Scott County review of Purchase of Development Rights program highlights acres protected, funding questions

Scott County officials and land-conservation partners gave the fiscal court a detailed briefing on the county’s Purchase of Development Rights program and urged the court to consider budget support to pursue additional easements.

The program was established by ordinance in February 2008 to protect prime farmland and administer conservation easements in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. "The Scott County Purchase of Development Rights program was established in 02/2008 by ordinance 0808," a presenter said.

County staff described how the program works: voluntary landowners with a minimum of 10 acres may apply; properties are ranked on a scoring sheet emphasizing prime soils and other public benefits; two appraisals are obtained (agricultural and potential development value); the county negotiates with landowners and records a deed of conservation easement. Bill, the county’s PDR case manager, told the court the appraisal and USDA review process can be lengthy—recent cases took as long as 18 months to complete.

Program results and demand: the county has six farms protected totaling 674 acres. There are eight formal applications on file adding up to 1,136 acres, and staff said roughly 20 additional landowners have expressed interest. County contributions to date for the protected acres were "just over about a million 60 thousand," Bill said, which the presenters described as about $1,646 per acre of county cost.

Funding and matching: the program historically used a 50/50 local–USDA match through NRCS. Staff discussed a separate RCPP pathway that can provide a 75/25 federal–local split for projects serving highly underserved groups, but staff said the availability and eligibility for 75/25 funding is uncertain at the federal level. County staff asked the fiscal court to consider modest local funding in time to be included in the county budget process; officials said budget work begins before October and noted county budget readings scheduled for late May and mid-June.

Court members and stakeholder representatives discussed alternatives to expand preservation beyond direct purchases, including transfer of development rights, cluster-zoning incentives and agricultural-conservation tax tools. The presenters asked the court to consider a phased request (for example, a local share to leverage USDA funds) and submit a written plan showing how many acres could be protected with a specific local contribution over the next three years.