Field Notes

Jennifer Dempsey, Editor
Jesse Robertson-DuBois, Researcher, Writer
Joan Deely, Researcher, Writer

February 1, 2002

AT LARGE
Brookings Institution Releases Suburbs and the Census: Patterns of Growth and Decline

In December, The Brookings Institution released Suburbs and the Census: Patterns of Growth and Decline. Authors William H. Lucy and David L. Phillips studied trends in suburban growth patterns across the country. Results of a survey of population growth in 2,600 suburbs in the 35 largest metropolitan areas between 1990 and 2000 revealed that:

Suburbs grew on the whole between 1990 and 2000, but growth was uneven among individual localities;
Declining suburbs were located mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest;
Declining suburbs were found throughout the metropolitan areas, not just in close proximity to central cities;
Smaller suburbs were not immune to decline; and
Population growth during the 1990s was faster in unincorporated areas and in new suburbs than in existing suburbs.

Noting that "growth was faster outside the study area in 23 of the 35 metropolitan areas [studied]," the report concludes that growth and decline of suburbs is related to trends in adjacent central cities and in metropolitan growth overall. The Brookings Institution plans to study additional questions raised by this report, including the demographic, social and economic implications of suburban growth and decline.

Contact: The Brookings Institution, (202) 797-6000

AT LARGE
NRDC, Island Press Publish Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America

The Natural Resources Defense Council, in cooperation with Island Press, has published Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America. Authors F. Kaid Benfield, Jutka Terris and Nancy Vorsanger offer 35 examples of inner-city reinvestment, innovative suburban development and rural conservation from around the country to illustrate key smart growth concepts. Profiles include projects of all sizes in urban, suburban and exurban settings. The book also includes additional examples of sprawl-related environmental and social problems, plus a glossary of planning terms and land use concepts.

Contact: Natural Resources Defense Council, (212) 727-2700

KANSAS
Ranchers, Environmentalists Establish Agricultural Land Trust

At their annual meeting in December 2001, members of the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) voted to join forces with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to establish an agricultural land trust. The land trust will protect ranchlands in the Flint Hills, a region of tallgrass prairies in eastern Kansas. The historic agreement comes after four years of planning and discussion between the two organizations, during which they recognized that they could address both environmental and ranching concerns more effectively by working together.

At 4.9 million acres, the contemporary tallgrass prairie in eastern Kansas and Oklahoma is the largest remaining contiguous prairie landscape in North America. Two-thirds of the tallgrass prairie lies in the Flint Hills. Threats include development, fragmentation, invasive plant species and an aging landowner population.

Historically a fire-dependent ecosystem, tallgrass prairie is highly compatible with ranching practices that include grazing and annual prescribed burns to control the intrusion of invasive plant species and woody growth. Scattered development and fragmentation of large tracts of ranchland threaten both accepted ranching practices and the ecosystem that benefits from them (see Field Notes, October 26, 2001).

In June 2001, representatives from KLA and TNC traveled to Colorado to meet with members of the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust (see" Field Notes," May 11, 2001) to discuss ranchland protection strategies and to observe firsthand the effects of sprawl on farm and ranch lands there.

There is currently no funding available for purchase of agricultural conservation easements from interested ranchers, although discussions about funding options are ongoing. Both TNC and the KLA are partners in the Tallgrass Legacy Alliance, a coalition of state and local conservation agencies that is pursuing federal funds for tallgrass prairie preservation, such as the Grasslands Reserve Program included in both House and Senate farm bill proposals (see summary of the Working Lands Stewardship Act in "Action Alert," July 25, 2001).

Contact: Brian Obermeyer, The Nature Conservancy, Flint Hills Project, (620) 583-5805; Kansas Livestock Association, (785) 273-5115

MASSACHUSETTS
Supreme Judicial Court Rejects APR Program's Quid Pro Quo Affordability Policy

In a crucial decision December 14, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) rejected a 10-year-old policy of the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program that was implemented to ensure the affordability of protected farms. At the same time, the SJC upheld the importance of farmland affordability to the intent and purpose of the APR program and indicated how the program might better address this critical concern.

The decision addressed a case involving a 148-acre APR farm in Holliston, Massachusetts. Owner Thomas Twomey sued the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) over the APR program's affordability policy in August 1998 ("Field Notes," October 16, 1998). Twomey's 1981 APR included a provision reserving the right to build a new dwelling, subject to the permission of the Commissioner of Food and Agriculture. In the early 1990s, DFA adopted a policy that conditioned approval of such dwellings on the landowner first granting the Commonwealth an option to acquire the property at agricultural value. The option was intended to prevent APR-protected farms from selling as estates. When Twomey put the property on the market for $700,000 in 1998 (ten times what he paid in 1981), DFA informed prospective buyers of the option policy. Claiming the policy thwarted his efforts to sell the farm, Twomey filed suit.

In its decision, the SJC found that because the DFA policy was based on an "irrebuttable presumption" that construction of any dwelling would create "estate value" and place farmland beyond the reach of bona fide farmers, the policy deprived Twomey of his right, established within the APR, to an individualized determination as to the effect of the proposed house on the APR and the legislative intent and purposes behind the program. In addition, the SJC concluded that DFA may not condition approval of such a dwelling on a quid pro quo grant of an option to purchase at agricultural value.

The SJC went on to clarify that affordability is central to the legislative intent of the program and is a valid component of program activity. According to the SJC, "considering the legislative goals behind the Act, we conclude that the department may properly deny a request to construct a dwelling if the dwelling would render the property unaffordable for farmers." The judges indicated that if the proposed dwelling would "defeat or derogate from the intent and purposes of the Act," even if only by making the APR-restricted land unaffordable to farmers, then DFA could legitimately condition its approval on modifications "that will remedy the manner in which it offends the Act."

The SJC also addressed the program's current policy of including an option at agricultural value in all new APRs, writing that the "commissioner's current practice ... to obtain such an option when he negotiates an APR ... is entirely permissible."

In the wake of the Twomey decision, the program must develop new policies and procedures to protect the affordability of the approximately 150 older APRs that include the right to construct a residential dwelling. Nonetheless, while the court's decision invalidated the current APR policy with regard to approval of dwellings permitted under older APRs, it clearly reinforces the state's first-in-the-nation efforts to protect not just the availability but also the affordability of farmland. While prohibiting the retroactive application of the option at agricultural value as a matter of policy, the SJC decision offers guidance as to how the program might handle affordability concerns associated with future dwelling requests.

Contact: Jay Healy, Commissioner of Food and Agriculture, (617) 626-1700

PENNSYLVANIA
2001, a Record-Breaking Year for Farmland Preservation

During 2001, a record number of Pennsylvania farms were protected from future development. Aided by funding from the 1999 "Growing Greener" program, a statewide environmental cleanup initiative that dedicated $100 million over five years to farmland protection (see "Field Notes," January 12, 2000), the Pennsylvania State Farmland Preservation Board secured conservation easements on 309 farms totaling 34,225 acres in 46 counties. According to former Governor Tom Ridge, "It took eight years to preserve the first 100,000 acres...[but only] four years to reach 200,000!"
Since the program began in 1989, Pennsylvania has protected 217,708 acres of farmland in 53 counties. As a result of the "Growing Greener" program, available funding for the state's farmland preservation program has grown 150 percent -- to about $71 million a year. To date, Pennsylvania has protected more farmland than any other state.

Contact: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Farmland Preservation, (717) 783-3167

Have the Need to Read?
Field Notes back issues
are available here.

[ << back ]

Jennifer Dempsey
Editor

Jesse Robertson-DuBois
Research, Writer

Joan Deely
Research, Writer

Email the editor with your
comments and suggestions.


AT LARGE Brookings Institution Releases Suburbs and the Census: Patterns of Growth and Decline
In December, The Brookings Institution released Suburbs and the Census: Patterns of Growth and Decline. Authors William H. Lucy and David L. Phillips studied trends in suburban growth patterns across the country. Results of a survey of population growth in 2,600 suburbs in the 35 largest metropolitan areas between 1990 and 2000 revealed that: Suburbs grew on the whole between 1990 and 2000, but growth was uneven among individual localities; Declining suburbs were located mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest; Declining suburbs were found throughout the metropolitan areas, not just in close proximity to central cities; Smaller suburbs were not immune to decline; and Population growth during the 1990s was faster in unincorporated areas and in new suburbs than in existing suburbs. Noting that "growth was faster outside the study area in 23 of the 35 metropolitan areas [studied]," the report concludes that growth and decline of suburbs is related to trends in adjacent central cities and in metropolitan growth overall. The Brookings Institution plans to study additional questions raised by this report, including the demographic, social and economic implications of suburban growth and decline. Contact: The Brookings Institution, (202) 797-6000

AT LARGE NRDC, Island Press Publish Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America
The Natural Resources Defense Council, in cooperation with Island Press, has published Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America. Authors F. Kaid Benfield, Jutka Terris and Nancy Vorsanger offer 35 examples of inner-city reinvestment, innovative suburban development and rural conservation from around the country to illustrate key smart growth concepts. Profiles include projects of all sizes in urban, suburban and exurban settings. The book also includes additional examples of sprawl-related environmental and social problems, plus a glossary of planning terms and land use concepts. Contact: Natural Resources Defense Council, (212) 727-2700

KANSAS Ranchers, Environmentalists Establish Agricultural Land Trust
At their annual meeting in December 2001, members of the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) voted to join forces with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to establish an agricultural land trust. The land trust will protect ranchlands in the Flint Hills, a region of tallgrass prairies in eastern Kansas. The historic agreement comes after four years of planning and discussion between the two organizations, during which they recognized that they could address both environmental and ranching concerns more effectively by working together. At 4.9 million acres, the contemporary tallgrass prairie in eastern Kansas and Oklahoma is the largest remaining contiguous prairie landscape in North America. Two-thirds of the tallgrass prairie lies in the Flint Hills. Threats include development, fragmentation, invasive plant species and an aging landowner population. Historically a fire-dependent ecosystem, tallgrass prairie is highly compatible with ranching practices that include grazing and annual prescribed burns to control the intrusion of invasive plant species and woody growth. Scattered development and fragmentation of large tracts of ranchland threaten both accepted ranching practices and the ecosystem that benefits from them (see Field Notes, October 26, 2001). In June 2001, representatives from KLA and TNC traveled to Colorado to meet with members of the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust (see" Field Notes," May 11, 2001) to discuss ranchland protection strategies and to observe firsthand the effects of sprawl on farm and ranch lands there. There is currently no funding available for purchase of agricultural conservation easements from interested ranchers, although discussions about funding options are ongoing. Both TNC and the KLA are partners in the Tallgrass Legacy Alliance, a coalition of state and local conservation agencies that is pursuing federal funds for tallgrass prairie preservation, such as the Grasslands Reserve Program included in both House and Senate farm bill proposals (see summary of the Working Lands Stewardship Act in "Action Alert," July 25, 2001). Contact: Brian Obermeyer, The Nature Conservancy, Flint Hills Project, (620) 583-5805; Kansas Livestock Association, (785) 273-5115

MASSACHUSETTS Supreme Judicial Court Rejects APR Program's Quid Pro Quo Affordability Policy
In a crucial decision December 14, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) rejected a 10-year-old policy of the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program that was implemented to ensure the affordability of protected farms. At the same time, the SJC upheld the importance of farmland affordability to the intent and purpose of the APR program and indicated how the program might better address this critical concern. The decision addressed a case involving a 148-acre APR farm in Holliston, Massachusetts. Owner Thomas Twomey sued the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) over the APR program's affordability policy in August 1998 ("Field Notes," October 16, 1998). Twomey's 1981 APR included a provision reserving the right to build a new dwelling, subject to the permission of the Commissioner of Food and Agriculture. In the early 1990s, DFA adopted a policy that conditioned approval of such dwellings on the landowner first granting the Commonwealth an option to acquire the property at agricultural value. The option was intended to prevent APR-protected farms from selling as estates. When Twomey put the property on the market for $700,000 in 1998 (ten times what he paid in 1981), DFA informed prospective buyers of the option policy. Claiming the policy thwarted his efforts to sell the farm, Twomey filed suit. In its decision, the SJC found that because the DFA policy was based on an "irrebuttable presumption" that construction of any dwelling would create "estate value" and place farmland beyond the reach of bona fide farmers, the policy deprived Twomey of his right, established within the APR, to an individualized determination as to the effect of the proposed house on the APR and the legislative intent and purposes behind the program. In addition, the SJC concluded that DFA may not condition approval of such a dwelling on a quid pro quo grant of an option to purchase at agricultural value. The SJC went on to clarify that affordability is central to the legislative intent of the program and is a valid component of program activity. According to the SJC, "considering the legislative goals behind the Act, we conclude that the department may properly deny a request to construct a dwelling if the dwelling would render the property unaffordable for farmers." The judges indicated that if the proposed dwelling would "defeat or derogate from the intent and purposes of the Act," even if only by making the APR-restricted land unaffordable to farmers, then DFA could legitimately condition its approval on modifications "that will remedy the manner in which it offends the Act." The SJC also addressed the program's current policy of including an option at agricultural value in all new APRs, writing that the "commissioner's current practice ... to obtain such an option when he negotiates an APR ... is entirely permissible." In the wake of the Twomey decision, the program must develop new policies and procedures to protect the affordability of the approximately 150 older APRs that include the right to construct a residential dwelling. Nonetheless, while the court's decision invalidated the current APR policy with regard to approval of dwellings permitted under older APRs, it clearly reinforces the state's first-in-the-nation efforts to protect not just the availability but also the affordability of farmland. While prohibiting the retroactive application of the option at agricultural value as a matter of policy, the SJC decision offers guidance as to how the program might handle affordability concerns associated with future dwelling requests. Contact: Jay Healy, Commissioner of Food and Agriculture, (617) 626-1700

PENNSYLVANIA 2001, a Record-Breaking Year for Farmland Preservation
During 2001, a record number of Pennsylvania farms were protected from future development. Aided by funding from the 1999 "Growing Greener" program, a statewide environmental cleanup initiative that dedicated $100 million over five years to farmland protection (see "Field Notes," January 12, 2000), the Pennsylvania State Farmland Preservation Board secured conservation easements on 309 farms totaling 34,225 acres in 46 counties. According to former Governor Tom Ridge, "It took eight years to preserve the first 100,000 acres...[but only] four years to reach 200,000!" Since the program began in 1989, Pennsylvania has protected 217,708 acres of farmland in 53 counties. As a result of the "Growing Greener" program, available funding for the state's farmland preservation program has grown 150 percent -- to about $71 million a year. To date, Pennsylvania has protected more farmland than any other state. Contact: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Farmland Preservation, (717) 783-3167

*Have the Need to Read?* *Field Notes* back issues are available here.	[ << back ]	Jennifer Dempsey Editor Jesse Robertson-DuBois Research, Writer Joan Deely Research, Writer Email the editor with your comments and suggestions.