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Union County Land Preservation & Easement Program Update
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alan Aldridge, Soil & Water Conservation, District Director, 704-233-1621 Ext. 3
ACTION REQUESTED:
1) Approve the allocation of funds, from Budget 10115410-5630-11115, for the purchase of Easements 90-2026-001, 90-2026-002, 90-2026-003, and 90-2026-004 in the amount of $854,180; and 2) accept Easements 90-2026-001, 90-2026-002, 90-2026-003, and 90-2026-004 into the Union County Land Preservation & Easement Program.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
1) November 6, 2023, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item # 23-755 - a) Approved the Union County Soil & Water Conservation District to purchase and hold conservation easements for land preservation in Union County; and b) adopted Budget Amendment # 14 appropriating the County’s General Fund unassigned fund balance in the amount of $969,006 to be used for the purchase of conservation easements and associated transaction costs.
2) February 3, 2025, Regular Meeting, Agenda Item # 25-047 - a) Adopted the Union County land preservation & easement ordinance; b) approved the allocation of funds from BUDGET 10115410-5630-11115 for the purchase of Easement 90-2025-001 for the amount of $721,575.00; c) accepted Easement 90-2025-001 into the Union County Land Preservation & Easement Program; d) accepted the donation of Easement 90-2025-002 into the Union County Land Preservation & Easement Program; e) adopted Budget Amendment 22 appropriating the County’s General Fund unassigned fund balance in the amount of $885,991.90 to be used for the purchase of conservation easements and associated transaction costs.
BACKGROUND:
Union County is currently ranked 13th in the United States for open space land loss on a per year basis according to the latest research published by the American Farmland Trust. Over the last four fiscal years, Union County has lost 3,191 acres (FY2020), 2,892 acres (FY2021), 3,625 acres (FY2022), and 2,419 acres (FY2023) from parcels enrolled in present use value (PUV) alone. According to the 2022 NCDA Census of Agriculture, Union County has 186,626 acres of farmland. In the Business-as-Usual scenario published by NC FarmLink, Union County is slated to lose 51,500 acres of current farmland by 2040. This scenario would represent approximately a 28% reduction in total farmland acreage in Union County by 2040.
The Union County Land Preservation & Easement program allows landowners to sell and/or donate the development rights to their property while still obtaining ownership of the land. By selling and/or donating the development rights, open space and agricultural land will be preserved through conservation easements held by the Union County Soil & Water Conservation District. The District will be responsible for monitoring and inspections of easements to maintain compliance within the program. The use of present use value (PUV) rollback funds will provide financial resources to the Union County Soil & Water Conservation District for the easement purchases and all associated transaction costs. These funds are held in a Union County budget line and all non-encumbered funds will rollover at the end of each fiscal year.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
$854,180 for the purchase of Easements 90-2026-001, 90-2026-002, 90-2026-003, and 90-2026-004.