Title
Voluntary Agricultural District Program Memorandum of Understanding
Action
Action:
Adopt a resolution to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Mecklenburg County regarding the establishment of a Voluntary Agricultural District Program within the City of Charlotte and the city's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Monica Holmes, Planning, Design, and Development
External Resource(s):
Erin Stanforth, Mecklenburg County
Explanation
* Farmland preservation is a priority of Mecklenburg County. Mecklenburg County's Farmland Preservation Plan states that the county is committed to protecting farmland through voluntary programs that incentivize land preservation, conservation, and legacy. One strategy to ensure this commitment is to establish a Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) Ordinance in Mecklenburg County.
* The purpose of the VAD ordinance is to:
* Promote the values and general welfare of Mecklenburg County agriculture by increasing the identity of, and pride in, the agricultural community and its way of life;
* Decrease the likelihood of legal disputes, such as nuisance actions, between farm owners and their neighbors; and
* Increase protection from non-farm development.
* A VAD Ordinance must be adopted by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to establish this voluntary program. To bring this VAD Ordinance to the BOCC, Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) must be established between the county and each municipality, including the City of Charlotte, allowing bona fide farms within their respective municipal boundaries to participate.
* A bona fide farm is a farm, recognized by the State of North Carolina, that participates in the production of and has activities related or incidental to the production of crops, grains, fruits, vegetables, ornamental and flowering plants, dairy, livestock, poultry, and all other forms of agriculture.
* Mecklenburg County is asking City Council to approve the resolution s...
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