More than 2,300 acres.

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1 FUNDING LAND CONSERVATION PRESERVING LAND Northampton County Townships Find Formula That Works for Land Conservation Many rural townships, feeling the pressure to develop open space, want to be able to preserve some of that land for future generations. Seven townships in Northampton County have undertaken a successful program to raise local funds for land conservation that ensures their communities will retain their rural character for years to come. BY BRENDA WILT / ASSOCIATE EDITOR More than 2,300 acres. That s how much farmland has been conserved in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, thanks to a ¼-percent earned income tax the township collects for open space and farmland preservation. We are putting a concerted effort into farmland preservation, says Terry Kleintop, chairman of the Plainfield Township Environmental Advisory Council. We also have a couple hundred acres of open space as parks and a trail. Plainfield is one of seven townships in the county that collects the tax, which was approved by voter referendum. Bushkill, Lower Mount Bethel, Lower Saucon, Moore, Upper Mount Bethel, and Williams townships also participate. The tax has proven to be an effective way for the municipalities to raise funds to purchase land and conservation easements to ensure that their communities retain their rural character. A recently developed countymunicipal farmland preservation program has given participating townships even more bang for their buck, allowing them to stretch those open space funds even further. Maximizing purchasing power State law authorizes local governments to levy a tax on real estate or earned income for land conservation upon referendum approval. (See the sidebar on Page 40 for an overview of the state laws that authorize townships to implement and fund farmland and open space preservation programs.) Plainfield Township voters approved the earned income tax hike for open space preservation in In 2012, the township collected $381,000, and over six years, had preserved 29 farms totaling 2,339 acres, supervisor Jane Mellert says. To maximize its purchasing power, 34 PA TownshipNews MARCH 2013

2 the township has been participating in the Northampton County Partnership Program since its inception in 2010, Kleintop says. This initiative allows participating townships to allocate all or part of their open space funds to the county, which pools it with county dollars to leverage state money. This not only increases the available funding for both the county and townships, which receive a portion of the state funding, but also allows townships to preserve farms that do not rank high enough on the county list. All farms whose owners have applied for conservation are ranked by the county based on state criteria for such things as soil quality, acreage, and location, Kleintop says. Depending on the available funding each year, the county invites farm owners to begin the preservation process in the order of their farm s county ranking. Many times, some very decent farms couldn t get high enough on the list, even after applying four or five times, he says. By participating in the county-municipal program, the township can step in and preserve some of these smaller farms. Last year, that wasn t even necessary. For the first time, Northampton County was able to approach all the farms on its list due to a perfect storm of circumstances, county Farmland Preservation Administrator Maria Bentzoni says. Lower land values, combined with the committed county allocation, participation by municipalities, and a larger allocation from the state, allowed us to approach 30 farms in 2012, she says. Fifteen of them have signed up to begin the process. In fact, Northampton County received the largest allocation of state matching funds because of the amount it was able to put forward with the mu- Nearly 15,000 acres of land have been conserved in Northampton County, much of it on farms, such as those pictured at right. The county s farmland preservation program enables municipalities to protect smaller farms that do not rank high enough on the county-state list to begin the conservation process. (Photos courtesy of Northampton County Farmland Preservation Program.) MARCH 2013 PA TownshipNews 35

3 FUNDING LAND CONSERVATION nicipal participation. The county allocated $2 million, and Moore, Plainfield, and Upper and Lower Mount Bethel townships gave roughly $2 million combined. Those funds leveraged a little over $2 million from the state, some of which will go back to the participating townships, a unique aspect of the Northampton County program. For example, in 2010, the first year of the county-municipal program, Moore Township allocated $1 million to the program and received $350,000 in matching funds. Plainfield Township, which allocated $700,000, received $300,000 in state funds. The partnership program is a winwin, Bentzoni says. Municipalities are earning the dollars from the earned income tax but don t have the mechanism in place to make the land acquisitions, she says. The county has the mechanism but not enough funds. The partnership also enables the preservation of smaller farms to complete the jigsaw puzzle of preserved farms in the county, she says. Northampton County Executive John Stoffa, a leading advocate for open space preservation, would like to see one-third of the county preserved, Bentzoni says, which amounts to about 28,000 acres. Currently, the county is approaching 15,000 acres. It takes time Upper Mount Bethel Township has also been participating in the countymunicipal program since 2010, although it has not yet preserved any farms under it, manager Maureen Sterner says. However, six farms are on the county list this year, and it appears the county is on track once again to approach all the farms on the list. The township allocated $200,000 to the program last year and will do the same in 2013, she says. Sixty-seven percent of township voters approved the referendum for an open space tax several years ago, supervisor Judith Henckel says. The timing was right, she says. It came at the height of development We re a township that went from very rural 30 years ago to one with a lot of development pressure. This program allows us to preserve what is left. 36 PA TownshipNews MARCH 2013

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5 FUNDING LAND CONSERVATION Plainfield Township is one of seven in Northampton County that has adopted a ¼-percent earned income tax to fund open space preservation. The township has protected more than 2,300 acres of farmland, including these two farms. (Photos courtesy of Plainfield Township.) pressure, and people started to realize they valued the rural character of the township. Plus, because it s an earned income tax, only people who are working will pay it, so it doesn t put a burden on seniors, for example. The township has about 1,000 acres of farmland that has been preserved through the existing county-state preservation program, Henckel says. For the most part, people are on board with the open space tax, although it requires constant education about the value of conservation. Some people will say that we re not spending the money fast enough, she says. Some farms are in the process, but the sales haven t closed yet. People don t realize how long the process takes. Northampton County s Maria Bentzoni realizes all too well. From application to cash in hand and close of easement can take up to two years, she says. The appraisal needs three months, for example, because a single farm is not an appraiser s only client. Surveying can take another three months because there are often crops and difficult geography to deal with. Title work often takes up to three months, and the county s staff of two needs another three months to do everything on their end. That s one year right there. You also rarely get a farm that doesn t have some other issue, such as back taxes or even family opposition, she says. Every farm has its own story. Henckel attributes the success of the township s preservation program to its Open Space Advisory Board, which works separately from the Environmental Advisory Council, and regional meetings with the other municipalities that have similar programs. We all learn from each other, she says. We talk about how it is working, what problems come up, and what kind of criticism we get. Looking for opportunities Like Upper Mount Bethel Township, Lower Saucon Township has a designated committee to handle preservation requests. The Open Space Subcommittee is responsible for meeting with landowners who approach the township about preservation and touring the land, EAC chair Sandra Yerger says. The committee gives the property a score by awarding points for various features and then brings it back to the EAC, which uses GIS maps of the land Pennsylvania has some of the finest agricultural soils in the country, and preserving them is very important. 38 PA TownshipNews MARCH 2013

6 and other tools to make a determination. If the environmental advisory council deems the property worthy of conservation, it recommends that the township council pursue it. (Lower Saucon Township is a home-rule municipality with a manager-council form of government.) To date, the township has preserved 285 acres with the funds it generates from the ¼-percent earned income tax, which comes to about $1 million each year. We have purchased mostly conservation easements, Yerger says. The last property we closed on was a little over 70 acres. The township primarily works on its own, although it has partnered with the Wildlands Conservancy and the Heritage Conservancy, where Yerger works as associate director of development, to co-hold easements or act as beneficiary. Lower Saucon has also used funds from the county and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a few acquisitions. When opportunities match the criteria for an acquisition, we will look for outside funding to stretch our dollars, she says. Bushkill Township also acts independently to preserve land using its earned income tax allocation. The township s open space fund grows by about $600,000 with each year s collection, manager Brian Harris says. The program has really taken off over the last three years, he says, partly because of the drop in land values. The township has preserved nearly 500 acres through conservation easements, Harris says, using as its guide the Bushkill Township in Northampton County has protected about 500 acres, such as the tract pictured at the top of the page. A diagram of the township s easements (red and yellow spaces on the map) illustrates the push to preserve the corridor that stretches from Jacobsburg State Park (the large green space at the lower right) to the Appalachian Trail (the green swath across the top of the map), which divides the township from Monroe County. (Photo and map courtesy of Bushkill Township.) MARCH 2013 PA TownshipNews 39

7 FUNDING LAND CONSERVATION official map, which indicates priority areas for conservation. Each year, we try to send out letters to large landowners about the preservation program, he says. Once you have an easement on one or two farms, the owners will recommend them to others. Consequently, 90 percent of large landowners know the program exists. If you can t sell it to the residents and they don t understand what you re doing, it will fail, Harris says. The key to getting public support is to remind residents that conservation is a way to preserve the rural character of the community, the funds can only be used for open space preservation, and the demand for services is much lower for preserved land than if it were developed, he says. We re a township that went from very rural 30 years ago to one with a lot of development pressure, he says. This program allows us to preserve what is left. Although the township does not participate in the county farmland preservation program, it does leverage state and county funds for some acquisitions. For example, the township recently preserved a $1.27 million 90-acre tract using $656,000 from DCNR s Community Conservation Partnership Program, $300,000 from the county, and the rest from the township. The township purchased the property, Harris says, and the land will remain a passive recreation area. Harris credits the township s environmental advisory council for the success of the program. It works very closely with the board of supervisors, and they re all on the same page, he says. Having a good EAC makes a huge difference. If the EAC or the open space committee works with the governing board and has a good plan and dedicated funding in place, a land conservation program should be successful, he says. LAND PRESERVATION State laws authorize townships to conserve land Three state laws give townships the power to implement and fund land preservation programs in Pennsylvania. The statutes and their major provisions are: Act 153 of 1996, which amends Act 442 of 1967, the Conservation and Land Development Act Broadens the ability of local governments to acquire interests in real property, including development rights, to provide recreation land and conserve scenic, historic, and natural resources; farmland; forest lands; and areas for pure and adequate water supply. Authorizes local governments to levy a tax on real estate or earned income above the existing limits of state laws upon referendum approval. Authorizes local governments to acquire land in fee simple (the local government has absolute ownership). The land must be resold within two years after restrictive easements or covenants have been placed on it. Requires that before purchase, land or development rights must be identified in an adopted resource, recreation, or land use plan recommended by the municipal or county planning commission. Act 4 of 2006, which amends Act 153 (see above) Authorizes the three local taxing authorities (county, municipality, and school district) to freeze the millage on land for which the development potential has been removed, such as through conservation easements. Requires that all three taxing authorities agree to participate in the tax freeze. Act 138 of 1998, which amends Act 43 of 1981, the Agricultural Area Security Law Authorizes local governments to purchase agricultural conservation easements to preserve farmland in agricultural security areas. Provides that local governments may act on their own or in cooperation with the county or state as joint owners of preserved farmland. Allows local governments to incur debt to purchase such easements. The Hahn farm in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, has been conserved through the county-municipal preservation program. (Photo courtesy of Northampton County.) 40 PA TownshipNews MARCH 2013

8 Conservation has many benefits Townships that might be considering an open space program should keep in mind the many benefits of land conservation, Lower Saucon Township s Sandra Yerger says. The self-proclaimed tree-hugger says that preserving farmland and natural features are both necessary. Pennsylvania has some of the finest agricultural soils in the country, and preserving them is very important, she says. Keeping the capacity to produce our food impacts everyone. The state Department of Agriculture is even trying to get the agricultural soils in some areas of the commonwealth, such as Lancaster County, designated as national treasures. Pennsylvania also has one of the largest number of free-flowing streams in the country, and the biggest impact on water quality is what is or isn t done on the adjacent land, Yerger says. In fact, the best stormwater mitigation measures are natural features, which provide filtration. The cost of infrastructure to do what a tree does naturally is phenomenal, she says. We have a lot of unique flora and fauna that are vital to keep around for future generations. We have a natural legacy that is important to preserve. Yerger is quick to assert that she is not against development, though. There has to be a balance between responsible growth and protecting our natural resources, she says. We re trying to keep that balance in our township. It s a lot more expensive to fix a problem after the fact than prevent it in the first place. F For more information about the Northampton County Farmland Preservation Program, call Maria Bentzoni at (610) or go to www. northamptoncounty.org, click on County Government at the top of the page, and then choose Farmland Preservation in the column on the left. MARCH 2013 PA TownshipNews 41