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 said the federal contract for one project had a March 30 expiration, which prompted expedited processing; "when the federal wheels start turning, you can move things very quickly," the staff member said.

Program staff listed eight AGZ projects (from Morgan to Wilson) as being at similar stages: surveys have started, environmental assessments are underway to identify property issues early, and more in-depth title reviews are underway after preliminary checks. Staff emphasized that environmental assessments will halt spending if they uncover issues.

On specific project obstacles, staff described setbacks delaying an Okabochi easement on Lower Brush Creek: a landowner who had leased farmland from the homeowners association for more than 15 years is contesting the easement and has a lawsuit that appears on title. "There's been a lawsuit between the HOA and that landowner that has paused us from being able to close the easement because it comes up on the title," the staff member said; staff reported the HOA expects to prevail but must wait for the legal matter to clear before closing.

Staff also described administrative and stewardship changes. The program has contracted monitoring to a local firm, Equinox, because of staff capacity pressures, but staff said greater distance between monitors and landowners has weakened year-to-year engagement; they proposed rethinking stewardship methods and plan to present a stewardship update after the monitoring season. "What we've noticed... the farther the monitoring gets from us the less connection we are having with the land owner," the staff member said.

Procedurally, the committee approved routine motions to adopt prior actions and to approve the Feb. 17 minutes, approved a VA renewal application for "Robert Mccur" covering 40 acres (staff said it will not change program counts because it is a renewal), voted to enter closed session pursuant to GS 143-318 (11(a)(2) and (5)) to discuss closed projects and examples of issues, and later adjourned.

The program indicated it will present to the Board of Commissioners that evening to request transaction costs for two phase projects and said five easement projects will appear on the commissioners' agenda. Staff named several parcels restarting work — including the Southern Appalachian community farm expansion and Jenkins Valley — and noted the Rogers Farm Trust owners remain inactive after beneficiary outreach.

Votes at a glance

• Motion to approve prior motion: approved (mover/second not specified). • Motion to approve Feb. 17 minutes: approved (mover/second not specified). • VA renewal ("Robert Mccur", 40 acres): approved (mover/second not specified). • Motion to enter closed session pursuant to GS 143-318 (11(a)(2) and (5)): approved (mover/second not specified). • Motion to adjourn: approved.

What’s next: staff will circulate ordinance drafts and a redline before the April meeting, will appear before the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on the listed easement requests that evening, and plans a stewardship update following this year’s monitoring season.