Boards & Commissions
PIG BT Fact Sheet
The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide farmers interested
in the Township’s
Farmland Preservation Program with information about the process and answer
to
frequently asked questions. For additional information, please do not hesitate
to
contact the Bernards Township Agricultural Advisory Committee’s Secretary,
Suzanne Hooper, at 908-204-3076.
1. Planning Incentive Grant (PIG) Program
In October 2004 Bernards Township established the Agricultural
Task Force
to review farmland preservation in Bernards Township. The Task
Force
recommended Bernards pursue farmland preservation strategies to
preserve farmland
and maintain active, viable agriculture in Bernards Township. A
local right to farm
ordinance was passed in December 2004 and in January 2005 the Agricultural
Advisory Committee was established and the Planning Board adopted
the Farmland
Preservation Element to the 2003 Master Plan.
Farms may be approved for farmland preservation funding, pending
authorization of
the Bernards Township PIG Program, which is expected during Summer
2005. Local
criteria to prioritize applications include the degree to which
a candidate farm is an
active, economically viable enterprise, contributing to the continuation
of agriculture
in Bernards Township. Additional criteria may be applied, including
the size of the
farm, quality of soils, likelihood of long-term agricultural operations
on the farm, etc.
It is the intention of the local PIG program that Bernards Township
taxpayer funding
provided for farmland preservation be used solely for the preservation
of working
farms. Preservation of green acres, open space and non-farm related
land do not
qualify for this program.
2. Application Deadline
There is no application deadline. After the Township’s PIG
Farmland Preservation
Program Application is approved by the State and County, and funding
is authorized,
applications to the Township's farmland preservation program will
be accepted on a
continual basis. As long as funding is available, and the farm
is a worthy
preservation prospect (i.e. working farm, possesses unique or unusual
scenic or other
attributes that elevate the property to a level of local importance
for preservation), the
Township will continue to process farmland preservation applications
on a continual
basis. However, farmers offering a partial donation of easement
value on the
preservation of their farms will receive priority consideration.
The Bernards
Agricultural Advisory Committee will review farmland preservation
applications at
their regular meeting following receipt of the application and
will pass
recommendations on to the Township Committee.
3. Timeline
Once the Township’s PIG Farmland Preservation Program is approved,
farmland
preservation easements can be purchased more quickly than the other
farmland
preservation programs (i.e. County/State conventional and direct
easement
purchases). It will require approximately 6 to 8 months from the
time a completed
State-approved application form is approved by the SADC to the
purchase of
development easements and preservation of the farm.
The farmer is responsible for preparing the application for submittal
to the
Township’s Agricultural Advisory Committee. However, the
Committee will provide
technical assistance to the farmer, when requested and where possible. The
cost for
preparing a farmland preservation application and supporting documentation
is the
farmer's responsibility.
4. Application Process
To assist the farmer in avoiding unnecessary cost, the farmer
may first prepare a
"Farm Profile Form", which the Township has prepared to facilitate
the Bernards
Township Agricultural Advisory Committee review of an applicant’s
farm. The Farm
Profile Form does not require all of the information required in
a formal application.
This permits the Committee to rank a farm according to the program
criteria at
minimal expense to the farmer. If the farm is ranked as a priority
acquisition, the
Committee will advise the farmer to prepare the State’s approved
application for
farmland preservation. If the farm is not ranked as a priority
acquisition, the
Committee’s review will result in a recommendation not to preserve
the farm.
The State application requires the following information:
- Completion of the State-approved application form (SADC Farmland
Preservation Program – PIG Application For An Individual
Farm)
- Preparation of two appraisals, prepared in accordance with State
guidelines and
by State certified appraisers for farmland preservation. These
appraisals are reviewed by the SADC and the SADC provides a Certified Fair Market
Value, which is a value within the range of the two appraisals. SADC
rules do not permit the State to certify a value higher than the highest appraised
value or lower than the lowest appraised value. Appraisals are available for farmers
to review.
5. Additional Considerations
In the State and County programs, farms are ranked against a large
pool of applicants
from municipalities throughout the County and State, which includes
a cost
consideration of the per acre development easement value. In the
local program, a
farm is ranked against farms in Bernards Township. There
is no per acre value cap
on development easements purchased through the PIG Program. However,
due to
high local land values, and in accordance with State funding guidelines,
Bernards
Township has agreed to establish a local policy that farmland preservation
applicants
that offer a partial per acre development easement value donation
will receive priority
consideration. For example, farmers and landowners that agree to
sell the
development easements at a bargain sale, i.e. less than the full
Certified Fair Market
Value will receive priority consideration.