Planning commission reviews eight Ag/Forestal districts; staff recommends removing parcels without development rights

On Dec. 17, 2024 the Albemarle County Planning Commission considered staff recommendations and public testimony on the periodic review of eight Agricultural and Forestal (Ag4) Districts: Ivy Creek, Hardware, Eastern, Pasture Fence Mountain, North Fork Moorman's River, Free Union, Carter's Bridge, and Jacobs Run. The Ag4 program is a voluntary local land conservation program enabled by Virginia law; parcels join by owner request and districts are subject to periodic review (typically every 10 years).

County staff explained that a policy change adopted during a 2016 county code rewrite prevents new district additions that lack small-lot development rights; staff also said the Board of Supervisors directed that, during district renewals, staff identify parcels previously admitted to Ag4 that have no remaining small-lot development rights and recommend removing them from the district. Staff said the rationale is that parcels without any remaining subdivision potential do not provide a development-for-conservation exchange the Ag4 program was designed to create and may create the appearance of a tax benefit without a conservation tradeoff.

For each district staff produced maps and lists of parcels recommended for removal. The Ag4 advisory committee, which advises staff and the commission on these renewals, recommended renewal of six of the eight districts without staff-recommended removals; committee members explained concerns about removing parcels that local landowners expect to remain within a district and cautioned about the equity and practical consequences of removal for landowners who had relied on district status.

Public commenters included long-time district landowners and members of the Ag4 advisory committee. Speakers urged the commission to follow the committee's recommendation and to consider legal and procedural constraints; committee members and public speakers noted that: (a) district review notices and timelines must follow county code procedures; (b) some landowners said they had not received all mailed notices; and (c) some residents asked that the county and Board pursue other tools (easements, conservation programs, soil and watershed assessments) rather than removing longstanding properties from districts.

Staff emphasized that removal from an Ag4 district does not prohibit conservation uses or other tax categories: parcels can still qualify for agriculture or forestry use-value taxation or enter permanent conservation easements. Staff noted that the open-space tax category is available through either district participation, an open-space use agreement, or conservation easement depending on acreage and qualifications.

At the Dec. 17 meeting the planning commission voted on staff recommendations for each district and then transmitted its recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for final action. The Board will consider the district renewals at an upcoming meeting; staff said landowners removed at the Board decision would receive notice and that some parcels identified for removal would be given a shorter (five-year) renewal status to allow owners time to address tax designation or easement options and to avoid immediate rollback taxation.

Why it matters: Ag4 districts are a long-standing Albemarle County program to encourage voluntary conservation of farmland and forestland. The staff-recommended removals reflect a policy choice by the Board to limit apparent "open-space" tax advantage for parcels that have no development rights left; the change has drawn debate among landowners, conservation stakeholders and advisory committee members about fairness, county procedures and how best to preserve contiguous rural landscapes.

What's next: The Planning Commission forwarded its recommendations and the Board of Supervisors will take final action at a scheduled hearing; landowners identified for removal will be notified and given instructions on options (remain under full-rate taxation, apply for use-value categories where eligible, or consider easements).