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market-farming - Re: off-point Farm Bureau article

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  • From: "WB Carver" <wbcarver AT marketfarming.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: off-point Farm Bureau article
  • Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 12:54:48 -0400


Hi All,

When I was young, I watched my Father and neighbors spend "countless
hours" working on, for, and with the zoning board to enact 5 acre zoning
(the best they could do) in an area where a developer had plans to break up
acreage into 1/2 acre lots and change the entire atmosphere of an area. An
area where, until that time, 20 acres was a very small farm. Growing up to
admire those men and women who gave their time without pay for what we all
thought was the good of the community. Knowing those people as I did, I
won't say favors didn't change hands in the name of reaching compromises
which may have otherwise not been made, BUT I doubt any of them could have
been "bought" or made to violate their core values. That doesn't mean that
I am naive enough to think for a second that it doesn't happen.

Tom said,

>>, I take offense at your insinuation that 'you can buy the zoning boards
>and supervisors to...'.


To play the part of "Devil's Advocate" I think the sentiment of Marcie's
post was missed here.

She said,

>> If you buy ag property on spec that
>> you can buy the zoning boards and supervisors to change that zoning
>> for development, and you lose OH, Well.

The way I read it, she is not saying you can (or cannot) buy the Zoning
board, but that if you buy land with that intent, and you fail and loose
money.... That is too dern bad.
In that sentiment, I would have to agree. Maybe even cheer.

That was the case in my Father's day.

Land, Local residents & Zoning board 1 - Developer 0



I am now living in an area where it has become common for the realtors to
take large land tracts and help the seller to get what they so fondly call
"highest and best use" of the land. "Highest and best use" meaning
breaking it up into building tracts and getting often several times the
price they would get to sell it as one large tract.
I see every day, big beautiful family farms, broken into building lots.
This practice makes me nauseous. And it is pricing the land (and the taxes)
out of my reach. But I do understand why it is done.

MONEY.

This is called economic reality.

If I came into possession of a large block of land in an area where I didn't
intend to live, and I had the opportunity to sell it at 2-3 times the price,
it would be very difficult for me to hold my principles up to that kind of
economic pressure. Unless I have a rich uncle that I don't know about, I
probably will never be faced with that decision. So I can talk all I want
and might do otherwise if I was really in that situation.

We recently had some friends who donated a tract of land to the Piedmont
Land Conservancy. I personally applaud their decision, but while they still
retain title, they have limited what they AND their heirs can do with that
land. I hope their children and grand children feel the same way as they do
about that land.


After all that is said, where do I stand on this? Right in the middle, I
guess. I HATE to see the break up of ag land happen, but I do understand
why it does.

For now, I am going do my little part to see that this particular piece of
land stays agricultural. I am gonna get off this computer and go put up
some more fence, and try to get some plowing done for next year. The horses
just made us up another batch of organic fertilizer that needs to be spread.

Have a great day,


WB (Bill) Carver
Laughing Brook Farm
Westfield, NC
wbcarver AT marketfarming.com
http://www.laughingbrookfarm.com


=======================================================

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Anslow <limerock AT thirdplanet.net>


>Marcie --
>As someone who 'donates' countless hours a month on our Board of Zoning
>Appeals (BZA

<snip>

I take offense at your insinuation that 'you can buy the zoning boards
>and supervisors to...'.

<snip>

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Marcie Rosenzweig" <fullcircle AT jps.net>
>
>> minor variance to zoning laws. If you buy ag property on spec that
>> you can buy the zoning boards and supervisors to change that zoning
>> for development, and you lose OH, Well. It's the same as putting a
>>








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