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Ag/forestal district
The supervisors witnessed a lively debate after Chairman Hubert Gilkey III announced a public hearing on Dr. Werner Krebser’s application for an agricultural forestal district.
Phil Irwin, president of the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection, urged the Board to approve the application as well as all future ones. Such applications are an “effective tool in preserving agriculturally productive and open space land,” Irwin said.
Bob Dennis, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council, also argued for approval of the application, repeating Irwin’s point that such practice, in general, would protect rural land use.
Dennis claimed that approval of agricultural forestal districts was fiscally sound policy. To support this he referred to a study, recently completed by the Piedmont Environmental Council, which indicates that residential land use is primarily subsidized by farm, forest, and open space land.
Then Robert Eastham stood up to oppose the application. “I must register a protest against agricultural forestal districts. My concern is over the fiscal situation, and the rank unfairness of the tax system.”
Eastham challenged Dennis’ point that approval of the application would constitute fiscally sound policy. The county loses money due to land use value taxation, according to Eastham. “It is wiping out revenues from the county. These applications are granted “to placate and please a particular group of people...”
Eastham urged the Board to do two things: 1) “to do the best you can to try to alter the land use value rates,” and 2) to restrict renewal of maturing agricultural forestal districts by renewing them for the minimum of four years.
Krebser, speaking in favor of his own application, argued that rural land use contributes more to the tax base than does residential land use. “It is utter nonsense to say that open space land is costing the county money.” This was another reference to the Piedmont Environmental Council’s recent study.
Soon after these statements, the Board approved Dr. Krebser’s application.
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