Lee County discusses changes to agricultural ordinance, new enhanced voluntary agricultural district and conservation easement funding

Lee County officials presented proposed revisions Feb. 17 to the county’s Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Ordinance and outlined a draft conservation easement policy and possible county funding to support land‑conservation projects.

Dr. Stone, introducing the package, told the board the ordinance revisions recommended by the Agricultural Advisory Board include three principal changes: removing a requirement that advisory‑board membership be tied to districts, adding an Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District (EVAD) program, and reducing the minimum acreage required for program membership from 5 acres to 1 acre for horticulture or agricultural uses defined under state statute. “The Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural District comes with a 10 year irrevocable agreement,” Dr. Stone said, noting that EVAD participation is a greater commitment than the existing Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) but carries additional incentives.

Dr. Stone described EVAD incentives his presentation lists: participants may be eligible to count 25 percent of gross sales from certain nonfarm products toward bona fide farm qualifications, to…