NC govwatch

← All meetings

Agricultural Preservation

Orange County · Agricultural Preservation Board
Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Regular meeting Farmland and open spaceLand conversion and large developmentComprehensive planGrants and outside funding

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 4Meeting Summary/Minutes Approved
  2. Approved 5.aNew VAD/EVAD Applications Both applications approved; the Caldwell farm's approval is contingent on a signed conservation plan.

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

The Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board, meeting at the Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center, took up two applications to enroll farms in the county's voluntary agricultural district program: a 33-acre farm in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District and a 45.17-acre farm in the Caldwell Agricultural District. The board also reviewed its 2025 meeting calendar and a draft update to the county's farmland protection plan, last revised in 2009.

Staff briefed the board on a December 3 farm succession workshop and on the county's agricultural economic development grant program, which drew about 15 applications this cycle. The board also heard an update on the county's Land Use Plan 2050 process, tied to the farmland protection plan discussion.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board approved both district applications. The Cedar Grove farm's paperwork, including its forestry management and conservation plans, was already complete. The Caldwell farm's approval is contingent on getting a signed conservation plan. Both recommendations go to the Board of Commissioners' December 10 consent agenda. The board also approved its 2025 meeting schedule, keeping its pattern of meeting the third Wednesday of every other month starting in January, and approved minutes from its July 17 and September 18 meetings.

Most of the meeting's discussion went to the farmland protection plan update. Staff laid out a December timeline for circulating drafts and gathering board feedback by phone, Zoom, email or an in-person session, with a possible stand-alone meeting or a January working session to finish it. Board members agreed the plan should be a living document, updated regularly rather than set aside for another fifteen years. No vote was taken on the draft.

How the votes went

Both district applications passed on a motion by Woods, seconded by Saiers. The 2025 meeting calendar passed on a motion by Compton, seconded by Wagger. The July and September minutes passed on a motion by Woods, seconded by Compton. The minutes record no votes against any motion.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (11)

Procedural · 5Staff or committee report · 3Minutes approval · 1Other · 1Discussion item · 1
  1. 1 Call to Order
    Procedural
    Chair Hughes opened the meeting at 10:14 a.m., after the scheduled 10 a.m. start.
  2. 2 Chair Comments/Introductions
    Procedural
    No chair comments or introductions were made.
  3. 3 Considerations of Additions to Agenda
    Procedural
    No additions to the agenda were proposed.
  4. 4 Meeting Summary/Minutes
    Minutes approval
    The board approved the minutes of its July 17 and September 18 meetings.
    Approved
  5. 5.a New VAD/EVAD Applications
    Other Farmland and open spaceLand conversion and large development
    Staff presented two farms for enrollment in the county's Voluntary Agricultural District program: a 33-acre farm in the Cedar Grove Agricultural District, used for hay and managed forest land, with a completed forestry management plan and conservation plan; and a 45.17-acre farm in the Caldwell Agricultural District, used for beef cattle pasture, hay production and under 20 acres of woodland, with its conservation plan awaiting a signature.
    Both applications approved; the Caldwell farm's approval is contingent on a signed conservation plan.
  6. 5.b Approval of Proposed APB Meeting Calendar for 2025
    Procedural
    Staff presented a proposed 2025 meeting calendar, keeping the board's pattern of meeting the third Wednesday of every other month starting in January.
    Approved
  7. 6.a Farmland Preservation Subcommittee
    Discussion item Farmland and open spaceLand conversion and large development
    Staff and a board subcommittee reviewed the draft update to the county's farmland protection plan, which dates to 2009, and laid out a December timeline for circulating drafts and collecting board feedback before a possible stand-alone meeting or a January working session.
  8. 7.a Farm Succession Workshop Reminder
    Staff or committee report Farmland and open space
    Staff reminded the board of a December 3 farm succession workshop to be led by a law firm.
  9. 7.b Extension and Ag Economic Development Activities
    Staff or committee report Grants and outside funding
    Staff reported the county's agricultural economic development grant program has drawn about 15 applications this cycle, a record for the program.
  10. 7.c County Land Use Plan 2050 Update
    Staff or committee report Comprehensive planLand conversion and large development
    Staff referred back to the farmland protection plan discussion, noting it ties to the county's ongoing Land Use Plan 2050 update.
  11. 9 Adjournment
    Procedural
    The board adjourned at 11:08 a.m.

Other recent meetings of this board