AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION

Howard County Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP)
Howard County Agricultural Land Preservation Board
Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program (MALPF)
Howard Ag Newsletter
Other Ag Resources

Since 1978, Howard County has been protecting farmland through the Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP) using three methods:

(1) the purchase of agricultural preservation easements by the County,
(2) the dedication of agricultural preservation parcels as provided for in the County's zoning regulations, and
(3) the purchase of agricultural preservation easements by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.

Using these tools, the County has preserved over 20,000 acres of farmland in the Rural West of Howard County.

County Purchased Easements | Easement Purchase Program brochure |
| Batch 13 Update |

Through this voluntary program, a farmer whose land meets certain size and soil criteria can offer to sell a perpetual easement to the County, while holding fee simple title to the land and continuing to farm. The farm may be sold, but the easement, which restricts the development of the property, remains with the land and binds all future owners.

The ALPP periodically runs a "batch," which is a several month period when interested property owners may apply to sell their development rights to the County. The last application period was known as Batch 13, and ran from September through November of 2006. The County acquired easements on two of the three Batch 13 applicant properties in 2007.

Forms and Procedures | Owner/Child Lot Process | Unrestricted Lot Process | Letter of Intent | Letter of Understanding/Owner Lot| Letter of Understanding/Child Lot |

In order for property owners to exercise the lot and dwelling rights they retain upon entering the ALPP purchased easement program, there are certain procedures that must be followed and forms to be filled out.

Policy | Permitted Uses | Forest Conservation| Parcel Division| Lot Location | Tenant House Update|

The primary regulatory framework for the ALPP is Section 15.500 of the Howard County Code. In addition to the laws that govern the program, there are many policies that implement its goals.

County Dedicated Easements | Density/Cluster Exchange Option | Application Form| Soil Conservation Form|

The ALPP also accepts agricultural easements dedicated to the County as a result of the subdivision process, either as density sending parcels or cluster subdivision residue parcels. In 2007, the ALPP acquired 180 acres of dedicated ag easements.

In addition to easements purchased by the Howard County ALPP, the MALPF program also purchases agricultural easements, and has acquired almost 4,000 easement acres in Howard County. The MALPF program is administered locally, which means that any questions or requests pertaining to MALPF properties should be directed to Joy Levy.

Easement Termination | Termination Policy |

All MALPF easements prior to 2004 contain a provision that allows a property owner to petition to buy back their development rights from the State after 25 years, if it can be shown that profitable farming is no longer feasible on the property.

For an easement to be terminated, both MALPF and the county's governing body must approve the owner's request. MALPF's responsibilty is to judge economic feasibility. Howard County executive Ken Ulman has approved a policy for termination review that focuses on land use priorities, including consistency with comprehensive planning goals and the effect of termination on vicinal properties.

The original intent of the MALPF easement was that it would be perpetual, and that termination would require extraordinary circumstances. Howard County will work very hard to protect the investment it has made in agricultural preservation over the years.

The ALPB makes recommendations to the County Executive on the acquisition of new agricultural land preservation easement properties, reviews proposals concerning land already subject to an easement and assists ALPP staff with policy creation and refinement.

This quartlerly newsletter consolidates the communications of the ALPP, the Howard County Economic Development Authority's Agricultural Marketing Program and the Howard County Cooperative Extension office.

The ALPP works closely with other agencies within the County to provide support to the agricultural community.

Department of Planning and Zoning | 3430 Court House Drive | Ellicott City, MD 21043
Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm | Phone: 410-313-2350 | Fax: 410-313-3467