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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-09Dryden Ag Committee September 9, 2015 Dryden Agriculture Advisory Committee September 9, 2015 Members Present: Kim LaMotte, Brian Magee, Joe Osmeloski Guests: Debbie Teeter (Cooperative Extension), Craig Anderson, Craig Schutt, Nancy Munkenbeck and Jason Leifer (Town Board) Dryden Farmer-Identified Challenges and Concerns Concerns about Zoning: - Development pressure has slowed, more a result of the town’s anti-development attitude than any specific zoning. - Zoning has made it harder for builders and landowners, but has not helped those who want to farm. - It may have slowed development, but has taken personal property rights away from individuals. Perfect example banning fracking, wind mill turbines. - Selling land for farmers is often their retirement plan. The town has no right to infringe upon property rights. - Regulation through selling development rights is a logical choice - Development should be in pockets, eg. cluster of homes with open space attached - Development should radiate from an established population center - Would like to be able to prevent future house lot sales on farm land - Ag land zoning should not be in conflict with Ag District Law - There need to be more farmer input when zoning changes are being considered - Active farmland and land attached to it (forests and woodlots, f allow land, waterways, etc) should not be re-zoned to anything else. Committee comments: Has development actually slowed? - Does this information really represent the general population of farmers? It was a one-time deal. o It may not represent all of the farmers but it gives the group a direction and some discussion. - In terms of development pressure and zoning, how does that affect farmers? - Recommended action for the Ag Committee is to review the zoning more thoroughly and perhaps invite a planning board member to attend a meeting and answer any questions. - D. Teeter encouraged the Committee to go through the zoning page by page and discuss each item that related to Ag. Dryden Ag Committee September 9, 2015 - As far as future houses on farm land – was that comment directed toward a person’s own property as in a deed restriction or in general in Dryden? o That is potentially opposite of a previous comment indicating that the town has “no right to infringe on property rights.” - At this point, farmland is worth as much as land being sold for development which relieves any development pressure - In response to the statement about farmer input when zoning is being changed, the creation of the Ag Committee demonstrates that the Town has understood that request. - C. Anderson pointed out that farm land being in a conservation zone is not a bad thing. If farmland falls out of ag use and it falls into a conservation district (for zoning purposes), the sale of the land will bring a higher price. Conservation zoning around a farm will force cluster housing which will prevent a series of 1 or 2 acre lots spread out. In addition, with the cluster housing, the farmer can still work the land. - The flip side is that if a farmer wanted to sell off 100 acres for 20 5 acre lots, the clientele will be wealthier and probably able to build larger homes while maintaining a certain level of personal privacy in addition to green space. Development Pressure in the Town - Increased traffic does slow farming access - Not much pressure in our town; growth is very slow/stagnant; no one wants to move to Dryden - Dryden is slowly growing, as a result of Ithaca. It will continue to have urban pressure with people wanting a home in the “country”. Every new house is another “neighbor” with potential relationship challenges. - Good farmland slowly shrinking: committee disagrees; the best farmland continues to be purchased by other farmers as it becomes available - Development pressure is not as bad as the pressure from large farming operations. They have the equipment and labor already on hand so they need land will pay unreasonable prices for it. Committee disagrees, thinks larger farms provide a lot of assistance to smaller farms Committee comments: - Land that was fallow is being brought back into use – hedgerows are being cleared and other marginal lands are being utilized. - Some farmers are cutting trees trying to increase some of the workable land - Others are looking for fallow land that they can rent - D. Teeter asked if the Town needs to be involved in “match making” – encouraging small and large farms to work together. The committee feels that farmers are already doing that and don’t need assistance. - The free market is working well Dryden Ag Committee September 9, 2015 Conservation Easements (PDR) - Needs to be valuable enough - PDR offers a means to access the development value of farmland without actually developing it - Some think there needs to be some way of protecting farmland - Can be one way to transfer farmland to the next generation more affordably - Good idea, process seems cumbersome, too slow, lots of strings attached - Should be open to ALL farms – not just certain farms; there isn’t much development pressure - Lease of Development Rights (LDR) a little better approach, commit land for yearly or short periods of time - There is interest from some non-farmer ag land owners, but there are also a lot of non-farmer ag land owners who are not at all familiar with PDR Committee Comments: - D. Teeter shared that an increase in forest exemption may be coming. Currently it is limited to 50 acres - The value of farm land and developable land is about the same currently therefore it does not make sense to do a PDR right now - LDR might be an alternative. It may allow a yearly tax incentive in exchange for a guarantee that the land will remain ag for a fixed period of time. - D. Teeter suggested that the Committee request that the Town set up a fund for the purpose of purchasing or leasing conservation easements and that the request include a yearly meeting for folks to learn about the conservation easements. - Another suggestion is for the Town to have a reserve fund to help maintain farm land. Example: if a farmer cannot financially keep farmland, the Town may be able to purchase the land for resale at a later date. It is another method to help maintain farmland in the Town. - Deed restrictions only work if a survivor or neighbor knows about the restriction and follows up on it. Otherwise, no one will know and there isn’t any way to stop the new owner from doing what they wish. Example is the Ellis Hollow church which is on the National Registry of Historic buildings but was still changed to create apartments. Respectfully Submitted, Erin A. Bieber Deputy Town Clerk