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Buncombe LCAP proposes annual application cycle, adds closing-agent form to speed easement funding
Summary
County staff presented a shift from a rolling Land Conservation Assistance Program application cycle to a single annual fiscal-year cycle, a closing-agent form to release easement-purchase funds at closing, and a waiver for time-sensitive projects; staff outlined June–August review steps and a projected September county funding approval.
Ariel, a county LCAP staff member, told the Land Conservation Advisory Board that the program will move from a rolling application schedule to an annual, fiscal-year application cycle to reduce staff burden and create clearer budget planning. She said the board will see all applicants in one consolidated presentation window, with site visits and online evaluations before a final board decision.
"So this type of funding is a reimbursement grant. So the land trust has to front these these costs, and then they provide us with invoices and proof of payment," Ariel said, explaining the transaction-cost reimbursement option and the separate easement-purchase funding process that will now use a closing-agent agreement to release funds directly at closing. She said staff expects applicants to present in June, conduct site visits between June and August, present scores and questions in August, then transmit recommended awards to the county commissioners for final funding approval in September. Ariel also described a "time-sensitive unique project waiver process" for midyear projects that need quick action.
Board members pressed staff on timeline practicality. Ariel estimated the consolidated application would likely capture about 5–7 projects from the LCAP pipeline and said the county’s proposed conservation-easement allocation remained at $750,000 in the staff proposal pending the commissioners’ budget adoption. Staff said they would send an updated timeline and a Doodle poll to schedule site visits and suggested limiting site-visit teams to two or three members to avoid forming a quorum and triggering a public-meeting requirement.
Next steps: applications are due per the staff timeline (board members said they expect more detail after the June application date), staff will circulate the closing-agent form to land-trust partners, and the board will consider site-visit schedules and any waiver requests for time-sensitive projects.
