Land Preservation

*Forest Conservation includes easements required as part of subdivision or site plan activity as well as easements funded through Payment-in-Lieu (PIL) funds. **Program Acreage and Dollar amounts are subject to change and have been rounded for the purpose of displaying in a generalized table format.

This program encourages landowners to voluntarily enter into an Agricultural Land Preservation District in which it is agreed that the land will not be developed for a period of ten years. In return for the restriction, the landowner receives protection from nuisance complaints through the Right to Farm Ordinance, becomes eligible to sell Development Rights Easements through MALPP, and receives a property tax credit.

Program Resources:

• Agricultural Land Preservation District Fact Sheet
• Ag District Intake Form
• District Agreement
• Ag District Ordinance

This Program was established and is regulated by Agricultural Article, Sections 2-501 through 2-515 of the Annotated Code of Maryland.  Washington County sold its first MALPP easements in the late 1980s and the program continues to be the most prolific land preservation program in the County.  The MALPP program is funded and administered by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) and locally by the Land Preservation Office in the County’s Department of Planning & Zoning. The program serves to preserve high-ranking agricultural properties through Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) easements. Applicant properties are ranked based on attributes such as soil quality, proximity to other easements, ag operation intensity, and proximity to growth areas and Priority Preservation Areas (PPAs). In order to qualify, properties must be enrolled in the County’s Ag District program (see above). Each cycle year, applications are accepted in the Spring, ranked by the local Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board (Ag Board), approved by the County Commissioners and then sent to MALPF prior to July 1st. The program is very competitive and the easements restrictions remain effective in perpetuity. 

The Installment Payment program was created for the purpose of accelerating land preservation easement purchases and providing an additional attractive Land Preservation Program for the agricultural landowners and citizens of Washington County.  An owner of agricultural land, which meets the minimum qualifications, may make application to sell to the County an Agricultural Preservation Easement on the entire contiguous acreage of the land less one acre per existing dwelling located on the subject property.  Payment shall be made by Installment Purchase Agreements.  Once a landowner agrees to accept the County’s offer to purchase his or her development rights, an Installment Purchase Agreement (I.P.A.) between the County and the individual seller will be written.  This Agreement includes the total amount of money that the County has agreed to pay the landowner and sets the terms of that Agreement including the fixed interest rate on which the landowner will receive annual payments.  These IPAs shall be paid over a period of 10 years, with 10% of the principal being paid at settlement with the interest and 10% of the principal being paid annually for the remaining 9 years. Additionally, this program is very competitive and dependent on the current economic climate.

Program Resources:

• Ordinance

The Rural Legacy Program (RLP) was enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in 1997. It is funded by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is administered by DNR and locally by the Land Preservation Office in the County’s Department of Planning & Zoning.  The program was created to focus on some of Maryland’s best natural, agricultural, historical, and cultural areas and Maryland’s most significant rural landscapes.  The program encourages local governments and private land trusts to identify Rural Legacy Areas (RLA) and to competitively apply for funds to complement existing land preservation efforts or to develop new ones.  Easements are sought from willing landowners in order to protect areas vulnerable to sprawl development that can weaken an area’s natural resources, thereby jeopardizing the economic value of farming, forestry, recreation and tourism.  This program only purchases easements within a specified boundary, surrounding the Towns of Sharpsburg, Keedysville, Boonsboro and the Rural Villages of St. James, Lappans, Fairplay, Rohrersville and Gapland to name a few.  Qualifying landowners can apply for the program prior to February 1st of each cycle year.  Applications are ranked based on varying property characteristics including property size, number of development rights, proximity to other permanent easements, agricultural characteristics, historic characteristics, and environmental characteristics. The program is very competitive and the easement restrictions remain effective in perpetuity.

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was instituted by the Maryland General Assemby in 2009.  It is funded by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and administered both by DNR and locally by the Land Preservation Office of the County’s Department of Planning & Zoning. The program works in conjunction with the Federal Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) CREP Contract Program, making CREP Contract Areas permanent through State-funded conservation easements. Additionally, there is a matching component to the program in which the landowner can add up to ten times the amount of acreage in their CREP Contract to their CREP easement in order to maximize both the preservation of land and the easement value to the landowner.  Applicants must have an existing FSA CREP Contract in order to apply for the easement program.  Once the easement is sold, it remains effective in perpetuity.

The Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) has developed two programs aimed at young and beginning farmers. The Next Generation Farmland Acquisition (Next Gen) program provides down payment assistance to buyers of properties that qualify for the County’s Ag District program.  The program offers buyers 51% of a land-only Fair Market Value appraisal of the property for purchase assistance (capped at $500,000). The application process is handled locally by the County’s Land Preservation Office in the Department of Planning & Zoning.  In order to apply, buyers must provide a signed sales contract for the farm and fill out the application in conjunction with the County’s Land Preservation Office to submit to MARBIDCO. Once submitted, the process takes roughly six months to complete. After the real estate settlement, the landowner must actively pursue a different permanent easement through an approved program and enroll in the County’s Ag District program. If after seven years no permanent easement can be procured for the property, the land becomes preserved through a MARBIDCO permanent easement.

MARBIDCO also offers the Small Acreage Next Gen (SANG) program. This program works similarly to the Next Gen program, providing down payment assistance for the purchase of small farms (10 to 49 acres in size). This program differs from Next Gen because there is no seven-year pursuit of a permanent easement after settlement. Rather, the property is considered permanently preserved by MARBIDCO at the time of the real estate settlement.

If you are interested in either of the above programs, please reach out to the County’s Department of Planning & Zoning.

In addition to the County’s various programs, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a Right to Farm Ordinance in October of 2003.  The Right to Farm Ordinance provides protections for farmers against nuisance complaints in Washington County.

Program Resouces:

• Ordinance