Cecil County Office of Planning & Zoning Use The Hyperlinks to Navigate the Presentation Next

Agricultural Preservation in Cecil County

Cecil County Office of Planning & ZoningUse The Hyperlinks to Navigate the

PresentationNext

Cecil County’s Land Preservation Programs

• Purpose

• Qualifications for Preservation

• Programs that the County administers:•Preservation Districts•Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation•Purchase of Development Rights•Transfer of Development Rights

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Contact Us

Previous | Next

PurposeTo provide information on the land

preservation programs facilitated by Cecil County.

Show the application & ranking process.A brief overview of other land preservation

programs in Cecil County.Cecil County’s agricultural preservation

goals.Answer Questions

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

Qualifications for Preservation

Parcel Size

Soils Criteria and Soils Conservation Plan

Ownership


Preservation Districts

About

Application


About Preservation DistrictsFirst formalized step for intention to preserve

land.Applicant agrees to enter into district for a

period of no less than 5 years, and not to develop their property.

Property owner receives a 50% tax credit on the land value of the property.

OPTIONAL PROGRAMDistrict Properties are given priority for land

preservation opportunities.Previous | Section Index | Table of Contents | Next

Preservation Districts ApplicationSimple two page application Complete as much of the application as you

can, staff will assist you as much as possible.Applications go through a series of hearings.

Previous | Section Index | Table of Contents | Next

MALPFMaryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation

About

Application

Scoring & Ranking

Calculations

Offers

Easement Settlement

Summary


About MALPFMALPF is by far the most popular land

preservation program in Cecil County.Started in 1977, first easements in Cecil

County occurred in the early 1980s.Applications are due to MALPF on July 1st. Easement application acceptance is based off

of funding.Joint cooperation between the County and

State for facilitation and monitoring


MALPF ApplicationApplication Notification is sent out from the

Office of Planning & Zoning to all district properties.

If requested, an application is prepared by staff, as much as possible.

Applicants must decide asking price, we cannot advise you on what price to ask.


Application Scoring & RankingOnce all applications are received by the deadline

they are scored on the following factors:Land Evaluation (i.e. soil productivity) ~ 37%Farm Quality & Potential of Property ~33%Preservation Status 20%Development Pressure & Potential 10%

This scoring method was adopted in February 2005.Asking price does not factor in to application

scoring.MALPF limits the number applications may be

submitted for each cycle. APAB reviews rankings and selects finalists.


MALPF CalculationsMALPF orders appraisals on the submitted

applications. MALPF staff calculates the Agricultural Value

(AV) of each property.The Fair Market Value (FMV) minus the AV

equals the Easement Value.NEW FOR FY2015 – MALPF offers are

capped at 75% of FMV.MALPF offers the lowest of Asking Price,

Easement Value or 75% of FMV.Previous | Section Index | Table of Contents | Next

OffersTwo Rounds:Round One (Details)

Guaranteed for each County and made to the top priorities of each.

Offers must be accepted or declined in 30 days.Accepted offers move to easement acquisition, declined

offers must wait 2 years to reapply. Declined funds are offered to the next highest priority.

Round Two (Details)Remaining applicants re-ranked in one statewide list.Asking price becomes a determining factor.Same acceptance and denial process as round one.Round continues till all funds for the easement cycle are

used.Example of how this process works.


MALPF Easement SettlementThe County is not involved with the intimate

details of the easement settlement process.A baseline inspection is completed by County

staff and will be used for comparison for inspections in future years.

It is advised that the applicant have an financial professional aid them in determining acceptance of funds for tax implications and other financial planning purposes.


Summary of MALPFState program that is administered by both

County & State staffs.A new application must be submitted each cycle.All applications are scored and ranked.Offers are based on the lowest of asking price,

easement value or the 75% cap.Top ranked county applications are made round

1 offers.Round 2 offers are based off of best value, but

competing with farms across the state.Once and easement is established it will be

subject to inspectionPrevious | Section Index | Table of Contents | Next

PDRPurchase of Development Rights

About

Application

Settlement


About the PDRPDR is to preserve agricultural lands in Cecil

County, and supplement existing federal, state, and local programs.

Funding levels for the PDR program are allocated from the County’s yearly operating budget and could vary year to year.

To date the PDR program has preserved 457+ acres with very limited funding.

PDR funds have been used as a match for other preservation programs in recent years.


PDR ApplicationDistrict landowners notified around Labor Day

of any year. If requested, County staff will prepare as much

of the application possible.The application is similar to MALPF’s a major

difference is that the land owner must select a payment type.

Application deadline is the last business day of each year.

There is some flexibility in selecting finalists in the PDR program.


PDR Settlement

The County Council will make the final decision PDR easement.

After Council approval 2 appraisals will be completed.

Offer’s are made after the appraisals.After Settlement is anticipated to be complete in

the early summer.


TDRTransfer of Development Rights

About

Calculations

Process

TDR Bank


About the TDR programAdopted in 2007, the program allows for a

farm in a sending area to transfer their development rights to a receiving area.

Accomplished through the subdivision process, or rights could be sold to a TDR bank administered by County Government.

As an incentive, the TDR program allows for more development rights to be transferred from sending areas than base zoning would allow if the sending area parcel was to be subdivided.


TDR CalculationsEvery property is different based off of the

locations of the sending and receiving parcels, but in general:Zoning Acres required for 1

dwelling unit (Major Subdivision)

Number of Dwelling Units per 50 acres

NAR 10 5

NAR using TDR

5 10

SAR 20 2

SAR using TDR

3 16


TDR’s through subdivision processTDR density is proposed by the developer

and approved by the developer Planning Commission.

The project moves forward through subdivision process.

Prior to the Director of Planning & Zoning signing the record plat:

1. The agreement transferring the development rights is executed and recorded in land records; and

2. A Deed of Easement to ensure the long term protection of the sending parcel must be recorded.


TDR BankInitially funded through VLT, or the general

fund, the TDR bank is to be a self-perpetuating.

Once development rights are acquired by County, they can be sold to qualifying receiving parcel or retired.

If selling development rights to the TDR bank is a viable option, please send a letter of interest to the Office of Planning & Zoning ASAP.


FAQIs there a major change occurring to the land preservation program?

If I offer an enormous discount to buy my development rights, will that move me up on the list?

Is there anything I can do to improve my ranking score?

Are state regulations (Tier Map, PlanMaryland) going to affect my preservation application?

Is the ag-preservation program recertification in jeopardy?


Contact UsIf you would like more information or you are

interested in Agriculture Land Preservation Programs in Cecil County, contact us via the below information:Stephen O’Connor, AICP

Agricultural Lands Preservation Coordinator Department of Planning and Zoning Cecil County Government 200 Chesapeake Blvd, Suite 2300 Elkton, Maryland 21291 P: 410-996-5220 E: [email protected]

Previous | Table of Contents

Documents

Cecil County Office of Planning & Zoning Use The Hyperlinks to Navigate the Presentation Next