Pennsylvania - BUCKINGHAM TOWNSHIP
Township program - Formed in 1995 - researched by Deborah Bowers

OVERVIEW - A rapidly growing municipality in the middle of Bucks County, with a 73 percent population increase in the 1990s, Buckingham was the first Pennsylvania township to put up its own funds for purchasing agricultural easements. Voters in 1995 and 1999 approved bond issues proposed by township supervisors for this purpose. The program was promoted as a means of limiting the public sector costs of residential development. Buckingham both funds its own independent program, putting easements on parcels that are not eligible for county funding, and contributes to the purchase of Bucks County acquisitions within the township's borders. Buckingham also operates a TDR program, created in 1975 and revised in 1994. Easement acres acquired through township and county programs so far constitute a large part of the township's 33 square mile territory.

EASEMENT ACTIVITY - A total of 2,437 agricultural acres from all sources, representing more than 36 parcels, are under easement in the township. Included are: (1) Exclusive township funding-751 acres, 20 transactions; (2) Township contributions to county-acquired easements-603 acres, seven transactions; (3) County only purchased easements within the township-611 acres, nine transactions; (4) TDR program-472 acres, number of transactions unknown. Buckingham Township directly holds the 20 easements funded exclusively with township funds. Easement properties are in field crops, dairy, vegetable and fruit orchards.
Goals: No specific program goals.
Other Easement Programs: Buckingham Township's independent program complements the Bucks County Agricultural Land Preservation Program and a TDR program administered by the township.
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FUNDING
Acquisition Spending to Date: $22.1 million-includes funds for all acquisitions by both township and county programs in Buckingham.
Revenues: Two bond issues, authorizing a total of 13.5 mill in easement spending, fund both direct township acquisitions and township contributions to county acquisitions. The bond issues were approved by voters in 1996 and 1999 and are retired through an 8 mill property tax levy. Funds for county-purchased easements within Buckingham Township come from county bonds and state and federal revenues.

GOVERNANCE - The Buckingham Township Agricultural Preservation Committee (APC) oversees the easement program. Its members are appointed by the Buckingham Township Supervisors.

STAFF AND OPERATING BUDGET - The program is administered on a part-time basis by an administrative assistant who reports to the Director of Administration. There is no separate operating budget.

ORIGINS - Buckingham Township's easement program was organized as a response to the high public sector costs-especially school construction-of intense residential development. Township supervisors and others believed, it would be less expensive to preserve farmland through the purchase of development rights (PDR). Voters agreed in approving the initial 1995 bond issue to fund PDRs. The first easements were acquired in 1996. In 1975, the township created one of the first agricultural TDR programs in the nation.

ACQUISITION PROCESS AND STRATEGY - Township supervisors make final purchase decisions after applications are reviewed and ranked (if necessary) by the APC. No formal review is conducted if only one application is submitted in a given month. A quantitative ranking is employed when there are competing applications.
Rating of Parcels: Quantitative. A formula, similar to a Land Evaluation Site Assessment (LESA) ranking, is used to evaluate applications when more than one have been submitted. Equal weights are given to four categories: Farmland Value, Historic Value, Location and Scenic or Natural Resource Value.
Other Criteria: Ineligibility for county purchase can boost the prospects of a parcel for township acquisition. Identified as "other factors to consider" are urgency (defined as "threat of transfer, sale or subdivision of property due to circumstances such as economic hardship, ill health, estate settlement, age, divorce, etc.") and donation as a percentage of easement value.

CONNECTIONS TO LOCAL PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICIES - A large part of Buckingham Township was identified by the Bucks County Planning Commission in 1986 as one of the county's areas that should be targeted for farmland preservation. The township's 1974 Comprehensive Plan highlighted preservation as a primary goal. At that time about one-fifth of the land area was in a development district and the rest was designated as agricultural and resource protection districts. Most new growth in the township since that time has occurred in the development district.
Zoning: Pennsylvania municipalities are responsible for zoning. Buckingham has two agricultural zones, occupying more than half of the township's land area, with a residential density of one unit to 1.8 acres. Clustering permits smaller lot sizes with no overall increase in density.
TDR Arrangement: In place since 1975 and revised in 1974, Buckingham's program has sending (agricultural zones) and receiving (agricultural, residential and business zones) areas. Densities in the receiving areas can be doubled in conjunction with clustering.

DEMOGRAPHICS
2000 Population: 16,442
1990-2000 Population Change: +7,078 residents; + 73 percent

AGRICULTURAL LAND
Township-level USDA figures are unavailable.
Conversion to Urban Use: Comparative conversion data not available.

OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
1997 Market Value: Data not available. Number of Farms: 739 (Bucks County)
Principal Commodities: Crops, dairy

MAP NARRATIVE - EASEMENT GEOGRAPHY (PROGRAM MAP)
Township and county easements together form significant concentrations of protected land in Buckingham. Most prominent is a block of 14 easements in the easternmost corner of the township. Other blocks of multiple easements are located mostly in the southern and central parts of the township. Easement concentrations are not close to the major urbanized areas (indicated by dense local road networks) in western Buckingham.

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