ILAPA News BURST! Kane County Farmland Protection Program

Kane County Farmland Protection Progarm by Janice Hill

	The Kane County Farmland Protection Program is the first and only funded farmland protection program in Illinois. This groundbreaking program has permanently protected some of Illinois’ most productive farmland at the metropolitan urban fringe. The Kane County Board has received honorable mention awards from the Trust for Public Land and the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association for the program which has 3,848 acres in 28 farms authorized for protection. The County’s commitment to agricultural protection has evolved over a twenty year period beginning with policies created in the amended 1976 Land Use Plan and reaffirmed in a Farmland Preservation Policy adopted in 1991. As part of the creation of the 2030 Land Resource Management Plan, the Kane County Board expressed its recommitment to the Agricultural Area in its 2030 Land Use Strategy. The Kane County Board has also committed as a Countywide Planning Goal that 50% of the county’s land area be in open space and agricultural use by 2030. The Farmland Protection Program was created by ordinance in 2001 by the Kane County Board as an implementation program of the 2020 Land Resource Management Plan. The ordinance established the Kane County Farmland Protection Commission whose duties include maximizing resources and coordinating efforts to preserve the rural character of the county. The ordinance also grants the commission the authority to determine the interest of owners in donating or selling interests in their property for farmland protection purposes. The commission is made up of nine voting members, including the Chairman of the Kane County Board, the Chairman of the Development Committee, a representative of the Kane County Farm Bureau and six members with background and experience in agriculture, finance, conservation or planning. Kane County currently holds agricultural conservation easements on 21 farms. Federal (FRPP) and local funds (gaming revenue) in the amount of $ 17.5 million have been invested to protect the county’s prime soils and productive agricultural land. In 2007, seven farms totaling over 1,000 acres will be added to the list of closed properties. All of the farms in the program are locally owned and operated and are located in the county’s western tier Agricultural area Several presentations and meetings are conducted throughout the year to explain Kane County’s program, which has inspired similar programs in Boone, McHenry and Kendall Counties. Annual work includes the preparation and submittal of the County’s application to the Federal Farm and Ranchlands Program; receiving ongoing applications from landowners; closings on accepted easements; and monitoring of existing easements. Interest in the program remains strong with 12 farms (1500 acres) currently valued at 10.5 million on its waiting list for future funding. For more information contact Janice Hill, Executive Planner and Program Manager at 630-232-3483.
	Janice Hill, Executive Planner Kane County Development Department 719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A Geneva, IL 60134 Phone: 630.232.3483 hilljanice@co.kane.il.us