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APB approves four farms for VAD review; sends applications to BOCC consent agenda
Summary
The Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board agreed to forward four Voluntary Agricultural District applications — totaling three small farms and one larger family property — to the Board of County Commissioners consent agenda for final approval at the April 21 meeting; Woods moved and Thompson seconded the motion to approve.
The Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board voted to forward four Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) applications to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) consent agenda for final approval at the April 21 meeting. Vice‑Chair Miller called the meeting to order and Soil and Water staff member Jessica Perrin presented maps and aerial GIS images for each parcel before the board voted to approve forwarding the applications.
The four applications include: Dawnbreaker Farms (Benjamin Grimes and Salem Neff), one parcel of 20.01 acres in the Caldwell Agricultural District with pasture and woodlands; Ten Mothers Farm (Vera Fabian and Gordon Jenkins), one parcel of 6.3 acres in the Cedar Grove region for organic vegetable production; La Finca (Hannah Dowling and Mark Harris), one parcel of 10.04 acres in the Cedar Grove region for seasonal vegetables and livestock; and two parcels totaling 107.84 acres submitted by Chad Corbett and the Corbett family heirs in the Cedar Grove region. Woods moved to approve forwarding all four applications; Thompson seconded and the motion was approved. The applications will be scheduled on the BOCC consent agenda for April 21, 2026.
Board members reviewed site visits and Conservation Plans during the APB meeting. Staff noted that three of the applications had completed site visits and signed Conservation Plans; one larger application (the Corbett family parcels) had a Conservation Plan and Forest Management Plan still in progress and a staff recommendation that approval be contingent on receiving required signed plans before the BOCC materials deadline. Perrin also reminded members about related trainings and a Pond Clinic to be held on May 16.
