Montgomery County authorizes sale of 0.88-acre county parcel to allow preservation of Marlborough farm

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners voted May 1 to authorize a sale of a small county-owned parcel so the Claire Raymond farm in Marlborough Township can be permanently preserved.

Scott Franz, a county planning staff member presenting the item, said the county-owned sliver — about 0.88 acres shown in yellow on the meeting slide — was discovered during the state’s attempt to complete the agricultural preservation transaction that had been negotiated with the farm owner. "This particular farm is the Claire Raymond farm in Marlborough Township," Franz said. He told the board the county acquired the sliver decades ago as part of a former railroad corridor and that, although unused, that parcel would become effectively isolated if the surrounding farm went into preservation without the county first selling the sliver back.

The county’s agricultural preservation program, Franz said, purchases development rights so farms may remain in agricultural use in perpetuity. Funding for those purchases is a mix of state and local sources; the county invests alongside the state to make preservation offers possible. Franz said the county plans to establish a fair market value for the 0.88-acre parcel but had not set the price at the time of the meeting. The resolution approved May 1 authorizes county staff to engage in the sale so the state and the farm owner can complete the preservation work.

Commissioner Weiner moved to approve the resolution and Commissioner DeBello seconded. The board voted in favor of the authorization and the motion passed.

County staff said the sale would allow the Raymond property — roughly 42 acres as presented — to proceed with the preservation closing without leaving an isolated county-owned sliver inside the protected acreage. Franz described the sliver as having been acquired in the 1970s and originating from a defunct railroad property; he said county records show no current use for it and that eliminating the ownership gap is the practical solution to preserve the farm.

The board did not set a sale price at the meeting. Franz said staff will establish a fair market value and complete the steps needed to convey the parcel to the property owner so the farm’s preservation can be recorded.