Chatham commissioners approve $1,290,000 package for farmland conservation projects, $75,000 support grant for Triangle Lands Conservancy

Chatham County commissioners voted unanimously April 21 to approve a slate of farmland preservation actions that include three working‑farmland conservation easement projects totaling 366 acres and a $75,000 organizational support grant to Triangle Lands Conservancy.

The county’s Farmland Preservation program requested county funding for: a 58‑acre donated easement in the Silk Hope area with $25,000 in transaction assistance to help pay survey, legal and closing costs; an 87‑acre acquisition for which staff recommended $213,000 to improve the project’s competitiveness for state farmland preservation funding; and a 221‑acre working‑farm conservation easement for which the county will contribute a $12,000 match as part of a $515,580 application to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Triangle Lands Conservancy will hold the easement and assume stewardship and legal defense responsibilities for the third project if the state grant is awarded, staff said.

Program staff said these three projects, if approved and completed, would expand the county’s permanently conserved farmland and help build a pipeline of projects. The county presentation said the recommended county investment for the three projects is expected to attract more than $1.4 million in other grants and donated match, yielding a leverage ratio of about 5.6 to 1.

County staff explained that the transaction assistance fund is designed to remove out‑of‑pocket closing costs for landowners who donate easements. Staff noted the appraisal is typically paid by the landowner because of federal tax rules that affect donors’ ability to claim charitable contributions.

Triangle Lands Conservancy leaders then gave an overview of TLC’s work in Chatham County, noting long‑running local programs and staff capacity created by the county’s organizational support grant. TLC described several additional working‑lands and forest projects in the pipeline, including Bolton Light Forest (43 acres), a 73‑acre addition to an existing 102‑acre easement, a 28‑acre donated forest easement called Lothlorien Woods, an 80‑acre donated working lands easement near the Rocky River corridor and Mitchell’s Chapel Forest (65 acres).

Commissioners praised the program and the partnership with TLC. One commissioner asked whether the board could vote on the slate in a single motion; another asked about differences among project types and why some projects sought easement compensation while others were donated. There was no dissent; a motion to approve the slate carried unanimously.

County staff asked commissioners to remain patient because grant decisions from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture remain highly competitive and projects can take several years to complete.

What the board approved: county transaction assistance and match funds for three farmland conservation easement projects and a $75,000 organizational support grant to Triangle Lands Conservancy. No parcel sales, regulatory changes or new ordinances were adopted in this action.

Why it matters: the county’s contribution reduces the financial burden on landowners and improves applicants’ competitiveness for limited state farmland preservation grants, increasing the amount of permanently conserved farmland without transferring ownership away from private landowners.

Looking ahead: staff said they will continue to submit applications to the state and return to the board with project updates as each transaction progresses.

(Amounts, parcel acreage and structure of the projects were presented to the Board on April 21; final grant contracts and easement terms remain subject to standard legal and administrative review.)