GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1132*

Short Title:  Preserve Farmlands/Promote Small Farms.  	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Insko; and Gardner.

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Referred to:  Agriculture.

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April 15, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE PRESERVATION OF FARMLAND, TO PROMOTE SMALL, FAMILY-OWNED FARMS, AND TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF SUBDIVISIONS SUBJECT TO REGULATION UNDER CHAPTER 153A OF THE GENERAL STATUTES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 106-737 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106-737. Qualifying farmland.
In order for farmland to qualify under this Article, it must be real property that satisfies all of the following conditions:
(1)	Is participating in the farm present-use-value taxation program established by G.S. 105-277.2 through 105-277.7 or is otherwise determined by the county to meet all the qualifications of this program set forth in G.S. 105-277.3.
(2)	Is certified by the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture as being a farm on which at least two-thirds of the land is composed of soils that (i) are best suited for providing food, seed, fiber, forage, timber, and oil seed crops, (ii) have good soil qualities, (iii) are favorable for all major crops common to the county where the land is located, (iv) have a favorable growing season, and (v) receive the available moisture needed to produce high yields an average of eight out of 10 years; or on which at least two-thirds of the land has been actively used in agricultural, horticultural or forestry operations as defined in G.S. 105-277.2(1), (2), and (3) during each of the five previous years, measured from the date on which the determination must be made as to whether the land in question qualifies.
(3)	Is managed in accordance with the Soil Conservation Service defined erosion control practices that are addressed to highly erodable land.
(4)	Is the subject of a conservation agreement, as defined in G.S. 121-35, between the county and the owner of such land that prohibits nonfarm use or development of such land for a period of at least 10 years, except for the creation of not more than three lots that meet applicable county zoning and subdivision regulations.
(5)	Is not a farm that has an animal waste management system having a design capacity of 600,000 pounds steady state live weight or more."
Section 2.  G.S. 106-744(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	There is established a ‘North Carolina Farmland Preservation Trust Fund' to be administered by the Commissioner of Agriculture.  The Trust Fund shall consist of all monies received for the purpose of purchasing agricultural conservation easements or farmland development rights or transferred from counties or private sources.  The Trust Fund shall be invested as provided in G.S. 147-69.2 and G.S. 147-69.3.  The Commissioner of Agriculture shall use Trust Fund monies to match any county funds to establish and support a county agricultural economic development director to promote agricultural economic development in that county and to improve the economics of farming in that county by farmers of small, family-owned farms.  The Commissioner may use Trust Fund monies for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements and farm development rights, including transaction costs for both, and may distribute Trust Fund monies for such purchases, including transaction costs, as follows:
(1)	To private nonprofit conservation organizations.
(2)	To counties according to the match requirements under subsection (c1) of this section.
(c1)	A county that has prepared a countywide farmland protection plan and zoned areas in the county for long-term agriculture use shall match twenty-five percent (25%) of the Trust Fund monies it receives with county funds.  A county that has either prepared a countywide farmland protection plan or zoned areas in the county for long-term agriculture use shall match forty percent (40%) of the Trust Fund monies it receives with county funds.  A county that has neither prepared a countywide farmland protection plan nor zoned areas in the county for long-term agriculture use shall match fifty percent (50%) of the Trust Fund monies it receives with county funds.
(c2)	The Commissioner of Agriculture shall adopt rules governing the use, distribution, investment, and management of Trust Fund monies."
Section 3.  G.S. 106-744 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( c3)	Farmers of small, family-owned farms in voluntary agriculture districts shall have priority in receiving technical assistance from any agricultural economic development director paid in part with Trust Fund monies under subsection (c) of this section."
Section 4.  G.S. 106-744 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( e)	As used in subsection (c1) of this section, a countywide farmland protection plan means a plan that satisfies all of the following requirements:
(1)	The countywide farmland protection plan shall contain a list and description of existing agricultural activity in the county.
(2)	The countywide farmland protection plan shall contain a list of existing challenges to continued family farming in the county.
(3)	The countywide farmland protection plan shall contain a list of opportunities for maintaining or enhancing small, family-owned farms and the local agricultural economy.
(4)	The countywide farmland protection plan shall describe how the county plans to maintain a viable agricultural community and shall address farmland preservation tools, such as agricultural economic development, including farm diversification and marketing assistance; other kinds of agricultural technical assistance, such as farm infrastructure financing, farmland purchasing, linking with younger farmers, and estate planning; the desirability and feasibility of donating agricultural conservation easements, entering into voluntary agricultural districts, transferring development rights, and zoning for long-term agricultural use areas."
Section 5.  G.S. 153A-335 reads as rewritten:
"§ 153A-335. ‘Subdivision' defined.
For purposes of this Part, ‘subdivision' means all divisions of a tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, building sites, or other divisions for the purpose of sale or building development (whether immediate or future) and includes all division of land involving the dedication of a new street or a change in existing streets; however, the following is not included within this definition and is not subject to any regulations enacted pursuant to this Part:
(1)	The combination or recombination of portions of previously subdivided and recorded lots if the total number of lots is not increased and the resultant lots are equal to or exceed the standards of the county as shown in its subdivision regulations;
(2)	The division of land into parcels greater than 50 acres if no street right-of-way dedication is involved;
(3)	The public acquisition by purchase of strips of land for widening or opening streets; and
(4)	The division of a tract in single ownership the entire area of which is no greater than two acres into not more than three lots, if no street right-of-way dedication is involved and if the resultant lots are equal to or exceed the standards of the county as shown by its subdivision regulations."
Section 6.  Sections 1 through 4 of this act become effective July 1, 1999.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.