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Dorchester County agricultural board recommends easement approvals, will rank applications in closed session
Summary
The Dorchester County Agricultural Land Preservation Board voted to recommend favorable outcomes for multiple easement cases, including properties owned by David and Sherry Howard and William Hawkins, approved the packet of submitted applications to forward to the state, and announced a closed session to confidentially rank applicants because only 15 can be forwarded.
The Dorchester County Agricultural Land Preservation Board voted to recommend favorable outcomes for multiple agricultural-easement cases at its meeting and approved the packet of applications to forward to the state, then announced it would enter a closed session to rank applicants because the county may forward only 15.
Staff presented Map 90116, noting that David and Sherry Howard (7018 Whiteley Road, Federalsburg, Maryland 21632; Tax Map 6, Parcel 13) own property subject to an agricultural easement and that a building constructed by a family member, Mark Howard, encroaches on the easement. "Staff recommends the board provide a favorable recommendation to request as proposed," the staff member said, and the board moved to recommend the Howard request be forwarded to the state agricultural board.
The board also considered easement O99010 for William Hawkins and Gutman Hawkins III on Egypt Road (Tax Map 52, Parcels 14 and 16). Staff described the parcels' history: the land had been under common ownership through Blackwater Farms Inc.; partial transfers in 2006 left the parcels in separate business trusts, which staff characterized as inconsistent with the original easement terms and therefore requested after-the-fact approval of an agricultural subdivision to correct the record. Staff recommended a favorable recommendation to the state, and an appearing participant answered questions about the property's history and use, asking, "Why did it take 20 years for somebody to figure this out?" Staff explained how deed transfers and previous recordkeeping led to the late detection.
Board members moved and seconded motions to provide favorable recommendations on the presented cases. Later in the meeting staff noted the county received 21 applications this cycle; after a few withdrawals 17 remain, but county rules allow only 15 applications to be forwarded to the state. Because ranking applications is a confidential process, the board approved the submitted packet and voted to enter a closed session to rank the applicants. The staff member said they would draft the recommendation letters and notify applicants once paperwork is complete.
The actions taken are recommendations to the Maryland state agricultural program; final approval rests with the state, and the board said it would follow up with applicants once letters are prepared.
