(A) An important goal of the County Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2001, is to "Ensure the preservation and development of progressive alternative and environmentally compatible agriculture and related industries as important components of Northampton County." The Plan's implementation strategies also include a mandate to "Support programs and efforts to protect the county's prime agricultural lands from conversion to non-compatible land uses."
(B) In support of these goals, the County Board of Supervisors endorsed the development of a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program through its approval of the Delmarva Conservation Corridor Plan in April 2003. It was the Board's charge that:
(1) The PDR Program be a strictly voluntary program, designed to benefit the county, its citizens and landowners.
(2) The procedure and standards for determining which sites to purchase be equitable and transparent.
(3) Public and private funding (including donated value) be leveraged to the maximum extent possible for purchases of development rights under this program.
(Ord. passed 7-11-2005; Am. Ord. passed 6-11-2007; Am. Ord. passed 11-14-2007; Am. Ord. passed 5-14-2013)