A Success Story:
Land Preservation at its Best
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On November 1, 2003, a 159-acre farm sold at public auction "as is" for $920,000. In 1991, the late owners had placed a perpetual agricultural conservation easement on their property with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation ("MALPF") and reserved the right to use the land "for any farm use, and to carry on all normal farming practices".
In today's market, such a price ($5,250 per acre) for choice farmland with Agricultural zoning (1 unit/10 acres) would have been considered a steal. This farm, however, has one main house and one tenant house, and the late owners did not exercise their right to create 1-acre "child lots" for the exclusive use of their offspring. In addition, none of the development rights may be transferred to "another area, or to another person, or to a political subdivision."
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The auctioneer and the Personal Representative of the Estate of the late owners made it repeatedly clear the this MALPF easement is perpetual, i.e., intended to last forever, that any subdivision of the land would be permitted only with the consent of Harford County Government and the State of Maryland. They also emphasized that after 25 years, if farming is no longer economically feasible, the owner could apply to MALPF to remove the conservation easement and to purchase the development rights at their fair market value then, i.e., in the Year 2016 or later, but that it is extremely unlikely that that approval can be obtained, as provided by the Agricultural Article's Section 2-514, Annotated Code of Md.
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photo: Courtesy of O'Neill Enterprises, Ltd.
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In 1991, MALPF paid the now late owners $237,000 for preserving their farm from development. Since then, too, the property has received a 100% credit for the yearly Real Property tax. Thus, just as the late owners desired, the farm will remain intact and the heirs are receiving approximately $920,000 for a farm that cannot be developed and, obviously, has large potential re-sale value for someone who wishes to farm or live within a truly rural landscape.
Even better, we think, is the fact that in the vicinity of this farm there are five farms totaling 900 acres under county or state easements and three farms totaling 375 acres in Agricultural Districts, a 5-year restriction prior to applying to sell easements. Consequently, this farm of 159 acres that sold for $920,000 lies within a concentration of eight farms totaling 1,275 acres under permanent or temporary conservation restrictions. In the future, farming should be economically feasible within such an area.
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Photo: HLT