Goals for Farmland

Goals for Farmland - Purchase of Development Rights

• Develop a Town of South Windsor Application for Farmland Purchase of Development Rights in order to review and evaluate potential farmland areas. Combine funding with other State/Federal/ or Non-Profit agencies: CT Agriculture Dept CT Farmland Trust; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; CT Dept of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP); South Windsor Land Conservation Trust;
• Develop a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program to have housing and commercial developers pay into a Farmland Preservation Fund in exchange for added density in cluster home developments or commercial construction. The town does a ‘fee-in-lieu’ of open space in cases where the open space requirement in a new development cannot be met.
• The South Windsor Town Budget could include a line item allocation each year for future Farmland Preservation – to preserve locally important farmland soils.

Factors in the Farmland - Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)

• Farmland remains in private ownership and the owner pays local property taxes
• Assists in keeping families on farms and continues land use for Agriculture – permanently
• Assists in identifying land important to our town’s history and heritage
• Accomplishes the goals identified in the Town Plan of Conservation and Development