Agricultural land preservation programs : a critical investigation of land-use planning techniques

Abstract

The loss of agricultural land to urban uses has increasingly become a subject of major concern to planners, governments, and the rural community. In following, it was the purpose of this research to investigate the loss of agricultural lands to other land-uses and the methods employed to prevent such losses. There are three basic types of land-use controls (i.e., the police power, the power of eminent domain, and the power to tax) available to state and local governments. Of these, police power and the power to tax are the most commonly used land preservation techniques. The first state to create a tax relief program to preserve agricultural land was Maryland in 1956. Since then all 50 states have adopted some form of prevention measure. The various methods include: (1) Preferential Property Tax Assessment; (2) Preferential Property Tax Assessment with Deferred Taxation; (3) Preferential Property Tax Assessment with Restrictive Agreement; (4) Circuit Breaker Tax Credits; (5) Capital Gain Tax; (6) Inheritance and Estate Taxation; (7) Comprehensive Planning; (8) Agricultural Zoning; (9) Agricultural Districting; (10) Purchase of Development Rights; (11) Purchase and Resale or Lease with Restrictions; (12) Development Permit System; (13) Transfer of Development Rights; (14) Right to Farm; and (15) Land Banking. The most frequently used land preservation method is the "inheritance and estate taxation" technique followed by "preferential property tax assessment with deferred taxation" and then by "right to farm laws." This research investigated the effectiveness of three state agricultural land preservation programs (i.e., California, North Carolina, and Wisconsin) and identified and evaluated those shortcomings and/or patterns that existed in these programs. Each state program utilized different land preservation techniques, each with varying degrees of success. The degree of success was based upon the amount of local government participation with the stage program and/or with their own localized program. Based on the analysis of the research data, a model (Rural Land Preservation Model) was formulated for planning and implementing new agricultural land preservation programs. The loss and protection of the Nation's agricultural lands is a problem that local jurisdictions cannot handle effectively. The solution to this problem must be accomplished by State and/or Federal government involvement.