Ag Reserve Epitaph: A Slow Death by Development

        As a result of actions by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners during the past two years, fewer beans, tomatoes and peppers and more strip shopping centers, gas stations and fast-food restaurants will be produced, as the Palm Beach County Agricultural (Ag) Reserve slowly disappears from the face of the earth.
        The Commission approved a Comprehensive Plan amendment, 6-1, in July 2015, with Commissioner Paulette Burdick as the sole dissenter, revising the Future Land Use Element to ease "Ag Reserve Contiguity" requirements for land preservation.
        Then at a special meeting Jan. 27, 2016, the Commission voted, 5-2, to waive a requirement for farm properties of 16 acres or less to set aside land for preservation in exchange for the right to sell their agricultural land for future commercial development use.
        The approved contiguity amendment opens land sale options for owners of small-scale agricultural parcels in the Ag Reserve, located west of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. It also enhances opportunities for private development companies to obtain Transfer Development Rights (TDRs), for farms purchased within the Ag Reserve. These TDRs are often used for future land swaps to enlarge their projects.
        In contrast to the Commission action, the Palm Beach County Planning Board unanimously voted 12-0 against the Ag Reserve Contiguity amendment at its June 12, 2015 public hearing. The Commission ignored its Planning Agency's recommendation for denial.
        The Planning Board's meeting summary states "concerns regarding potential implications from the amendment, including the potential swap of existing large preserves for smaller preserves and potential incompatibilities resulting from agricultural uses on isolated preserves near residential uses, and that the amendment may be premature..."
        By a 4-1 vote, the Commission also directed county staff to expedite the processing of existing commercial development projects in the Ag Reserve, and accept new project applications from developers, during its July 30, 2015 meeting. Four land sales were approved Jan. 27 for future commercial use, including one west of U.S. 441.
        Instead of pursuing innovative ways to improve Ag Reserve productivity, the current County Commission majority is accelerating the pace of development within the reserve. Citizens and conservation groups questioned the wisdom of this policy at recent public hearings.
        In an effort to preserve coastal agriculture, Palm Beach County voters approved a $100 million bond issue in 1998. The Ag Reserve Tier was created in 2001. Local agriculture generates $279 million in wages to farm workers and support industries, according to the 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture.
        *Update: A majority of Commissioners once again approved additional land use changes for individual farm properties in the Ag Reserve which will allow their sale or development at its April 27, 2016 special hearing. At the Aug. 25 BCC Zoning meeting, an agricultural packing house was removed from the Ag Reserve, opening the land to new development. So it continues...
(c.) Davidsson. Revised 2016.