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Staff recommends accepting seven applicants into PDR program, preserving ~1,806 acres
Summary
Staff told the board the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) selection committee recommended approval of seven of nine applicants, covering roughly 1,806.166 acres and extinguishing 57 development rights; staff said the PDR fund and potential matching forestry funds would cover costs.
Agricultural development staff told the Board of Supervisors a PDR selection committee reviewed nine applications and recommended accepting seven applicants into the county’s Purchase of Development Rights program, which would preserve about 1,806.166 acres and extinguish 57 development rights.
"The 7 applicants that are recommended cover 3 of Fauquier's districts... These applicants would account for 1,806.166 acres of farmland preserved and would account for 57 extinguished development rights," the agricultural development representative said. Staff said the approvals would use funds already accumulated in the PDR account and that staff would seek matching funds from the Virginia Department of Forestry to offset costs.
Supervisors praised the round of recommended PDR acceptances as a significant step for farmland preservation, while asking clarifying questions about fund balances and future fiscal impact; staff said that the conservation easement fund contains a PDR line and that after these approvals the fund would be fully expended until the next fiscal year’s allocation.
The presenting staff member disclosed a conflict of interest for one supervisor (the chair) who noted a personal interest in one of the properties and said he would recuse himself from voting later this evening.
