Dave Bowen: We need policies to protect Ag Reserve, our regional treasure

True to its charter as a means of preserving agriculture and allowing working farms to flourish, the farming supported by this land employs thousands of people and contributes millions of dollars annually to our county’s economy. In the Ag Reserve you can pick your own berries, buy fresh corn and tomatoes, and visit farm markets featuring produce and goods direct from the land.

Within an hour’s drive from D.C. and its suburbs, the rolling fields of the Ag Reserve afford the opportunity to go fishing, kayaking, canoeing, hunting, cycling, hiking or horseback riding. One can visit historic Civil War battlefield sites, routes of the Underground Railroad, and farms and architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries, making the Ag Reserve both an educational resource and a source of artistic inspiration in its rustic, natural beauty.

The land provides a critical habitat for wildlife, and cools and cleans our region’s air while protecting our groundwater, streams, rivers and watersheds.

The first of three public hearings before the County Council regarding the future of the Ag Reserve will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 19 in the Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville. This is our chance as community members to participate in the process that will impact the vitality and integrity of our Ag Reserve.

When the county adopted its comprehensive and unique master plan 27 years ago to protect the rural farmland of our community, it couldn’t anticipate the ways in which land use practices and policies would change over time. Increased suburban developmental pressure threatens the agricultural heart of the Ag Reserve; any new legislative or policy measures must ensure that any development keeps with the intent of the master plan, which is to preserve agriculture and rural open space.

We must tell the council to heed the recommendations of the Agriculture Policy Working Group and the Planning Board — groups experienced and trained in these issues and, with the best interests of the Ag Reserve in mind — and preserve the working farms and natural resources of our community.

Part of the legislative package submitted to the council includes two policies that support the intent of the Ag Reserve: (1) establishing the Building Lot Termination Program, which will halt building potential, enhance agricultural preservation and justly compensate land owners through agricultural easements, and (2) strengthening the transferable development rights program, which allows for the transfer of development rights away from rural areas to areas where the infrastructure exists to support development. These items deserve our support.

A third piece of the legislative package regarding child lots contains two competing amendments. Child lots are meant to perpetuate family farming, allowing multiple generations to live and work on the same land. They were not meant to promote suburban development. Unfortunately, the Agriculture Policy Working Group’s proposed amendment would allow for increased development on land intended for agriculture.

The other proposed amendment would ensure that families could not parcel off land as market-rate real estate under the auspices of the child lot provision. The latter amendment, introduced by the Planning Board, follows the intentions of the master plan and protects against abuse of the child lot provision. It is this second amendment that should be accepted.

We need policies and legislation that support the master plan and ensure the long-term vitality and sustainability of the Agriculture Reserve, local business and natural resources.

People should tell the council that the Agricultural Reserve is worth preserving, that it is a valuable part of a diverse, modern and vibrant metro region. Come to the County Office Building on Thursday and call or e-mail your council member. The Ag Reserve and its integral role in our region are too important not to take action.

Dave Bowen of Dickerson is the owner of One Yard at a Time, a horticultural business in the heart of the Agricultural Reserve. He also is on the Montgomery Countryside Alliance board of directors.