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Silver Spring to Buy Conservation Easements on Two Raudabaugh Farms; Township to Cover Full Cost
Summary
The Silver Spring Township Board approved purchases of conservation easements on two Raudabaugh properties (together more than 260 acres), authorized consultant contracts and contingency funding, and unveiled plans for a July 31 celebration marking 1,000 acres preserved.
The Silver Spring Township Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of conservation easements on two Raudabaugh properties at its June 25 meeting and authorized related consultant work to finalize the easements.
The board voted, on a Brown/Griffie motion, to acquire easements on parcels associated with Mervin A. Raudabaugh Jr., covering more than 260 acres in total, and to pay the township’s full share of easement costs after the Cumberland County Farmland Preservation Program was removed from funding arrangements. The Board also authorized Lancaster Farmland Trust to serve as consultant for preparing the easements, with caps on legal and associated fees as presented to the Board.
Why it matters: preserving these parcels keeps large contiguous tracts in agriculture and expands the township’s preserved-land holdings. The township’s action replaces previously anticipated county participation; the motion authorized per-acre purchase prices and total township expenditures with a 10% contingency.
What the board approved: For the 16 Green Hill Road parcel, the Board authorized purchase at $4,705 per acre for a township cost of $742,637.20 and a 10% contingency, for a total not to exceed $816,900.92. For the 480 North Locust Point Road parcel, the Board approved $4,725 per acre for a township cost of $481,619.25 with a 10% contingency, for a total not to exceed $529,781.18. The Board also approved payment for Lancaster Farmland Trust services related to easement preparation, with contingency allotments as presented.
A presenter who reviewed the easement maps said the two farms were previously discussed at the Oct. 24, 2024 Board meeting and that the county program "did nothing wrong" but that the township will cover the full cost because of reported interference by data-center developers. The presenter said developers repeatedly approached the landowner with misleading claims and that the farms "will remain farmland - forever." The statement was presented to the Board and shown with accompanying maps.
Next steps and context: The Board authorized the staff to proceed with easement closings and consultant work under the terms approved. The township also approved a public celebration on July 31 for the milestone of preserving 1,000 acres, and authorized up to $1,300 in township support for that event.
Board action: The motions to approve the two easement purchases and to contract Lancaster Farmland Trust carried as recorded in the minutes.
