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Thursday, April 08, 2004

Indiana Law - Farmland preservation

"Exploiting farmland efforts" is the title of an editorial Wednesday in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that warns:

Well-intentioned laws created to preserve family farms and stop urban sprawl have been faltering in the face of shrewd business practices by developers. Indiana has been far from immune to sprawl, but new efforts to control it shouldn’t create loopholes that are exploited in ways seen in other states.
The editorial cites an AP story from April 4, 2004, and a bill introduced last session by State Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City (SB 362; introduced version) in making its points:
Many states use property tax breaks to encourage small farmers to forgo selling their land to developers. The tax breaks make the difference between survival and financial death for many family farmers. But too often tax breaks fail to either stem urban sprawl or keep small farmers in business. Studies by many universities and think tanks show tax breaks appear to have little effect in the hottest real estate markets.

The rapid conversion of farmland in Indiana into residential and commercial projects can be seen around Indianapolis, northwest Indiana, north of Louisville, Ky., and northern Allen County. Indiana lost more than 400,000 acres of farmland between 1997 and 2002, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistical Service. The average loss of about 90,000 acres a year is equivalent to the area of Blackford County, an amount that Greg Preston, a state statistician, called “just mind-boggling.”

The state has been more reluctant than most to use tax breaks to dampen the trend and has solid reasons for its caution. Powerful economic forces pushing agriculture toward bigger, more efficient farms are hard to resist. Many older farmers are reluctant to hang on to to their farms when no family member is available to take over. For many on the outskirts of growing cities, the increasing value of their land represents a form of retirement fund after a lifetime of hard work.

Still, the potentially harmful effects of urban sprawl – air pollution, traffic congestion, destruction of scenery and important wildlife habitat – cannot be ignored. The arrival of new residents in the countryside sometimes brings clashes with remaining farmers who have a higher tolerance for the smells, dust and pesticides associated with their work.

State Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, tried to balance the competing issues with a farmland-preservation bill in the last session of the legislature. Ford’s bill wisely included provisions for penalizing those who gain from a freeze in their property taxes and then try to develop their land later. The bill limited itself to enforcing voluntary agreements between local governments and landowners, a politically sensible concession to those worried about the state imposing restrictions on what they can do with their land.

[Update 4/13/04] An AP story today in the Indianapolis Star reports: "FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Indiana farmers worried about urban sprawl are pushing for a state program that would buy up the development rights to large tracts of farmland." The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette posted this lengthy story yesterday that begins:
Indiana lost enough farmland in 2003 to fill Marion County, and even more is expected to disappear under housing developments and strip malls this year. As farm ground continues to disappear under roads, houses and factories, state and local leaders are considering ways to protect the remaining agricultural land. Tax breaks, zoning enhancements and direct purchase of the land's development rights, similar to mineral rights, are options that could help curb suburban sprawl in Indiana.
And the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel had this editorial yesterday that starts:
Does every new Hoosier, from infant to immigrant, need his own paved acre? That question comes to mind when we compare the state's population growth with the development (or destruction, depending on your attitude) of the state's farmland.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 8, 2004 08:56 AM
Posted to Indiana Law