American Dream

washingtonpost.com
A Not-So-Happy Anniversary
Pressure From Builders Mounts as Ag Reserve Reaches Its 25th Year

By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 4, 2005; GZ16

Quotes:

Montgomery County's agricultural reserve is home to 577 farms and 350 horticultural enterprises, 12,000 horses and 2,201 head of cattle. Its rolling hills, rustic roads and pockets of open space make up one-third of the county's land area.

So when Barnesville illustrator Tina Thieme Brown embarked on a year-long project to create a map of the county's 93,000-acre expanse -- where development is restricted to one housing unit per 25 acres -- she knew it wouldn't be easy.

With input from naturalists, farmers and county officials, Brown created a map that depicts the roads that link the
more developed, suburban "downcounty" to the less built-out, rural "upcounty." The map shows the reserve's reservoirs and rivers, its farms and nurseries, its historical sites, and its flora and fauna.

"What I'm hoping is that we have created enough of a pictorial history . . ." she said. "The hope is that people will get out here and dig a little deeper."

That's the goal of county officials as they observe the 25th anniversary of the agricultural reserve, the most prominent of land-preservation efforts in the metropolitan region. Through such events as farm tours, lectures, and hikes, officials said, the county will step up efforts to educate downcounty residents about the merits of the agricultural reserve. County officials estimate that the reserve contributes about $250 million annually to the county's economy.

Since 1980, the county has offered farmers incentives to not sell their land to developers. One incentive program allows landowners to sell builders transferable development rights that can be used to construct housing units in other, more urban areas of the county rather than within the reserve. Officials have also restricted development in communities buffering the reserve, creating such areas as rural cluster zones, where housing is restricted to one unit per five acres.

As she conducted a tour of the sanctuary on a recent day, Cummings compared Montgomery's upcounty skyline with that of Loudoun County's across the Potomac River.

"There's a lot of history here," she told the small group of downcounty residents who also visited several farms and orchards. Then she pointed to the view across the river. "Unfortunately, now we have to look at those high-rises."

Perry Kapsch, second vice president of the Historic Medley District, a nonprofit group that focuses on preserving open
space in western Montgomery County, said part of the problem is that many county residents do not know of the reserve's existence or of its goals.

It's not just churches that are taking up space in the reserve. Some large homes have been built on big lots, making it difficult to have contiguous farmland.

Also, talk of a "techway" bridge linking Montgomery to Northern Virginia through the reserve has never completely gone away. The decision by the state to build the Intercounty Connector from Gaithersburg to Laurel through the eastern part of the county has intensified some northern Montgomery residents' fears of an outer Beltway, even though county officials have rejected such proposals in the past and say they have no plans to change their stance.

Then there's the farming industry itself. Though one of the goals of the reserve is to conserve land for food and fiber production, traditional farming has become less viable. As a result, horticultural businesses and farms that produce hay for the growing equine industry are taking up more space in the reserve, officials said.

Criss said the county is trying to embrace nontraditional forms of farming because they contribute to the economy, but zoning laws require such businesses to apply for special permission to operate in the reserve. "It's a process that is very expensive, very [time-consuming] and highly uncertain," he said.

As a result, county officials have worked to ease restrictions on such enterprises as equestrian facilities and horticultural businesses.

The other images on the map -- a horse nuzzling the ground, a farmer on a green tractor, two sheep taking a stroll -- all came from real people and animals she spotted as she rode her bike around the reserve, her home for about six years.

"Everyone who lives here, and a lot who don't, understand what we have here," she said. "It's a legacy."

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

Map of Montgomery County Ag Preserve (Adobe Acrobat .pdf, 4.3 MB)