Shenandoah County gets farmland preservation funding

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

Shenandoah County has joined a growing number of localities seeking to save working farmland with aid from the state.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services awarded a farmland preservation grant of $105,000 to the county in its fiscal 2012 allocation, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Tuesday. With $100,000 included in the budget by the Board of Supervisors, and a private donation of $5,000, the locality for the first time had the required matching funds, Planning and Zoning Director Brandon Davis said.

"But we hope to match it several times over again with other organizations and federal dollars as well," Davis said.

The county does not yet have a specific property or properties in mind to put into protective easement, according to Davis. The director explained that in order to qualify for additional federal funds the county must have specific projects in mind.

The county Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance in 2007 creating an easement program and set forth a ranking system for agricultural properties, Davis said. An agreement between the county and the state agency outlines how the locality would spend the money. Davis said he expects the board to take action on the agreement Jan. 24.

The conservation easement authority is reviewing the ranking criteria to make sure they meet the county's goals and don't skew the benefits of protecting one property over another, Davis said.

The state agency awarded $1.2 million in preservation grants to 13 localities, including Clarke County, which received $110,952.

Localities must use the money to preserve farmland through purchase of development rights programs, which compensate landowners who permanently preserve their property by voluntarily placing a perpetual conservation easement on it. Clarke and Shenandoah counties are among the state's 22 localities operating such programs, 18 of which have had some local funding available in the past few years.

Under the program, localities apply by informing the state agency of how much money they have allocated, according to Kevin Schmidt, coordinator of the office of farmland preservation. Localities have two years to settle on projects, work with the landowners and reach agreements over easements and prices, he said. The agency reimburses the locality for the purchase of the easement.

The $1.2 million marks a significant increase from the $100,000 available in matching state funds last year, according to a news release from the governor's office.

McDonnell's budget proposal submitted in December seeks to continue the $1.2 million in the next two fiscal years for a total of $2.4 million in grant funds for the biennium, according to the release.

Virginia has allocated $6.45 million to certified local preservation programs since February 2008. Nearly 5,200 acres on 36 farms in 11 localities have been permanently protected in part with $4.94 million of these state funds, the release states.

Clarke County has received $576,572 since the program began. Frederick County received $265,000 in the first year but has not applied in the four years since.