Highland farm protected from development, subdivisions By James Jacenich • Staff Writer
MILL GAP - Five years ago, the old McNulty farm on Route 84 was close to being divided and developed as a subdivision. The roughly 350-acre tract was the center of a rezoning and subdivision controversy. In March 2003, Highland County had rezoned the property from a mix of agricultural and conservation, to residential (R-2), to make way for Virginia Timberline, a Spotsylvania developer, to subdivide the land into 48 parcels. But by August 2003, Virginia Timberline defaulted on its purchase of the land from Hooke Brothers Lumber Co., and never got its development under way.
Now, the property isn't likely to get subdivided - ever.
Jeff and Kathryn Ward of Waynesboro bought the property last year from previous owner Jeffrey Arrowsmith, who had purchased it after Timberline backed out, and they added a conservation easement to protect the land in perpetuity.
The Wards intend to lease the land for farming and put as much of the land in easements and other preservation programs as possible.
But it hasn't been as simple as they thought it would be, and moving through various conservation or preservation programs has been a learning experience.
Jeff Ward, 51, is a general-practice attorney. He learned about Highland County through his wife, who is a native of Waynesboro and fondly remembers many visits with her parents to Highland.
Jeff Ward's parents moved to Augusta County in the 1970s and bought a dairy farm, so agriculture is something he is familiar with and greatly values. With rapid development in the Shenandoah Valley, Ward said he is keenly aware of the temptation to convert agricultural land to other uses. Now that he has his own farm, he wants to keep it in agriculture.
Initially, he turned to Roger Canfield of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Warm Springs. "(Ward) responded to an article I put in The Recorder," said Canfield. "We discussed different options. They expressed an interest in wildlife and farm restoration. He grew up on a dairy farm and has that background and that interest. I scheduled to have Julie Hawkins, state biologist, and Aimee Weldon, with the Audubon Society look at it. The land may be good for golden-winged warbler habitat. They thought it was a good potential project. We drew up a plan which includes fencing areas to exclude livestock from water and to protect bird habitat."
The McNulty Place has about 150 acres of pasture and 200 acres of woods. Ward applied for the Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP), which is used to fence off certain areas for wildlife conservation. He also applied for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), which assists farmers in managing livestock and protecting streams and springs from contamination.
EQIP and WHIP contracts range from 5-10 years and depending on which conservation practice is used, pay a cost-share or incentive payment per acre. Most of EQIP pays 50 percent of the cost of the improvements. WHIP has a cost share of 75 percent.
"Part of my job is to guide people through the maze of programs available to find the best fit," said Canfield.
Ward said he found the paperwork hard to work through because of the extensive record keeping required, but his legal background was helpful. He applied for WHIP last fall and has submitted his application, but funding was reduced in Virginia, essentially cutting him out of the program.
Ward doesn't qualify for EQIP, either, because his new farm is inactive. If he rents it out as planned, he will be eligible in one year.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CREP) officially ends in December. CREP pays $1,000 an acre to put land in an easement - twice what is was before. CREP can be used in conjunction with a general farm easement, allowing a landowner to collect money from two different programs for the same acre of land.
Grazing rules are more relaxed now with CREP. "It used to be one had to show recent grazing history. It does not have to have livestock on it to qualify, now," said Canfield.
Canfield is hopeful he can work with Ward to do a comprehensive resource management system next year. That combines several different federal programs to maximize the land conserved and increase the financial benefit to the landowner.
"If we can hold on for a year and then do it, we can have everything taken care of," Canfield said.
Ward also has an easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which helps preserve farm property. It carries tax incentives and continues, even if the land changes hands.
Ward said the VOF was helpful, enthusiastic and easy to work with.
Laura Thurman, conservation specialist with the VOF, explains, "Once you develop a property, you take land away from agriculture or forestry." The counter-argument is that an easement in perpetuity to protect undeveloped land puts an unfair burden on future generations and takes away the power of local governments to decide how best to use the land.
"It's scary tying up property (in an easement)," said Ward. "It's an act of faith. I won't ever see a subdivision here and it won't make me a lot of money." Though the land is still zoned residential (R-2), Ward sees no reason to seek rezoning to return the land to its agriculture/conservation classification since the easement prevents any future development.
Thurman emphasized the voluntary nature of an easement - no one is coerced into putting land into an easement, and the VOF will not put an easement on land contrary to the comprehensive plan of the county.
Charlotte Stephenson, partner in Shamrock and Stephenson Realty in Monterey, is a member of the board of directors of the Valley Conservation Council, and a Mill Gap Road resident and neighbor of the Wards.
"(The) Wards' easement is wonderful for conservation," she said. "And he still has use of the land." The easement does not keep him from living on the farm, farming the land, or harvesting its trees, she noted.
Adjoining Ward's land is a 700-acre tract that has also been put under a conservation easement, said Stephenson. Her brother, Steve Stephenson, purchased the land from her father. He then sold the property to a man in Nevada, making a profit on the land in addition to money made from harvesting the timber.
Charlotte Stephenson said the notion that a conservation easement devalues the property or makes it less desirable is wrong. Her brother's sale of land under a conservation easement is proof, she said. "It's a very marketable property. Conservation easements will not deter the ability of the landowner to sell his property. The new owner will be able to recoup his investment and enjoy a very good return on the land."
Wesley Woods, a real-estate appraiser and owner of Myers and Woods Appraisal Group, Inc. of Lynchburg, said 95 percent of his work is in conservation easements.
Woods owns a 520-acre farm, also in Mill Gap, which he actively farms. "Our farm has been in the family since the late 1700s," he said. Woods and his father over the last five years bought back parcels of the farm that had been sold off. Now it has been reestablished as its original tract.
"My wife and I did an easement on 200 acres in 2004 and amended and added to the easement in 2006," he said. His easement, too, is with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
He said it allows the land to be used as it was meant to be used - as a farm. Easements are permitted in Virginia if there is some public benefit, he said.
The property owner conveys certain rights to develop, build on, or change the agricultural use of a property in perpetuity, and has to find an organization to hold the easement. VOF has guidelines permitting certain types of dwellings and buildings, and subdividing. "Those are the biggest restrictions people are concerned about," said Woods.
Easements are agriculture and forestry friendly, he said. A lot of people think an easement opens property to the public, Woods said, but that isn't true. "You can have it spelled out that way in the easement, but I've only seen one out of hundreds I've looked at," he said.
Easements, because they are in perpetuity, do in most cases impact value, said Woods. The easement value is subtracted from the value before the easement, arriving at the value of the easement. If the property is resold it is sold for the purpose to which it can be used, as permitted by the easement.
People buying farms generally do not pay the higher price a developer would pay, said Woods. In that sense, the value of the property will remain less than property that can be developed.
"Properties with conservation easements have value - good value - and will continue to appreciate," said Woods. "Whether they are appreciating at the same value as unencumbered property, that is a yes or no." It depends on the local market for land, he explained. Near an urban area, undeveloped land may appreciate in value more quickly than farmland because the market is development-driven. But in rural settings such as Highland, conservation land has greater value because of its pristine or undeveloped nature; therefore a conservation easement would be a valued asset, not a liability.
Due to a lack of infrastructure such as roads, electrical and sewage hookups, rural land is less valuable for development because of the cost of adding infrastructure, and because of the lack of a substantial market for small acreage subdivisions. The industrial value of undeveloped land in Highland is also low for similar reasons. Industry needs access to transportation to move goods. Highland does not have railroads, highways or airports capable of meeting the needs of most industries.
Woods said tax breaks a landowner gets isn't from the easement, but from the assessed value of the property. State law says property has to be assessed at the lowest value, but that's in a county with land use taxation, he said, which Highland County does not have. Most assessors don't recognize the reduction in value due to the easement, he added.
Woods said keeping land in agriculture is a benefit to Highland County because property is protected from encroaching development. "What would it cost to farm if I had a residential, non-farming neighbor next to me?" said Woods. "Talk to the guys (in Rockingham County) that have a subdivision next to them and see how their farming goes. Their (residential neighbors) don't like cows, fence, etc.
"My neighbors help me and I help my neighbors. If I had 20 houses next to me they might not be real interested in my cattle operation."
However, a conservation easement on his farm ensures that even if a housing development goes in next door, he will not be forced out of farming. "Agriculture is still Virginia's leading industry; why is that bad for the county?" he asked.
He said the potential for industrial development in the county is small and farmland is the county's best asset and resource - and the one that benefits the county most. The county should make protecting farmland a priority, he said. Conservation easements are one way to do that.
"My family has been here for over 200 years," said Woods. "I want to keep my farm in better condition. I want to be a better steward of the land than my forefathers. I paid dearly for the property I bought. I'm tied to the land emotionally. I feel protection in perpetuity is the right thing; it's been in the family for 200 years. Maybe my children will want to sell it, but it has always been a farm and it should be a farm."
Woods' descendents will be able to sell the farm, he said. But they will not be able to destroy what took his family 200 years to build.
Woods said development changes land forever. It decides how land will be used by future generations. In that sense, development dictates to future generations what the present generation wants. "How is development any better (than a conservation easement?" Woods asked.
"The last crop is asphalt," Woods said of development. What is worse about development is that it cannot be reversed. A farm lost to development is lost forever, said Woods.
"We have to have places for growth and agriculture, we need something that works together," said Woods. "Growth needs to be where utilities are available, like in McDowell and Monterey," he said. "These are places where we can grow in and not out. That leaves more open space and more opportunity for agriculture."
Some people advocate larger lot sizes as a way to protect open spaces, but it doesn't, said Woods. "Larger lots eat land up faster," he said. "Where utilities are available, place incentives there to cluster growth, making the best use of the available land. Open areas can remain open and unspoiled.
"I am not a promoter of easements; my job is to value easements as an independent voice," said Woods. "I am not out there selling people on easements. Not all clients should go with an easement. Clients sometimes set forth goals and expectations that can't be met. An easement is not a fit for everyone and is not a fit for all property."
Woods said an easement is first and foremost a financial decision. But from a personal standpoint, he wanted to protect his heritage by protecting his family's farm.
The Wards also own 130 acres at the old landing strip called Hannah Field on Airport Road across from the county landfill, which they also purchased from Arrowsmith. While the McNulty place was purchased with farming in mind, Hannah Field was bought for a different purpose. Both Jeff and Kathryn are pilots. They own a 1948 Cessna and use it for travel. Just last year the Wards, with their daughters, Emily, 12, and Sarah, 9, went across country as part of his 50th birthday celebration. "It is my dream to put Hannah Field back in shape as a low-intensity private airfield," Ward said. "The county is looking into Hannah Field for emergency helicopter landing use," he said. The board of supervisors has tabled finding a suitable location for a helicopter-landing site, but the proposal is in the draft revision of the county comprehensive plan.
The Wards do not intend to move to Highland County soon, but Jeff Ward says he is happy to do his part in preserving Virginia agricultural land and for now, that's enough.
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