AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION

Howard County Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP)
Howard County Agricultural Land Preservation Board
Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program (MALPF)
Howard Ag Newsletter
Other Ag Resources

Batch 14 Update | Batch 14 Brochure |

Ag Preservation Easment Settlements Begin

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman is pleased to announce that the first of several “Batch 14” agricultural easement settlements took place on Friday, July 16.

“It gives me great pleasure to see landowners taking part in protecting the quality of life in Howard County by preserving their farmland for future generations,” said County Executive Ulman. “Local farms provide us with healthy, locally-grown food, scenic landscapes, jobs, recreational opportunities, and the list goes on.”

Five of the seven properties (13 originally applied) which were given preliminary offers last fall, accepted the County’s Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP) offer. With last Friday’s settlement, the 88-acre Leona Stedding property in Sykesville has been permanently preserved. The Stedding property, along with the 54-acre John L. Carroll, Jr. property, was approved by the County Council during their June 7 session. The Council must approve the Installment Purchase Agreement (IPA), the payment mechanism used to acquire the development rights. Once approved, settlement on the easements can be scheduled. The John Carroll property settlement is scheduled for August 3.

In addition, at their July 6 meeting, the Council approved the IPAs for 500 acres of the Camilla and Philip Carroll property and the 162-acre Marshall Rea property; the Rea property will go to settlement on August 4. The last remaining property (107 acres) of the initial five to accept the County’s offer, owned by the Mannarelli family, was introduced at the Council’s July 6 meeting and is scheduled to be voted on at their Thursday, July 29 meeting.

On top of the five properties previously mentioned, the County has extended offers to two additional properties whose owners have both expressed interest in placing their properties under easement; the 70-acre M&H Corporation Farm on Frederick Road in Woodbine and the 82.5-acre Zepp Farm on Rt. 32 in Sykesville. Formal offers to each owner will be made soon.

Farmland Forever Signs | Order Form | Sample Sign |

If you would like to show your pride in preservation, please complete and return the form to Joy Levy, ALPP Administrator, at 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043. Joy can also be reached at 410-313-5407 or jlevy@howardcountymd.gov.

Since 1978, Howard County has been protecting farmland through the Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP) using three methods:

(1) the purchase of agricultural preservation easements by the County,
(2) the dedication of agricultural preservation parcels as provided for in the County's zoning regulations, and
(3) the purchase of agricultural preservation easements by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.

Using these tools, the County has preserved over 20,000 acres of farmland in the Rural West of Howard County.

County Purchased Easements | See Batch 14 Announced Above

Through this voluntary program, a farmer whose land meets certain size and soil criteria can offer to sell a perpetual easement to the County, while holding fee simple title to the land and continuing to farm. The farm may be sold, but the easement, which restricts the development of the property, remains with the land and binds all future owners.

Forms and Procedures | Owner/Child Lot Process | Unrestricted Lot Process | Letter of Intent | Letter of Understanding/Owner Lot| Letter of Understanding/Child Lot | Tenant House Application |

In order for property owners to exercise the lot and dwelling rights they retain upon entering the ALPP purchased easement program, there are certain procedures that must be followed and forms to be filled out.

Policy | Permitted Uses | Forest Conservation | Parcel Division| Lot Location | Tenant House Update| Nontidal Wetland Mitigation|

The primary regulatory framework for the ALPP is Section 15.500 of the Howard County Code. In addition to the laws that govern the program, there are many policies that implement its goals.

County Dedicated Easements | Density/Cluster Exchange Option | Application Form| Soil Conservation Form|

The ALPP also accepts agricultural easements dedicated to the County as a result of the subdivision process, either as density sending parcels or cluster subdivision residue parcels.

In addition to easements purchased by the Howard County ALPP, the MALPF program also purchases agricultural easements, and has acquired almost 4,000 easement acres in Howard County. The MALPF program is administered locally, which means that any questions or requests pertaining to MALPF properties should be directed to Joy Levy.

Easement Termination | Termination Policy |

All MALPF easements prior to 2004 contain a provision that allows a property owner to petition to buy back their development rights from the State after 25 years, if it can be shown that profitable farming is no longer feasible on the property.

For an easement to be terminated, both MALPF and the county's governing body must approve the owner's request. MALPF's responsibilty is to judge economic feasibility. Howard County executive Ken Ulman has approved a policy for termination review that focuses on land use priorities, including consistency with comprehensive planning goals and the effect of termination on vicinal properties.

The original intent of the MALPF easement was that it would be perpetual, and that termination would require extraordinary circumstances. Howard County will work very hard to protect the investment it has made in agricultural preservation over the years.

The ALPB makes recommendations to the County Executive on the acquisition of new agricultural land preservation easement properties, reviews proposals concerning land already subject to an easement and assists ALPP staff with policy creation and refinement.

This quartlerly newsletter consolidates the communications of the ALPP, the Howard County Economic Development Authority's Agricultural Marketing Program and the Howard County Cooperative Extension office.

The ALPP works closely with other agencies within the County to provide support to the agricultural community.

Temporary office relocated to 8930 Stanford Boulevard, Columbia, MD 21045
Department of Planning and Zoning | 3430 Court House Drive | Ellicott City, MD 21043
Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm | Phone: 410-313-2350 | Fax: 410-313-3467