response is usually a loud “ Huh ?”
For more than three decades , the League has actively advocated on behalf of the 93,000-acre Agricultural Reserve , an area a third of Montgomery County and almost twice the size of the District of Columbia , preserved for agriculture and rural open space and just twenty minutes from bustling downtown Bethesda . Rural , bucolic , and populated by cows , horses , chickens and , yes , people , the Ag Reserve is unique and visionary .
Dedicating this land to agricultural pursuits and preserving its distinctive character has not been easy — which is where the LWV of Montgomery County comes in . Since the late 1990s , the League ’ s Agriculture Study Committee has been fighting and advocating to ensure that the Ag Reserve continues to contribute to our citizens ’ quality of life . The preservation of agricultural land in the county through various means has been a major focus , but in the past , the League has supported such issues as food security , a new farmer program emphasizing sustainable agricultural practices , and deer management . The LWV Agriculture Study Committee review of the 2019 Agritourism Report resulted in League support for agritourism related to agricultural activities . In 2022 , the League advocated against allowing outside solar producers to lease productive farmland in the Agricultural Reserve for commercial solar production ; instead , we supported expanding the amount of solar energy farmers could produce accessory to farming .
Today , the LWV is looking at issues dealing with rustic roads in need of upgrades to accommodate
PHOTO : CAROLINE TAYLOR
today ’ s larger farm equipment , the desirability of continuing the fortyyear-old transferable development rights ( TDR ) program , as well as a current proposal that would allow facilities for overnight stays on farmland in the Reserve .
The drive to develop land — build houses , gas stations , strip malls — is primal . People need homes and services . But land is finite , so someone ’ s new gas station is another person ’ s desecration of a pristine landscape . For many years , the League has worked to find the right balance . The LWV has strongly advocated for the county to honor its commitment to compensate landowners for reduced land values due to rezoning at the time of the Reserve ’ s creation by maintaining a viable market for TDRs that allows farmers and landowners to cultivate their land while enabling developers to buy and use these TDRs to build increased density in designated areas around the county . The TDR program has been critical to preserving agricultural land and rural open space , at the same time recognizing the property rights of those who own and / or work the land . Acknowledging that some development will occur , the League supports cluster development , which encourages landowners in the Agricultural Reserve to build houses in small groups , thereby creating communities and preserving large tracts of land for agricultural use , unbroken by scattered houses .
Over the years , the League has steadfastly supported the agricultural and environmental communities through testimony , public advocacy , and collaboration with groups such as the Mont-
Top : Tanya Doka-Spandhla of Passion to Seed Gardening provides chemicallyfree and organic based produce from Zimbabwe in the Ag Reserve ; above : a country sign at Two Story Chimney Ciderworks in Damascus .
gomery Countryside Alliance , the U . S . Soil Conservation Service , and Montgomery County ’ s Planning Board and Office of Agriculture . Of vital importance is how the League reaches agreement on what we support . Taking a position on an issue of interest is not a top-down process ; rather , it is the result of study by members , followed by public discussion of the pros and
plenty I spring sowing 2024 29