Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
BZA upholds ag-board denial of forest-bank overlay on Miller Stambaugh Farm
Summary
After contested testimony and legal arguments about a 2010 conservation easement, the board upheld the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board's decision to deny a forest-bank overlay on a 2.7-acre portion of Miller Stambaugh Farm, concluding the overlay conflicted with the easement language and county interests.
The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals on appeal upheld the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board's denial of a request for a forest-bank overlay on a parcel owned by Miller Stambaugh Farm LLC at 309 Jason Towne Road.
Applicant counsel Bradford Webb argued the deed of conservation easement (dated 05/04/2010) does not expressly prohibit creation of a forest bank and that the deed's paragraph limiting use "to provide required open space for the development or subdivision of another property" is directed at open-space requirements rather than forest mitigation banking. Webb told the board the provision relied on by the ag advisory board is limited and that ambiguous language should be resolved for the landowner.
County counsel (Liz…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
