In Prince William, you must must meet state requirements and actively farm at least five acres for at least five years to qualify for this incentive program.
Local investment - According to Prince William's 2014 Real Estate Assessment Annual Report, 84 properties covering 34,222 acres are enrolled in the Use Value Assessment program. The total amount of deferred taxes in 2014 was $4,656,296.
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)
PDR programs offer landowners the opportunity to sell their development rights for a parcel of land to a public agency, land trust or unit of government. Each transaction includes a conservation easement that permanently limits development. PDR programs can be implemented at any scale.
Localities taking advantage of this incentive program establish a fund and criteria to prioritize investments to permanently buy development rights, leaving those properties available for purchase by farmers or others at conservation prices. Prince William County currently does not have a PDR program.
Local investment - PDR programs require a local investment to fund the program and maintain a staff position to manage the program and attract matching funds from the state, MCB Quantico’s encroachment buffering program, and other sources as available. Currently not used in Prince William County.
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
TDRs are a zoning tool that can permanently protect farmland and other resources by redirecting development from rural or other priority areas to areas that are planned for growth and development.
A TDR program would allow landowners in a designated (sending) area to sell their development rights to developers with projects in a defined (receiving) area such as the Route 1 corridor.
Local investment - Requires taxpayer funded improvements to improve infrastructure in receiving areas, where homeowners and businesses already struggle with a serious deficit of transportation options, parks, and other community needs. Currently not used in Prince William County.
True Farms produces 300,000 heads of lettuce yearly on two acres of land, using very little land for a sizeable crop. However, because their farming operation covers so little land, they and other similar farms do not qualify for Prince William's only incentive for farmers - the Use Value Assessment Program.
Jim Truesdale, owner of True Farm, thinks hydroponics are a good match for the Rural Crescent. He points out, "One of the huge advantages of hydroponics is, you don't have to have 100 acres. You can take these 10-acre parcels that came about with the Rural Crescent and develop a farm growing anything. You could grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries. There's a lot of things you could do with this type of farm."
Hydroponic and other creative farms are on the rise. The growing demand by consumers for organic and locally grown foods, the increasing cost of food and the frequent extreme weather conditions are resulting a shift in production methods, including an increase in use of hydroponic methods. The annual market value of hydroponic food products is expected to exceed $1 billion within three years.
Cluster development
Cluster development is a planning tool used as an alternative to the traditional land use approach of equal sized residential lots laid out in a grid. Cluster plans are laid out to preserve environmental features and open space with no loss to planned residential densities.
Prince William's Rural Crescent Study proposes revisions to current cluster development standards that would increase the open space requirement from 40% to 60% but double residential densities at a minimum. Access to public sewer would be allowed for properties where cluster development could “advance preservation of open space and help protect the environment,” which could cover nearly everywhere.
For perspective, Fauquier County requires open space preservation of 85% of cluster development sites. In Prince William, recent rezonings for cluster in the development area protected at least 60% of developing properties, including Vantage Point on Tanyard Hill Road and the Clark Property on Old Bridge Road.
Local Investment - Cluster development would require taxpayer investments to extend public services - roads, schools, parks, etc. - into the County's protected rural area to serve the additional residential development generated through cluster development.
