Maryland - MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Countywide program - Formed in 1979 - researched by Suzanne Heflin
OVERVIEW - Montgomery County is Maryland's most populous and affluent jurisdiction, bordering Washington and the Potomac River. It participates in both state programs, Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) and Rural Legacy, and has its own locally-funded purchase of development rights (PDR) activity. But it is the use of transfer of development rights (TDR)-the most extensive in the nation-that is the centerpiece of Montgomery's farmland preservation efforts and boosts its rank in 2003 to first nationally in the number of agricultural easement acres acquired by local programs. About three-fourths of the county's total easement acres are the product of the TDR process. Easements are largely concentrated in the Agricultural Reserve in the northern part of the county, a pattern supported by growth boundaries and restrictions on the extension of water and sewer service to rural areas.
EASEMENT ACTIVITY - 54,337 agricultural acres: includes
approximately 41,000 acres in TDRs-5,600 in the county's program, 2,500 in Rural
Legacy parcels and 2,000 funded by MALPF. Number of parcels is not available.
Goals: 70,000 acres in the 93,000 acre Agricultural Reserve by 2008.
Other Easement Programs: Maryland Environmental Trust-2,115 acres in
10 transactions (as of 1/03); Land trusts-82 acres (as of 4/01); Green Print
Program-805 acres (as of 5/02).
Total Agricultural Easements in County: Approximately 57,600 acres.
FUNDING
Acquisition Spending to Date: $28 million in PDR spending. The total
value of agricultural easements acquired is actually $88 million, if the approximately
$60 million value of developer-provided TDRs is included.
Revenues: For the $28 million in direct public spending-state funds from
Rural Legacy and MALPF, interest on invested county portion of the state agricultural
land transfer tax and federal funds.
GOVERNANCE - Montgomery's easement activities are administered by the Agricultural Services Division of the Department of Economic Development. A five member citizens' Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board appointed by the County Commissioners oversees the several programs.
STAFF AND OPERATING BUDGET - Three staff members. The annual operating budget for staff is approximately $135,000.
ORIGINS - Earlier than most other Maryland counties, Montgomery instigated growth management policies in response to intensive development pressure on farmland. In 1969, it adopted a "Wedges and Corridors" land use plan that concentrated growth along a center corridor bordered by rural densities. An initial downzoning in rural areas to a one unit to five acres density occurred in 1974. In the 1980s, faced with continuing rapid farmland loss, a county-appointed task force recommended further downzoning combined with TDRs, noting the greater expense of a PDR program. Montgomery joined the state's MALPF program in 1979, started its TDR activities in 1981, formed its own PDR program in 1986, and began participating in Rural Legacy in 1998. The first PDR easements-MALPF purchases-were acquired in 1981.
ACQUISITION PROCESS AND STRATEGY - Each easement
program offered by Montgomery County has a separate ranking and valuation system
developed and approved by a citizens' committee, either the Advisory Board or
the Rural Legacy Steering Committee. The county's chief administrative officer
has final approval of county-funded easements. The program staff directs landowners
to appropriate programs. Emphasis is given to the location of easements in the
northern Agricultural Preserve.
Rating of Parcels: Quantitative. COUNTY: The easement value is determined
by a formula that includes parcel size, agricultural quality, farm management,
development proximity and strategic location-with accumulated points multiplied
by an acreage factor to get value. MALPF: Cost.
Other Criteria: COUNTY PROGRAM: Rural or Rural Density Transfer zoning,
enrollment in agricultural preservation district, location outside water/sewer
areas, Class I-III soils. MALPF: Similar to county standards. RURAL LEGACY:
Location in Rural Legacy area.
CONNECTIONS TO LOCAL PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICIES
- Growth boundaries and target areas for farmland preservation, including a
large Agricultural Reserve, are designated in county comprehensive plans. The
extension of water and sewer service is limited to growth areas.
Zoning: The 93,000-acre Agricultural Reserve is zoned Rural Density Transfer,
at one unit to 25 acres (1:25). This area was downzoned from 1:5 in the 1980s.
TDR Arrangement: The Agricultural Reserve is the sending area and 14 communities
identified in local master plans are the receiving areas. Rights are transferred
at a ratio of one per five acres, resulting in a five-fold increased residential
density in the receiving area with the potential for additional density. Easements
are recorded on the sending properties when transfers occur.
DEMOGRAPHICS
2000 Population: 873,341
1990-2000 Population Change: +110,169 residents; +14 percent
AGRICULTURAL LAND
Approximately 93,000 acres.
Conversion to Urban Use: From 1971 to 1980, before creation of the TDR
program, an average of 2,700 acres was subdivided annually in the Agricultural
Reserve. In 1981-1998, after the TDR program was initiated, the figure declined
to 460 acres per year. In 1991-2000, 10,188 acres of farmland were converted
and 20,205 farmland acres were put under easement. (State conversion data)
OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
1997 Market Value: $28.5 million Number of Farms: 546
Principal Commodities: Nursery and greenhouse crops, dairy products,
equine
MAP NARRATIVE - EASEMENT GEOGRAPHY
(PROGRAM MAP)
Agricultural lands are located exclusively in the Agricultural Reserve
in the northern part of the county. Major blocks of easements are forming around
Poolesville and north of Laytonsville. Intense development is found closer to
the District of Columbia boundary.