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CPPC 06-11-01 Meeting Agenda,�fl Ctaocd, COUNTY of FREDERICK Department of Planning and Development MEMORANDUM TO: Comprehensive Plans and Programs Subcommittee FROM: Eric R. Lawrence, Deputy Director �LL' RE: June Meeting and Agenda DATE: June 5, 2001 540/665-5651 FAX: 540/665-6395 The Frederick County Comprehensive Plans and Programs Subcommittee (CPPS) will be meeting on Monday, June 11, 2001, at 7:30 p.m. in the first floor conference room of the County Administration Building, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia. The CPPS will discuss the following agenda items: AGENDA Items 1 and 2 will be discussed during concurrent sessions 1) Rural Areas Policy review. Discussion regarding the Comprehensive Policy Plan Action Program (Chapter 10). 2) Discussion regarding Purchase of Development Rights (PDR). 3) Other. Staff has been directed to advise all committee members and liaisons that access to the County Administration Building for night meetings that do not occur in the Board room will be limited to the back door of the four-story wing. I would encourage committee members to park in the county parking lot located behind the new addition or in the Joint Judicial Center parking lot and follow the sidewalk to the back door of the four-story wing. Please contact our department if you are unable to attend this meeting. Thank you. U:Tric\Common\CPPSUune 1 12001.CPPS.agenda.wpd 107 North gent Strvet • Winchester, Virginia 22601-500 ITEM #I COMPREHENSIVE POLICY PLAN ACTION PROGRAM The Action Program of the Comprehensive Policy Plan (Chapter 10) contains goals, proposed actions, and ongoing activities intended to assist in implementing the County's plan for physical development of the community. These program items have been identified over the years as means for implementing the Plan. As development trends and the county's vision may change over time, the identified program items may necessitate modifications to accurately reflect today's vision of the future. The CPPS has been reviewing the Action Program the last few months. At the June meeting, the CPPS will be presented a comparison of the Action Program and the 2020 Vision Project. The Vision Project was a citizen's commission report conducted in the early 90's. The Vision Project, similar to the County's Comprehensive Policy Plan, identified issues that the community will need to address in the next 30 years. Attached is a portion of the Vision Project pertaining to agriculture. In conducting the comparison, and the ensuing discussion at the CPPB, staffhopes to identify issues that were included in the Vision Project that should also be included in the County's Comprehensive Policy Plan. Ll'" c�Ag-r-W011os 1 e * :y x 0 To determine the future of the land agriculture industry in the Winchester -Frederick County area. J To determine how agriculture can remain compatible with investor efforts to purchase land for development and to determine what should be done to encourage preserva- tion of the industry despite development pressure. This committee believes after its deliberations that the land agri- culture industry will be influenced by a variety of factors, including land cost, availability of labor, the strength of agricultural markets, government regulation, and reactionary consumer responses. It is likely that the majority of the fruit crop, mainly apples, will be Produced by less than 10 major growers despite the strong local fruit processing base. The average per -farm acreage could drop 50 per- cent in the most extreme estimate but is more likely to be in the 25 percent range. The fruit processing industry has a strong base in the area. There will be decreases in the number of dairy, commercial beef, and swine operations, as well as decreases in crop production such as corn, soybeans, and hay. On the other hand, vegetable crops, greenhouses, and part-time sheep and beef operations will probably increase. Overall, the coun- ty's orientation toward fruit, particularly apples and peaches, is expected to continue. In general, agricultural production will probably decrease propor- tional to development pressure, but the agriculture industry—which at the present provides roughly 400 full-time jobs, up to 1,500 part- time jobs, sales of $20 million, and does most of its purchasing on a local level—is in a position to continue to play a crucial role in Frederick County's future. While the fruit acreage will be concentrated in fewer producers, the beef industry is likely to swing the other direction to include a greater number of part-time participants. Due to continually rising = -` =--- land costs and the restrictions that accompany this, it is probable that & the agricultural operations of the future are the farms in operation It is very difficult to coordinate develop- ment's interests in land with agriculture, but proper zoning could help lessen the conflict. The key to compatibility is the continued profitability of both. This can only be achieved through careful and thorough planning. If agri- culture is to survive, this must be pursued immediately before its demise. The protection that proper zoning can provide for open lands, and therefore agriculture, can be a powerful tool. The preservation of the agri- cultural industry in the face of development pressures can be encouraged by public education to increase awareness and con- cern of the potential loss. Increasing markets for local products and providing mone- tary incentives, particularly through changes in agricultural land use taxation, can help. The protection that proper zoning can provide for open lands, and therefore agriculture, proves to be a powerful tool in the effort to further their preservation. The strength of a community can often be related to its diver- sification. A compatible mixture of residential and varied industri- al interests provides the ability to weather economic downturns in a particular sector. From the industrial viewpoint, agriculture remains a strong segment of Frederick County's economic makeup. The open land that agriculture provides contributes to a high quality of life. This contribution must not be under- estimated. Now is the time to ensure that steps are taken to prevent the loss of the valuable asset our land and agriculture form. Agriculture can remain com- patible with investor efforts to purchase land for development, at least in part by following three guidelines: 2 Designating agricultural lands by zoning. This could work but only if the problem of undermining property values is addressed. ® Investor purchase with farmer lease. This could be a short-term remedy for a long- range dilemma. ® Purchase of development rights by government. This could be done to keep certain areas open but would be expen- sive. There are certain things that must be done to preserve the agriculture industry in the coun- ty. The first step is a commitment to that end. After the commit- ment several concrete steps should be taken. They are: N Zoning. With thought, zoning can be used to preserve prime soils for agricultural use, thereby reducing the number of those at a disadvantage for attempting to farm on poor ground. Buffer zones between developed prop- erties and agricultural operations can be required in an effort to lessen the impact on each other. Deed covenants that restrict farming or forest practices in cer- tain areas can be disallowed. M Education can increase awareness and concern. This can be done through institutions already in place, such as the 4-H, FFA and school systems, and through carefully planned estate planning which would increase the likelihood of passing proper- ties down to future generations. For example, mentor programs could be established whereby younger people eager to learn farming practices could be paired with older, established agricultural businessmen who are willing to teach them. The program could be coordinated through the schools. V Increase markets for local produce. A regional farmer's market or co-ops could do this and funding might be supplied through the Industrial Develop- ment Authority. El Monetary incentives. Taxa- tion more attractive to agricultur- al interests could be established. Land use itself could be strength- ened by increasing the differen- tial between it and non -land use. The tax rollback, instead of encompassing only the last five years, could extend back to the actual onset of agricultural: use. Agricultural practices can be required to be actually imple- mented, as well as written forest land management programs. Other possible incentives can be provided by the initiation of transferable development rights and the promotion of conserva- tion easements on individual farms. continued on page 39 Recommendations continues from page 27 ® Increase emphasis on a com- munity -wide approach for the education and treatment of ado- lescents and families who have chemical dependency problems. Give access to child care facilities or child enrichment programs for the families of patients involved with chemical dependency pro- grams. Build a community Juve- nile Detention Center and an Adolescent Crisis Stabilization Center staffed by adequately trained adolescent therapists. Provide funding for residential nd outpatient care for the indi- gent with a chemical dependen- cy. ® Build a second water line to channel the city's water supply in the city of Winchester. M In Frederick County require that all wells be Class 2. Require the use of fiberglass tanks that do not rust or leak. Increase the minimum footage allowed between septic systems and rock. Enforce Water Control Board regulations concerning aban- doned well preparation. Enforce and assist landowners with Water Control Board regulations con- cerning farm area runoff. Increase the use of alternative septic systems such as sand filtra- tion. Increase septic system inspections to four times a year for mechanical systems and two times a year for sand filtration systems. Implement a feasibility study for the development of a quarry system with a water treat- ment facility in Frederick County. ® Institute an extensive public education program on sexually transmitted diseases. Institute AIDS screening for marriage licenses, prenatal cases, prisoners etc. Enforce epidemiological fol- low-up of AIDS and HN -positive patients as diligently as individu- als with other sexually transmit- ted diseases. Enforce criminal prosecution for intentional trans- mission of the virus. Provide public distribution of free con- doms and sterile syringes. Recommendations continues from page 29 Welfare ® Establish a central planning council to provide a source of information of available social services and to insure that needs are met throughout the popula- tion. 0 Local governments should make it a priority to fund solu- tions to local needs, whether or not such funding will be reim- bursed by state or federal author- ities. FA Affordable housing, whether financed by public or private funds, must be created to stabi- lize the personal and financial lives of those on limited incomes. ® Preservation of the stability and the quality of family life must be a priority of local gov- ernment, schools, and churches. ® Accessible vocational training and retraining must be increased to allow those of limited skills to adapt to a changing economic environment. !I Support local research. ties specific to our area can be emmental efficiency and Ongoing research into better supported either by staff or mon- decrease regulation. echniques, increased produc- etarily. Hand in hand with this tion, new crops and opportuni- can go attempts to increase gov-