The Chester County Agricultural Land Preservation Board is accepting applications for the Chester County Challenge Grant Program from qualifying Chester County farm owners who are interested in preserving their farm.
Donor Name: Chester County
State: Pennsylvania
County: Chester County (PA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/05/2022
Details:
This program provides opportunities for the County to partner with municipalities and other public and/or
private entities in ways that may otherwise not be possible. Partners can include farmland owners, private
businesses, non-profit organizations, foundations and contributors.
Purpose
The purpose of this program is to permanently preserve agricultural land by purchasing development rights in accordance with the County’s adopted strategic plan and land use policies. Agricultural lands in Chester County that are designated Rural Resource Areas in the County’s Comprehensive Policy Plan, Landscapes 2, are located in locally adopted Agricultural Security Areas, or provide a unique agricultural benefit to the County, are farmland preservation priorities. These areas contain some of the most productive non irrigated agricultural soils in the world, are generally designated for agriculture in local comprehensive plans and support concentrations of actively farmed land.
Funding Requirements
Applications for the purchase of easements require a match of at least 50 percent of the acquisition costs. Applications that provide more than 50 percent towards the acquisition cost may be considered before those requiring more county funding. For each easement purchase offer, the County will commit to funding no more than 50 percent of the purchase price, with a funding limit of $12,000 per acre on each project (whichever is the lesser of the two). The minimum 50 percent match to meet the “challenge” (or result in priority consideration if greater than 50%) may be achieved in one or a combination of the following ways:
- A township, or townships (if farm overlaps municipal lines) committing to providing the match;
- A private (including applicant donation of value) or private non-profit entity committing to provide the match;
- A commitment or contribution to the County of Chester for incorporation into the County’s certification of funds to the Commonwealth for use in the Commonwealth Program;
- A commitment from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
- Funding from the Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program; or, a combination of any of the abovementioned options to provide the match.
- The total easement purchase price shall include the easement price accepted by farm owner and the incidental costs of the acquisition, such as appraisal, survey, title, legal and other appropriate fees. The total easement purchase price shall be itemized in a “Statement of Costs” exhibit contained in the Agreement of Sale. The County reserves the right to apply municipally certified Challenge Grant match funding to the Commonwealth/County Program if farm(s) from municipality have also ranked high enough in Commonwealth/County Program to be funded.
Eligibility Criteria
All of the following criteria must be met for a farm to be eligible for County Funds:
- Availability of 50% matching funds. The most common sources of matching funds are donated value from the landowner, funds from the township in which the farm is located, other private funds, or a combination of funding from these sources. To assess the potential for the County to partner with local townships, the County annually requests that Township Board of Supervisors who wish to participate, provide a written commitment of funds they intend to utilize for this purpose. The above may be waived if applicant indicates 50 percent bargain sale on their application or if local match funds are available from other sources and committed in writing. See “Funding Requirements” section of these regulations for further details;
- Enrolled in an adopted municipal Agricultural Security Area(s);
- Located in areas where farmland preservation has been determined to be consistent with adopted County
- Policy, or possessing unique attributes that make preservation appropriate as determined by the CCALPB.
- The farmland tract shall encompass 25 acres if not contiguous to an existing protected tract, or a minimum of 10 acres if contiguous to another protected tract;
- Contain at least 50 percent cropland, pasture or grazing land. This includes equestrian uses.
For more information, visit Chester County.
