Pennsylvania - BUCKS COUNTY
Countywide program - Formed in 1989 - researched by Deborah Bowers
OVERVIEW - Just north of Philadelphia, Bucks is a largely suburban and growth-impacted county with a still significant agricultural economy. Rapid residential development began after World War II, resulting in the urbanization of lower Bucks by the 1970s, and has since spread to the central and northern parts of the county. Farmland acres declined from 260,000 to 83,500 between 1950-1997, but local agriculture survives in large part because of the shift to higher value commodities such as nursery and greenhouse products. While both county and township governments actively acquire agricultural easements, township planning and zoning invites low density and spread out development. Municipal funding of easements is more extensive here than in other Pennsylvania counties; 15 townships are involved, either contributing to county purchases, acquiring easements on their own, or engaged in both activities. Two townships also have TDR programs, but only one (Buckingham) has completed transfers.
EASEMENT ACTIVITY - 6,500 agricultural acres acquired
by the county on 70 properties: nursery and greenhouse crops, dairy, corn.
Goals: 10,000 agricultural easement acres by 2007.
Other Easement Programs: Fifteen municipalities have their own sources
of funding, mostly bond issues, to purchase their own easements and contribute
to county projects. Buckingham Township has protected 422 acres through its
TDR program.
Total Agricultural Easements in County: Not known. Information is not available
for township-acquired easements.
FUNDING
Acquisition Spending to Date: $49.4 million for county-purchased easements.
The average cost of $7,600 per acre is the second highest for Pennsylvania counties.
Revenues: State funds ($36.1 million), county bonds ($13.5 million for
farmland easements), municipal contributions and federal funds ($100,000). The
county bond issue, approved by voters in 1997, was for a total of $59 million
for parks and open space acquisitions as well as agricultural easements. Municipalities
in Bucks County have approved $98 million in bonds for all land preservation
purposes.
GOVERNANCE - The nine-member Agricultural Land Preservation Board (ALPB) oversees the easement program. Its members are appointed by the County Commissioners. The program staff reports to the county's Planning Director.
STAFF AND OPERATING BUDGET - The program manager is the only staff member. The annual operating budget is about $71,000.
ORIGINS Formation of the agricultural easement program in 1989 was preceded by the Bucks County Natural Resources Plan of 1986 that identified eight Significant Agricultural Areas as special targets for farmland preservation. The County Commissioners created the ALPB-shortly after the state's farmland preservation program was formed-and provided an initial allocation for first year matching funds. The first easements were acquired in 1990.
ACQUISITION PROCESS AND STRATEGY - The ALPB reviews
and approves the staff-provided annual rankings of applications and then submits
a final list to the state. The county exercises little discretion in the review
process, accepting the results of quantitative scorings.
Rating of Parcels: Quantitative. As in other Pennsylvania counties, a
two-part Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) scoring system is used.
The Site Assessment part of the formula accounts for 60 percent of the total
score, including weights for development potential, agricultural productivity
potential and clustering potential. To encourage family farming, points are
assigned for ownership duration, condition of farm buildings and family involvement
in the farm.
Other Criteria: Minimum state-designated criteria are parcel size or
contiguity, location in an Agricultural Security Area, soils and harvested cropland.
No other qualitative factors are applied.
CONNECTIONS TO LOCAL PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICIES
- Based on the county's 1996 Natural Resources Plan, eight areas are identified
as having concentrations of productive soils, large tracts of farmed land and
limited urban services. Townships are responsible for planning and zoning. (See
Buckingham Township profile.)
Zoning: Despite township contributions to easement acquisitions, most
municipalities have not adopted agricultural protection zoning. Buckingham Township
is an exception with two agricultural zones. Typical residential densities in
rural areas throughout the county are one unit to two acres (1:2) and 1:3.
TDR Arrangements: See Buckingham Township profile.
DEMOGRAPHICS
1990 Population: 597,635
1990-2000 Population Change: +56,411 residents; +10 percent
AGRICULTURAL LAND
83,534 acres: 85 percent cropland
Conversion to Urban Use: Comparative conversion data not available.
OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
1997 Market Value: $69.7 million Number of Farms: 739
Principal Commodities: Nursery, greenhouse, dairy, corn
MAP NARRATIVE - EASEMENT GEOGRAPHY
(PROGRAM MAP)
Bucks County contains few significant concentrations of county-acquired
easement parcels. Most easements are located in areas with the most productive
soils, generally in the center of the county. The townships of Buckingham, Plumstead
and Bedminster have the largest number of easements.