If MoCo need housing, why keep agricultural reserve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally think food shortages are going to be an issue in our lifetime or our children’s. Currently a ridiculous amount of our food comes from California .. with climate change, fires and droughts, how low can that continue? And the food coming from other countries? How long will that continue as they face shortages and political instability? We need more food grown in lots of different places and ideally closer to home than what we currently have. I don’t think the MoCo Ag preserve is being super well utilized at the moment but at least it is there if we need to repurpose it.

MD is too cold outside the summer to provide produce year round. CA is warm enough year round to provide produce, even in the winter.

I grow vegetables and fruit here in the summer, for like 3 maybe 4 months total, and fall fruits only last for like 2 weeks. I grew tomatoes in CA from early March until November.

-40 year CA resident who misses fresh produce year round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally think food shortages are going to be an issue in our lifetime or our children’s. Currently a ridiculous amount of our food comes from California .. with climate change, fires and droughts, how low can that continue? And the food coming from other countries? How long will that continue as they face shortages and political instability? We need more food grown in lots of different places and ideally closer to home than what we currently have. I don’t think the MoCo Ag preserve is being super well utilized at the moment but at least it is there if we need to repurpose it.

MD is too cold outside the summer to provide produce year round. CA is warm enough year round to provide produce, even in the winter.

I grow vegetables and fruit here in the summer, for like 3 maybe 4 months total, and fall fruits only last for like 2 weeks. I grew tomatoes in CA from early March until November.

-40 year CA resident who misses fresh produce year round.

Apples and squashes definitely last for longer than 2 weeks, if you store them properly. And no, Maryland is not too cold outside to provide produce year round. Have you been to farmers' markets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

So that MCPS can spend even more money on bus transportation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

Hard disagree. Our agricultural lands should be protected forever. You build a school then you have a parking lot. You have roads leading up to it and housing be gets built up around it. This is not a good idea.

Other option might be to stop allowing overdevelopment in close-in areas, preserving remaining parks, stopping the trading of county-owned properties there for that owned by developers farther out, requiring area infrastrucute coincident with area development (as opposed to as an afterthought), etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

Hard disagree. Our agricultural lands should be protected forever. You build a school then you have a parking lot. You have roads leading up to it and housing be gets built up around it. This is not a good idea.

Other option might be to stop allowing overdevelopment in close-in areas, preserving remaining parks, stopping the trading of county-owned properties there for that owned by developers farther out, requiring area infrastrucute coincident with area development (as opposed to as an afterthought), etc.

What constitutes "overdevelopment"? Which parks aren't being preserved? Would you prefer for the development to be in far-out areas on former farmland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

The developers should be required to give over the land they own and profit from to the infrastructure needed because they are building homes. Leave the Ag alone. Developers don't get to say -- oops we used all this land of ours to build houses, but we forgot people need schools, and groceries, and utilities, and play space, so give up MORE land from our essential agricultural reserve to build what we selfishly refused to incorporate into our building plan. Space for infrastructure should come from the land of those profiting from and creating the need for it in the first place; not from the land that benefits us all by being undeveloped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally think food shortages are going to be an issue in our lifetime or our children’s. Currently a ridiculous amount of our food comes from California .. with climate change, fires and droughts, how low can that continue? And the food coming from other countries? How long will that continue as they face shortages and political instability? We need more food grown in lots of different places and ideally closer to home than what we currently have. I don’t think the MoCo Ag preserve is being super well utilized at the moment but at least it is there if we need to repurpose it.

MD is too cold outside the summer to provide produce year round. CA is warm enough year round to provide produce, even in the winter.

I grow vegetables and fruit here in the summer, for like 3 maybe 4 months total, and fall fruits only last for like 2 weeks. I grew tomatoes in CA from early March until November.

-40 year CA resident who misses fresh produce year round.

Uh, nope. You have no idea what you are talking about.

- MD farmer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

The developers should be required to give over the land they own and profit from to the infrastructure needed because they are building homes. Leave the Ag alone. Developers don't get to say -- oops we used all this land of ours to build houses, but we forgot people need schools, and groceries, and utilities, and play space, so give up MORE land from our essential agricultural reserve to build what we selfishly refused to incorporate into our building plan. Space for infrastructure should come from the land of those profiting from and creating the need for it in the first place; not from the land that benefits us all by being undeveloped.

They are required to do that. How is that relevant to the Ag Reserve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s so much news about the need for housing in MoCo. There are many bills being circulated to increase the number of developments/houses in areas already at capacity. But almost a third of the county is an agricultural reserve with significant restrictions on building/development. Why? Could we remove that designation and open it up to more housing and increase the supply- thus creating much needed affordable housing?

Hell NO!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because we need green space for our health and wellbeing.

+1, space for wildlife and game animals, too. The agricultural reserve is a vitally important place for deer and upland game bird hunting.

[Anonymous]

The agricultural reserve should be turned into Open Space, and not allow ANY housing in it. And then upzone the entire 270 corridor to allow Manhattan skyscrapers by right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is plenty of land not being used well in the rest of MoCo, just come over to the eastern side.

One reason I like MoCo is that it hasn't been totally built out and there are trees as well as farms.

No developer wants to build along the PG County line. Not much profit or cachet in the But developers would salivate to be able to buildout "Northwest Potomac."

Also, imagine the development potential of extending 370/Intercounty Connector west to a new Potomac Crossing. This is the stuff of developer wet dreams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is plenty of land not being used well in the rest of MoCo, just come over to the eastern side.

One reason I like MoCo is that it hasn't been totally built out and there are trees as well as farms.

No developer wants to build along the PG County line. Not much profit or cachet in the But developers would salivate to be able to buildout "Northwest Potomac."

Also, imagine the development potential of extending 370/Intercounty Connector west to a new Potomac Crossing. This is the stuff of developer wet dreams.

What's that big construction site on Cherry Hill Road?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

Hard disagree. Our agricultural lands should be protected forever. You build a school then you have a parking lot. You have roads leading up to it and housing be gets built up around it. This is not a good idea.

Other option might be to stop allowing overdevelopment in close-in areas, preserving remaining parks, stopping the trading of county-owned properties there for that owned by developers farther out, requiring area infrastrucute coincident with area development (as opposed to as an afterthought), etc.

What constitutes "overdevelopment"? Which parks aren't being preserved? Would you prefer for the development to be in far-out areas on former farmland?

Oh, look! It's the "earnest truth seeker" question-only poster from the MCPS forum coming to cast doubt on others' suggestions and setting up straw men without providing anything substantive for critique in return. Funny meeting you here!

Of course I'm not advocating for mushroom developments on far-flung farmland. I'd advocate for more responsible consideration of development in those higher-density areas, though. You know, school capacity and such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering the county has a hard time finding new space for schools, I think the Ag reserve and other green spaces should be on the table for new school construction. MoCo cant on one hand keep green lighting housing projects then claim there is no land to build new school to absorb the new students. They need to find a way to make it happen and it might involve some hard choices.

Hard disagree. Our agricultural lands should be protected forever. You build a school then you have a parking lot. You have roads leading up to it and housing be gets built up around it. This is not a good idea.

Other option might be to stop allowing overdevelopment in close-in areas, preserving remaining parks, stopping the trading of county-owned properties there for that owned by developers farther out, requiring area infrastrucute coincident with area development (as opposed to as an afterthought), etc.

What constitutes "overdevelopment"? Which parks aren't being preserved? Would you prefer for the development to be in far-out areas on former farmland?

Oh, look! It's the "earnest truth seeker" question-only poster from the MCPS forum coming to cast doubt on others' suggestions and setting up straw men without providing anything substantive for critique in return. Funny meeting you here!

Of course I'm not advocating for mushroom developments on far-flung farmland. I'd advocate for more responsible consideration of development in those higher-density areas, though. You know, school capacity and such.

We're all in favor of responsible consideration. We don't all mean the same things when we use the term "responsible consideration", though. Which is why it can be helpful to explain specifically what you mean. If that's truth-seeking, ok, seeking truth is good, though I'd settle for just some basic clarification.