Buncombe County farmland preservation staff report easement closings, ordinance revisions and stewardship changes

BUNCOMBE COUNTY — Staff for the Buncombe County Farmland Preservation Program told the committee that two easement closings are imminent and that the program will present an updated ordinance draft after consulting with the state.

A county program staff member said the state issued a new recommended farmland-preservation ordinance after the committee approved a tentative local draft; staff will circulate both a clean version and a redlined copy and discussed plans to review the changes with Evan Davis, the state farmland preservation director, at the April meeting. "We will between now and the April meeting send you out a clean copy of our draft as well as a redlined copy so you can see the changes that we're recommending," the staff member said.

Staff also briefed members on easement project progress. The committee was told that Kestrel Herb Farm should close within a week or two after final survey recording and recombination steps, and that Splender Valley Farm is scheduled to close the next day. The staff member…