mission’s ReZoning Quest: Action Needed!

Mountain in Fall - Hilary Schwab

Help Give Voice to The Sugarloaf Region:

Update: 1/19/2012

MCA delivered testimony at last night’s BOCC hearing. Numerous Frederick County residents spoke to the imporance of the 2010 comprehensive plan and the inequitable nature of the peace-meal rezoning that the BOCC is undertaking.

GMC’s attorney spoke and asked that the Resource Conservation zoning from 2010′s comprehensive plan be removed from the parcel that includes Little Bennett Creek because:

“we believe the areas in question will still have to be protected in the development process just like they would under Resource Conservation.”

We heartily agree- so why are they insisting that Resource Conservation Zoning is “inequitable” and “unfair”?

Update:  1/18/2012

Re:  FC BOCC is now hearing the requests for rezoning 194 parcels that, if granted, will promote greater density of development in areas outside of growth centers- including the Global Mission Mega Church

The FC BOCC is undeterred by law and common sense so – we should write and remind them of both. In addition to information about the public hearings (including tonight’s hearing on the Urbana area requests) FC website says:

NEXT STEPS AND SCHEDULE
Written comments via e-mail or regular mail will continue to be accepted throughout the process. All comments received to date will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for their review.

That would mean that everything that we sent to the Planning Commission will be forwarded.  Yet, I think we should err on the side of caution and send our emails  directly to the BOCC.  Note also that staff says that public work sessions will be scheduled for February.  This dates will be made available soon.  MCA staffer Kristina Bostick will present testimony tonight (1/18/2012) on the rezoning process and GMC’s requests specifically.  Scroll down for our partners at Friends of Frederick County’s action alert.  They have been tirelessly working to counter the attacks against the newly minted comprehensive plan and the law.

Your Action – send quick, respectful emails (sample follows) to addresses below:

Email Contact Information:

Blaine R. Young
C. Paul Smith
Billy Shreve
David P. Gray
Kirby Delauter

or

E-Mail All Commissioners

BCC:  info@mocoalliance.org

Sample Email with suggested subject line (please personalize):

Regarding: Global Mission Church (GMC) Requests for Zoning Classification Change (UR 41 – UR 42)
Dear Mr. Gugel and Members of the Frederick County Board of Commissioners,
Thank you for the opportunity to write in support of the current Urbana Area Comprehensive Plan, in general, and in opposition to two zoning classification changes in particular.  I am deeply concerned that GMC now seeks to change the classification of two particularly sensitive parcels along Little Bennett Creek. I respectfully oppose the reclassification of those parcels and ask you to do the same.

After recent and thorough review and public participation, the GMC property has been appropriately zoned in the comprehensive plan for resource conservation:

-The designation properly protects the fragile, yet high quality, Little Bennett watershed and steeply sloped and ecologically diverse forest that lead to the stream.
-The parcels sits atop highly fractured geology that promotes greater probability of surface contamination of critical water resources.
-The area is rich in history, natural resources and is served by a federally designated sole source drinking water aquifer.
-The destruction of these resources would be a detriment to not only Frederick County but to the region.

Thoughtful stewardship of Frederick’s natural and historic resources is the responsibility of its planners and government. Please ensure that our region’s resources are afforded long term protection and deny both requests – UR 41 and UR 42.

Sincerely,

______________________________

Update:  11/18/2011

First, thanks to all who last week wrote in to protect the 2010 Frederick County Comprehensive Plan from assault invited by the FC Board of County Commissioners earlier this year. While a number of us were focused on the Global Mission Church property in our communications, the overall message that this rezoning process is not grounded in law/ fact and violates every principle of sound land planning- resonated. The volume and nature of our communications may have helped give rise to what happened last evening….

Last Thursday’s official hearing at Winchester Hall began and ended rather quickly. Planning Commissioner Catherine Forrence spoke passionately of the cost and inappropriate nature of this reasoning process, being conducted without study or data just one year after the full several year comprehensive zoning process was completed. Bob White’s motion to halt the PC involvement in the process and support the standing 2010 Plan without change passed and the hearing record on the matter was closed.

Nonetheless, the PC did hear comments from those in attendance. Dolores Milmoe spoke on behalf of Audubon, thanking the PC for standing up for proper process. She noted sobering statistics as to the taxpayer cost of new development. MCA spoke and stressed that planning is not a short sighted endeavor and that FC, in their 2010, rightly protected water resources, farmland, and sensitive areas- including Little Bennett. Former PC and BOCC member Kai Hagen calmly gave overview to the exhaustive process that resulted in the 2010 comprehensive plan. A number of FC residents spoke in strong support of their Planning Commission. Several attorneys, whose clients were seeking zoning changes, bluntly shared their unhappiness with the turn of events. No surprise there.

Friends of Frederick County and Envision Frederick are due big thanks for carrying big water on this issue. This has and will be labor and resource intensive. They could use donations to carry on this big war for the future of Frederick County.

We will let you know what happens next. BOCC (minus David Gray, who has repeatedly voiced his dissension) will continue to press forward…but this clearly marks a turning point in their attempt to ram the rezoning through.

A lawsuit has been filed- Gazette Coverage:

http://www.gazette.net/article/20111115/NEWS/711159945/1016/lawsuit-seeks-to-curb-frederick-county-zoning-changes&template=gazette

Frederick News Post Coverage:

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display_Comments.htm?section=a1&storyID=128474#postComments

_____________________________________

Most Important:  Comments via email (see below)

Public Hearing, November 17th, 6pm – Winchester Hall, Church Street, Frederick

Global Mission Church is one of 194 properties in Frederick County seeking  zoning changes in order to facilitate development of their mega facility (138,00 sq. feet 1st phase)  in land planned for conservation of farming and natural resources.  Should these applications be granted – over 15,000 acres of Frederick’s farmland and open space may be lost forever.

Please see the Frederick County website for more on this comprehensive re-zoning and review.  See these good 11/10/11 notes from MCA member Meg Menke. (Thanks Meg!)  See also MCA’s previous post for more on this development proposal and preservationists efforts to prevent the loss of treasured farmland and open space in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain and in both Frederick and Montgomery Counties.

What can you do?

sample letter zoning change request (for those of us who are pressed for time!)

Sugarloaf Mountain Speaks!

If you would like to testify contact:  caroline@mocoalliance.org

Help build a strong hearing record: Send comments by November 16th to: jgugel@frederickcountymd.gov
Copy us at:  info@mocoalliance.org

Suggested Talking Points:

-The Global Mission property has been appropriately zoned for resource conservation.
-The designation properly protects the fragile Little Bennett watershed and steeply sloped and ecologically diverse forest that lead to the stream.
-The area is rich in history, natural resources and is served by a sole source drinking water aquifer.
-The destruction of the resources would be a detriment to the region.
-Thoughtful stewardship of Frederick’s natural and historic resources are the responsibility of its planners and government.

Planning Manager Jim Gugel, Department of Planning and Development Review writes us in response to our inquiry that:

The upcoming  hearings in November are before the County Planning Commission.  The Commission will then have public work sessions in December to make any recommendations on the requests.  The Board of County Commissioners will have their own hearings and work sessions in the January/February time frame.

Please be aware that the hearing on the 17^th is specifically for the Urbana region requests.  A speaker sign up sheet will be available at 5 pm and the hearing starts at 6 pm.  Speakers are allowed 3 minutes though at the Commission’s discretion organizations may be allowed 10 minutes.

Comments may be mailed or e-mailed to me.  All comments will be provided to the Planning Commission for their December work sessions.

Jim Gugel, AICP

Planning Manager, Department of Planning and Development Review

Frederick County Community Development Division

jgugel@frederickcountymd.gov

So what are the challenges to the Ag Reserve?

The reasonable question is sometimes asked:  so if the Ag Reserve has been master planned and zoned to protect farms and open space – where is the challenge? We wish it were that airtight.  Look at the satellite image above.  It tells a story of the burgeoning growth in the Washington Metropolitan region and how it can, absent proper planning and protection,  sprawl outward, resulting in great cost both in dollars and environmental degradation.  Unfortunately not every jurisdiction thought to create corridors for growth and wedges for preservation – The pressure on the Reserve in the face of  those planning failures, grows.  And, the fact is that Montgomery County has its own growing pains and troubling  memory loss with regard to the Reserve and its important purpose.  To keep this answer as brief as possible.  Here’s the top ten threats to the Reserve:

1.  Fragmentation due to loss of farmland and open space to suburban style development and industrial uses:  witness the suburbanized clusters on Peachtree Road and the now approved housing subdivision “Barnesville Oaks”  development on Montgomery’s last largest farm parcel.

2. Large scale private institutional facilities:  The continuing saga of Global Mission Church and the recent jaw dropping decision to allow a mega church on rural Emory Church Road in Olney provide a chilling reminder that local governments are shying away from their responsibility to uphold master plans and zoning regulations. There seems to be the false notion that religious freedom trumps public policy including health and safety laws. Local governments are reacting out of fear of lawsuit rather than sound policy and adherence to the law.

3. Zoning changes by zoning text amendments: There are those within the local government who seek to add land uses, landscape contractors for example, to the list of permitted uses that do not require review process (special exception) in the Reserve.  This would result in the addition of  industry that is neither supportive of farming nor open space preservation and that may drive the cost of Reserve acreage further upward and out of the hands of those who seek to farm here.  This effort, ostensibly geared toward job creation, conflicts with ongoing and successful efforts to expand local food production and ag sector employment opportunities  in the Reserve.

4.  The push for a  Potomac bridge and highway crossing: Virgina, with support from development proponents and lobbyists in Maryland, has met with Maryland’s Governor and continues to press for this boondoggle of a project that would split open the Reserve and promote sprawl development.  Our best defense is a Reserve that has been secured,  galvanized, against such a violation through perpetual easements such as Maryland Environmental Trust and solid public and governmental support. Moreover, the strength of our agricultural sector provides solid argument against this ill conceived proposal.

5. Loss of farmers: The average age of Montgomery County farmers is 59.  While there are family farms that have groomed a next generation of producers, a number do not.  We need to do more to help the next generation of producers to get growing.

6. Skyrocketing farmland cost: this is the number one challenge that new and expanding producers cite that prevents them from growing here in Montgomery County.  It is why we launched LandLink with help from farmer Shannon Varley from Bella Terra Farm.

7. Loss of Community Resources: The Reserve saves the County tax revenue.  Reserve communities take very little of  each dollar of tax revenue collected – less than $.75 compared to more that twice that to support the communities elsewhere in the County. Yet, when the economy tanked-  savings were quickly sought via closure of the Reserve’s rural schools (Monocacy Elementary in Barnesville to start) and cutbacks to Ag Services.  To survive and grow, we must ensure that the necessary resources including schools, groundwater, farming support programs, ag related businesses also thrive.

8. Spot Zoning by Special Benefit Permits: Despite the tax payer assisted creation of the large Germantown sports complex, various sporting associations conduct massive regional events on Reserve farmland.  We are told that farms fields are less expensive.  Maybe.  But it really is spot zoning-  providing for large scale recreational facilities that are not allowed in the Reserve and presenting conflict with the primary land use:  farming.  Yet, the political pressure to look the other way apparently is great.

9.  Sand Mound Septic Systems: These systems were intended only to be allowed for failing traditional septic or for lots for farmers’ children, with the purpose of ensuring the continuation of the family farm.  Loopholes have allowed for mansions with mounds that effectively remove land from farming opportunity and create conflict with neighboring farming operations.  2012 should be the year that this is properly addressed and corrected.

10. Lack of Public and Governmental understanding of the Reserve: Much effort is needed to educate the region about the critical importance of preserving the Reserve  and, more importantly, expanding its role in our local food system. We are working to put together a “library” of resources that will address this challenge.

CSAs: Why they are good for both consumers and farmers!

Winter’s just about here.  Long cold days and early nights give us time to reflect on many things,  including our relationship with our food and where it comes from.  Before the 2012 growing season starts, learn more about community supported agriculture and how it may just make our communities more healthy, economically secure and preserve the Ag Reserve to boot.

Make friends with a Reserve farmer.  It’s a relationship that could last a long lifetime!

Satellite Image: The Reserve’s Success Story

If you ask yourself whether the creation of the Ag Reserve 30 years ago really made a difference, you need look no further than the satellite view of  Montgomery County, MD and Loudon County, VA.  The mighty Potomac bisects this image and provides natural divide to one area preserved in forest, field and historic rural villages and the other now dense with pavement, rooftop right to the river’s edge and distant from growth centers with public transit. The one strip of green at River’s edge in Virginia?  It is Donald Trump’s golf course which removed over 1 mile of tree line at the Potomac’s edge.

One jurisdiction looked for solutions to regional food, natural resource protection, infrastructure costs and recreational needs – the other-  prudent planning not in evidence with sprawling subdivisions and commercial properties inaccessible by transit.

Take a moment to tour the MCA web site to learn more about the Reserve, its farms and our collective work to ensure their perpetual preservation!

MC Food Council: Now Taking Applications

News: The Montgomery County Food Council will launch in February. In case you haven’t heard, the Council aims to bring together a diverse representation of stakeholders in a public and private partnership to improve the environmental, economic, social and nutritional health of Montgomery County through the creation of a robust, local, sustainable food system.

The first meeting will be held February 15^th from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM (location to be determined). All meetings will be open to the public and community involvement is encouraged, so please consider joining us!
The Food Council will be comprised of 13 – 17 diverse stakeholders including individual members, professionals, private businesses, government officials, community organizations, and educational institutions that broadly represent the food system both substantively and geographically. Council Member applications are now being accepted through January 13^th so please consider applying. Visit www.mocofoodcouncil.org to get more information and apply.

Food Day on October 24th: Announcement of New MC Food Council

FOOD COUNCIL FORMING … Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal (speaking) and County Executive Isiah Leggett (third from left) on Oct. 24 helped the County celebrate the first national “Food Day” by formally announcing that the County will soon have a ‘Food Council.” The Food Council will work toward Food Day’s mission of bringing together residents from all walks of life to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. Among those at the Food Day ceremonies at Farmland Elementary School in Rockville were, left to right: Jessica Weiss of growingSOUL; Woody Woodroof of the Red Wiggler Community Farm; Marla Caplon of the Montgomery County Public Schools food service program; Julie Greenstein of the Center for Science in the Public Interest; Claire Cummings, new coordinator of the Food Council; and Caroline Taylor of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance. Also present, though not pictured, Food Council Advisory Committee Member, Dolores Milmoe of Audubon Naturalist Society.

County Executive Announces Board Vacancies

The deadline for application is November 16, 2011.

County Executive Seeks Applicants for Agricultural Advisory Committee

County Executive Isiah Leggett is seeking applicants to fill seven vacancies on the Agricultural Advisory Committee. Four positions are for bona fide farmers selected to represent the total farm community, and three positions are to be filled by non-farmers.

The 15-member committee advises the County Executive and County Council on all matters affecting agriculture in the County. Membership includes farmers, non-farmers, and at least one farm economist and one conservationist.

Farmer representatives serve three-year terms and non-farmer members serve one-year terms. Members serve without compensation, but are eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended. Meetings are held on the third Tuesday evening of each month in Germantown.

Contact: Beth Gochrach, 240-777-2528

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Leggett Seeks Applicants for Rustic Roads Advisory Committee

County Executive Isiah Leggett is seeking applicants to fill three vacancies on the Rustic Roads Advisory Committee. The vacancies are for: a member of a civic association located outside the agricultural reserve; a person with knowledge of rural preservation techniques; and an owner/operator of commercial farmland in the County earning 50% or more of his/her income from farming. All members must beMontgomery County residents. The representative of the civic association and the person with knowledge of rural preservation are eligible to apply for reappointment.

The Rustic Roads Advisory Committee consists of seven voting members. Its duties include promoting public awareness of the Rustic Roads Program, reviewing and commenting on the classification of rustic roads, and reviewing and commenting on executive regulations and policies that may affect the program.

Members serve three-year terms without compensation, but are eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended. The committee meets at least six times per year; usually the fourth Tuesday evening of each month at 7:00 PM in the Executive Office Building in Rockville.

Contact: Beth Gochrach, 240-777-2528

Local Food Goes Digital



Monday, Nov. 7th, 6-8:30pm

Chef Tony’s Restaurant

4926 St. Elmo Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

Drinks, Appetizers, Discussion and Networking

As part of D.C. Tech Week, join us for cocktails and appetizers at Chef Tony’s Restaurant that specializes in seasonal, fresh and locally-grown cuisine. Learn how Foodem.com, a web-based marketplace, is connecting local farmers, food distributors and specialty food manufacturers with restaurants, schools, hotels and grocers. By doing so, Foodem.com enables the sustainable food movement by satisfying the growing consumer and business demand for more local, sustainably-produced, and healthier food choices.

Cocktails and appetizers will be available at a discounted price and part of the sales will be donated to Montgomery Countryside Alliance, preserving and enhancing Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve.

Please RSVP by November 6^th, click here.

Read more about Local Food Goes Digital here.

Sponsors and Speakers:

Cheryl Kollin, Principal, Full Plate Ventures, will discuss the local, sustainable food movement in our region and the barriers small-producers face in getting their products to market.

Kash Rahman, Founder and CEO, Foodem.com, will discuss how this online marketplace disrupts conventional supply chain and fills the gap between wholesale food buyers and sellers.

Tony Marciante, Chef and Owner, Chef Tony’s Restaurant, will discuss buying local and choosing the freshest ingredients as the basis of his daily menu and how he uses Foodem to buy more local food while streamlining his business.

Permanently Protect your Natural, Historic, and Scenic Resources!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.                   – Native American Proverb

If you are a landowner in Maryland, particularly within the Agriculture Reserve, please familiarize yourself with the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET). Their mission is to provide landowners with the tools needed to preserve valuable landscapes, farmland, historic sites, etc. for all to appreciate, generations to come. MET is a statewide leader in land conservation. Consider placing an easement on your land not only for the economic benefits to you, but also to your family and the natural environment. Now is the time, consider leaving a legacy!

Learn more about the Maryland Environmental Trust.

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