service & outreach: land use planning & growth management:
tools for quality growth
farmland protection
Often, as development pressures increase, prime farmland is eaten up by subdivisions. Property values rise so high that it becomes economically not feasible for farmers to continue to farm their property. Innovative solutions for preserving agricultural lands exist and are used successfully in many jurisdictions.
Tools
Conservation Easments can reduce the farmer's tax burden and help keep farming economically feasible.
Transferable Development Rights have been used to preserve thousands of acres of farmland in Montgomery and Calvert Counties in Maryland, the Pinelands of New Jersey, and locations from Florida to California.
Papers
Agricultural Zoning as a Farmland Protection Tool in Georgia, 2006, Emily Franzen. Agricultural zoning is a cost-effective, planning-based approach that local governments can use to preserve farmland and create an economically sustainable agriculture industry for future generations.
Protecting Farmland in Developing Communities: A Case Study of the Tax Implications of Conservation Easements 2001, Nanette Nelson, Laurie Fowler, and Jeff Dorfman. Exploration of tax consequences of different farmland protection strategies including conservation easements and the Georgia Conservation Use Program.
Research
The Economic Costs of Development for Local Governments, 2002, Jeffrey H. Dorfman, Dawn L. Black, David H. Newman, Coleman W. Dangerfield, Jr., Warren A. Flick. Cost of Community Services studies for Appling, Cherokee, Dooly and Jones counties. These counties were chosen to reflect the variety of growth conditions present in Georgia's 159 counties.
Cost of Community Services Studies for Habersham and Oconee Counties, Georgia 2000, Nanette Nelson, Jeff Dorfman.
Resources and References
American Farmland Trust (external site)
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