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Michigan
Monroe County Adopts Farmland Preservation Ordinance
Launched by the Monroe County Community Foundation and Temperance-based Community College at their Land Use Summit in 2004, an intensive educational and public input process has resulted in the county's just-adopted Farmland Preservation Ordinance, with Planning Director Royce Maniko hailing it as ''one of many 'smart growth' tools'' jurisdictions can use to save agriculture and open space and to secure long-term rural land productivity and viability.
Drawn up by a task force under Planning Commission Chairwoman Mary Webb and former Cooperative Extension Director Dale Brose, after public workshops in each township and consultation with experts, reports Monroe News writer Stephanie Ariganello, the ordinance makes the county eligible for state Agricultural Preservation Fund grants to buy ''development rights easements'' from willing farmers from townships that join the program.
Since land for development usually goes for more than land for agriculture, the writer notes, farmers who retire or look for other income often feel they must take advantage of selling to developers.
Participation in the land preservation program relieves that financial pressure, with the county paying them the difference between land for agriculture and land for development and holding their development rights in trust.
''It's been clear from the beginning of the process that preserving Monroe County's rural heritage is a priority for the vast majority of county residents,'' said Chairwoman Webb. ''The ordinance is a first step toward protecting our farmland and open space for the benefit of future generations.'' -- Monroe News 9/3/2007
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