Buncombe advisory board adopts revised farmland-preservation ordinance after state adds mandatory hearings

The Buncombe County Agricultural Advisory Board voted to adopt a revised farmland-preservation ordinance that updates county rules to match recent state changes requiring public hearings and longer review timelines before a governmental unit may condemn or rezone land enrolled in a Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD).

Corey Holman, representing NCDA ADFP, told the board that the updated state law now requires counties to record notice for enrolled parcels and to hold an advisory-board public hearing when a state or local government proposes condemnation or rezoning of land enrolled in a VAD. "All counties shall require that land records include some form of notice reasonably calculated to alert a person researching the title that such tract is located within one half mile of a tract enrolled in a voluntary agricultural district," Holman said during his presentation. He outlined a procedural timeline that shortens rushed actions by initiating agencies and gives landowners additional time to respond.

Why it matters: the statute establishes a series of deadlines and public‑notice steps intended to slow sudden actions that can affect working farms. Holman summarized the timetable presented to the board: the advisory…