TESTIMONY
To: Montgomery County National Park and Planning Commission
Date: February 22, 2007
Re: Final Report of the Ad Hoc Agricultural Policy Working Group
From: Anne Cinque, Ph. D.
Good afternoon Chairman Hanson and members of the Board and staff. My name is Anne Cinque and I am here today to represent the Sugarloaf Citizens Association, a large and diverse group of up-county residents. The Association very much appreciates the work of the Ad Hoc Group and of the Planning Board for its time and concern for the Agricultural Reserve.
The Association's Board addressed and voted on the Final Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group. I presented the results of the Board's votes on the various issues. All of the opinions I express were explicitly endorses the Board's votes.
TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS PROGRAM
The Board agrees with the recommendation for increasing TDR receiving areas to include industrial, central business districts and commercial zones. It recognizes that this issue is difficult and complex and supports research by the County to determine the impact on down county receiving areas where adding density my become an issue.
CHILD LOTS
The Board supports the current law as written and thinks it should be enforced as to the law's original intent. BONUS DENSITY ON TOP OF CHILD LOTS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED.
The five-year residency requirement should be longer. There should be other regulations imposed to prevent "flipping" of the property.
The Board supports the stand that the County must put into place an ENFORCABLE MONITORING MECHANISM that is not complaint based.
The Board supports the stand that child lots could be created after death as long as the intent to create the child lot is clearly documented in a will or other document accepted by the Court during probate.
SAND MOUNDS
The Board endorses the remarks and rationale outlined in "Comment 2" (page A-8-A-9) of the report where the comment states that the Functional Master Plan speaks strongly AGAINST ALTERNATIVE INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS USAGE IN THE RDT ZONE. The intent of the Master Plan is clear in its effort to use sanitation management tools to limit growth in the RDT zone and this intent should be maintained.
BUILDING TERMINATION EASEMENT PROGRAM
The Board maintains that, if the program is adopted, the County needs to develop standards similar to the State and County programs for use in considering landowner applications. These standards should be based upon those in existing programs such as the Legacy Open Space.
PENDING LEGISLATION
The Board feels strongly that the issue of impervious surfaces and PIF need to be reviewed and new legislation drafted to address these issues in order to protect the Agricultural Reserve. The Board supports the 15% limitation on impervious surfaces in the RDT zone. The Board is AGAINST the adoption of the Ad Hoc Committee's recommendation on this matter.
ADITIONAL ISSUES
AIR QUALITY
The Board is very concerned about the air quality issues. The Board recommends that the burning of plant life or cutting of vegetation for purposes of building residences should not be allowed. The Board a recommends that clear cutting of mature hedgerows or forests should be subject to a review process, and the requirement be well publicized and an agency assigned to have full enforcement powers. The Board questions why this issue is not part of Rustic Roads.
EDUCATION
The Board strongly believes that there need to be education programs in place to support and encourage traditional and alternative farming in the Agricultural Reserve. The Board strongly recommends that they be tasked with developing a comprehensive economic development plan for diversified farming in the Agricultural Reserve. Virginia has a program, which could serve as a model for the type of diversity needed for training of the agricultural extension agents.
DESIGN STANDARDS
The Board believes that site-specific design standards should be in place as a means of maintaining the viability of the land for agriculture. It is recognized that these cannot be "one size fits all" standards.
TENANT HOMES
The Board believes that there should be new requirements to ensure that the ownership of tenant homes not be transferred to individuals not employed on the farm. The Board recommends that there should be a limit on the number of tenant homes allowed and that this limit should be dependent on the type of agriculture.