EQUITY IN AGRICULTURE: PRESERVING THE VALUE OF DELAWARE'S RURAL LANDS

Equity in Agriculture • Resources • Commentary • Myths and Misconceptions • Frequently Asked Questions

Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography encompasses all of the resources that were identified and reviewed during the process of preparing this paper. It includes many additional resources that were not specifically referenced in Equity in Agriculture, but were important in the development of the paper none-the-less.

American Farmland Trust. (2002, November). Fact Sheet: Cost of Community Services Studies. Retrieved March 2005, from http://www.farmlandinfo.org
The methodology and average results from costs of community services studies conducted throughout the US are described in this article.

American Farmland Trust. (1997). Saving American Farmland: What Works. Northhampton: American Farmland Trust.
This book lists numerous places where different strategies have worked, with a good discussion on agricultural zoning accomplishments.
Available at: Office of State Planning Coordination

American Planning Association. (1999, April 26). Policy Guide on Agricultural Land Preservation. Retrieved February 2005.
This guide outlines the American Planning Associations position on agricultural land preservation and key points that need to be considered by local governments as they preserve agricultural land.

American Planning Association. (1995, April 11) Policy Guide on Takings. Retrieved July 2005
This guide gives a background on takings, reviews relevant legal information and outlines the American Planning Associations position on takings.

Barrows, R.L. & Henneberry, D.M. (1990). Capitalization of Exclusive Agricultural Zoning into Farmland Prices. Land Economics, 66, 249-257. Retrieved February 2005, from the University of Delaware electronic journals.
Barrows and Henneberry point out in this article that economic impacts of agricultural zoning are going to vary according to the specific characteristics of each individual land parcel. However, their study showed that more than 90% of the farmland parcels they used, which were larger than 35 acres and at least 10 miles from a large city, showed value increases due to agricultural zoning.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Brown, J. (2005, May 4). Plans for Cartanza chicken farm rile neighbors. Dover Post. Retrieved August 2005.
This newspaper article outlines the issues revolving around plans to build a chicken farm on the Cartanza farm of approximately 5,500 acres. The emphasis of this article is how neighbors are opposed to the chicken farms, but Cartanza points out that everyone wants to live in a rural area, but they dont want to deal with what it takes to make it farmland.

Cohen, H.D. & Wolfe, B.B. (2002, December 2). Preserving Farmland through Zoning: Lessons from East Amwell. New Jersey Future. Retrieved March 2005.
Cohen and Wolfe discuss what East Amwell did to win the case upholding their downzoning regulation.

Cordes, M.W. (1999). Takings, Fairness, and Farmland Preservation. Ohio State Law Journal, 60, 1033. Retrieved June 2005, from the University of Delaware electronic journals.
Cordes evaluates legal aspects of land use restrictions with regards to takings, land preservation, and speculative development. One of his main points is that agricultural zoning can only be considered a taking if investment backed expectations are present, and investment backed expectations can be argued to be present when a landowner paid a substantially higher price for the land than what the actual value was.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Coughlin, R.E. (1984, May). The Effects of Agricultural Zoning on the Ability of Farmers to Borrow Money. (Research Report No. 8) Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Department of City and Regional Planning.
This report provides evidence showing that reducing development potential does not have a negative effect on the ability of farmers to receive loans from banks.
Available at: Office of State Planning and Coordination

Coughlin, R.E. (1991, Spring). Formulating and Evaluating Agricultural Zoning Programs. Journal of the American Planning Association, 57, 183-191.
Coughlin provides good ideas in this article about what issues need to be addressed to prove the need exists for implementing an agricultural zoning policy.
Also available at the University of Delaware Library.

Daniels, T. (1993, August). Agricultural Zoning: Managing Growth, Protecting Farms. Zoning News, pp. 1-3.
This article talks about how zoning practices influence local politics, courts, and local farmers expectations for their land. It mentions that tax breaks and PDR programs help owners gain land value. It specifically mentions that government is under no obligation to guarantee a landowners capital gain.
Also available at the Office of State Planning Coordination

Delaware Agriculture Statistics. (2004). The State of Delaware. Retrieved August 2005.
This report gives a statistical overview of the agriculture industry in Delaware for the year 2003.

Delaware Air Toxics Assessment Study. (2005). State of Delaware.
This study, by the DNREC Air Quality Section, is an evaluation of air toxic contaminants and the risks to human health.

Delaware Equine Industry. (2004). The State of Delaware.
This report gives a statistical overview of the value associated with the equine industry in Delaware, including the per-acre value of land in Delaware that is used for equine purposes.

Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending. (2004). The State of Delaware.
This report outlines what the policies and strategies for spending are throughout the state, and includes the absorption analysis, which explains how much land is left in Delaware for development.

Donegan, M. (2005, July 13). Developers offering Amish top dollar for land. Dover Post, July 13, 2005
This article explains how the loss of rural land is affecting the Amish people who are starting to leave the area because of increased traffic and congestion.

Downey, K. (2005, June 9). Suburbs by the sea. Washington Post, p. F1.
This article reviews how the real estate market in Eastern Sussex County is growing and how Delaware appears to be unprepared to resist or deal with the growth.

Duke, J.M. & Ilvento, T.W. (2004, October). A Conjoint Analysis of Public Preferences for Agricultural Land Preservation. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 33, 209-219.
The results of this study show that Delawareans do value farmland preservation and are willing to support PACE or PDR programs. Additionally, this study concludes that the net social benefits of preserving land will be positive.
Available at: Office of State Planning Coordination

Duke, J.M., Ilvento, T.W., & Mackenzie, J. (2002, April). Land Uses Issues in Delaware Agriculture. (Report No. 02-03). Newark, DE: Food and Resource Economics.
Delaware land use issues are discussed in this paper. The authors feel that impact fees should be used when other preservation techniques fall short.

Duke, J.M. & Lynch, L. (2003, June). Farmland Preservation Techniques: Identifying New Options. (Report No. 03-02). Newark, DE: Food and Resource Economics.
This article explores different options to consider when creating farmland preservation policies. The creation of a pension plan for farmers is specifically examined in this article.
Available at: Office of State Planning Coordination

Editor. (2005, June 21). Corrections. News Journal. p. A2.
The correct numbers for Delawares poultry industry from the News Journal article about the modern chicken houses being used on Delmarva are found in this corrections segment.

Farmland Preservation in Delaware. (2005). State of Delaware. Retrieved February 2005.
The State of Delaware gives an overview of the states Farmland Preservation Program in this report.

Goldshore, L. & Wolf, M. (2002, October). Stopping the sprawl: desire for farmland preservation leads to 10-acre zoning, claims of confiscation of affected farmers and landowners. New Jersey Law Journal, 170, pp. S-1. Retrieved March 2005, from the University of Delaware electronic journals.
The strengths of the argument of the East Amwell, NJ downzoning case are discussed in this article.

Harville, B. (2004). Little Pink Houses, Part 1: A special report on the impact of onsite sewer in Middle Tennessee. Lebanon Democrat. Retrieved July 2005.
This article describes the issues Tennessee has dealt with when allowing on-site sewer treatment systems to be used. A significant portion of this article deals with the "infrastructure drain" that results from the sprawling development made possible by the on-site septic systems.

Harville, B. (2005, July). New Tech, New Trouble? Planning, pp. 39.
The problems that have arisen from on-site septic systems are discussed in this article, including how they increase sprawl, which leads to a drain on government infrastructure and services.

Holland, H.K. & Schuler, T.R. (2000). The Practice of Watershed Protection, pp. 7-18, 145-161.
The title page of this book outlines the books contents as "techniques for protecting our nations streams, lakes, rivers and estuaries." Specifically, this book outlines studies showing the different percentages of imperviousness at which watersheds and aquatic plants and animals begin to sustain damage.
Available at: Office of State Planning Coordination

Humbach, J.A. (1989, December). Law and A New Land Ethic. Minnesota Law Review, 74, 339. Retrieved June 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
Humbach evaluates legal issues of farmland preservation and how the doctrine of "takings" applies. He specifically argues that theres no constitutional right to develop land and that taking development rights doesnt constitute a taking as long as there is still an "economically viable use" of the land.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Irwin, E., Morrow-Jones, H.A., & Roe, B. (2004, February). The Effects of Farmland, Farmland Preservation, and Other Neighborhood Amenities on Housing Values and Residential Growth. Land Economics, 80, 55-75. Retrieved February 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
This article investigates how people value preserved farmland and open space by examining the effects of preserving farmland on the price of nearby neighborhoods. In some instances preserving farmland created an average increase of $8,203 for nearby homes. The authors also found evidence in one scenario that a neighborhood park increased the value of nearby homes between 15% and 26%.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Land Values and Cash Rents 2005 Summary. (2005, August). United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved August 2005.
Every year the US Department of Agriculture produces a report outlining agricultural land values for each state. This years report lists Delaware as the state with the highest percentage increase in agricultural land value over the past year, and as having the 4th most valuable farm real estate in the US.

Lynch, L. & Nickerson, C. (2001). The Effect of Farmland Preservation Programs on Farmland Prices. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 83, 341+.
Retrieved February 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals. The authors of this paper analyzed how the selling price of farmland in Maryland has been influenced by preservation programs. The main conclusion drawn from their study was that there was no statistically significant difference in farmland values due to preservation programs.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Miller, D.J., & Plantinga, A.J. (2001, February). Agricultural Land Values and the Value of Rights to Future Land Development. Land Economics, 77, 56-67. Retrieved February 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
Using data from New York State, the authors suggest that increases in agricultural land productivity result in higher land values when development seems avoidable.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Miller, M. (1995, August-Sept). How Preservation Pays. Mother Earth News, 151, 70. Retrieved March 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
This article talks about the benefits and options of farmland preservation.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Mix, T.D. (2003, August 29). Exploring the Benefits of Compact Development. Retrieved June 2005.
Mix explains how compact development benefits both the public and developers, while preserving natural resources and making better use of public services.

Montgomery, J. (2005, August 16). Delawares air a toxic mix of chemicals, state study says. News Journal, p. A1, A9.
This article examines the results of the Delaware Air Toxics Assessment Study and the implications they have on Delaware.

Nelson, A.C. (1992, Autumn). Preserving prime farmland in the face of urbanization: Lessons from Oregon. Journal of the American Planning Association, 58, 467+.
The strengths and weaknesses of Oregons attempts to preserve rural land are discussed in this article.
Also available at the University of Delaware Library

Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, 533 U. S. 606 (2001).
The United States Supreme Court ruled in this case that even though a Rhode Island ordinance restricted the use of most of Mr. Palazzolos land, it didnt constitute a taking because there was still a portion of his land which retained "significant development value."
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Penn Central Transp. Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978).
In this Supreme Court case, it was ruled that New York City hadnt effected a taking by restricting development over Grand Central Station because the station retained sufficient economic value without additional development.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Pinkham, R. D. et. al. Rocky Mountain Institute. (2004). Valuing Decentralized Wastewater Technologies.
This report gives an overview of the benefits, costs, and considerations that should be examined when comparing centralized and decentralized sewer systems. One of the main points is that decentralized systems are beneficial because they are an inexpensive way to service areas that do not have access to centralized systems. However, the report points out that it can be burdensome and costly for owners to monitor and maintain decentralized systems and that these systems result in haphazard growth where inadequate zoning regulations are in place.

Protecting Farmlands. (1984). Westport: AVI Publishing Company.
NY, OR and WI are mentioned in this book as states that have adopted legislation allowing exclusive agricultural zoning.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Retzlaff, R. (2004, March) Agritourism Zoning Down on the Farm. Zoning Practice, pp. 2-6.
Agritourism ordinances are discussed in this article, along with how agritourism has social benefits and adds value to farms.
Also available at the Office of State Planning Coordination

Rogers, S.J.T. et al. (2003, December). Downzoning: Does it Protect Working Landscapes and Maintain Equity for the Landowner? (WORD) Retrieved March 2005, from the Maryland Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc.
Evidence in this report suggests that it is untrue that downzoning has a uniformly negative effect on land values, and the report shows that downzoning has helped maintain and increase farmland value in many parts of Maryland.

Schwartz, A.W. (2004). Reciprocity of advantage: the antidote to the antidemocratic trend in regulatory takings. UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, 22, 76. Retrieved June 2005, from the University of Delaware electronic journals.
Schwartz explains in this article that regulations should only be considered as takings in extreme cases when land is left without any economically viable use. He argues that partial takings by a regulation should be disregarded because they are more than offset by the regulations benefits.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Seznec, G. (2005). Effective Policies for Land Preservation: Zoning and Conservation Easements in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Virginia Environmental law Journal, 23, 479. Retrieved June 2005 from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
Anne Arundel Countys rural land preservation efforts are analyzed in this paper, concluding that zoning ordinances that conserve land and the quality of the bay can be effective government tools to preserve rural land.
Also available at the University of Delaware Library

State of Delaware. (2005). Agritourism. Retrieved June 2005.
This webpage lists a variety of agritourism businesses found throughout all three Delaware counties.

Swope, S. (2005, June). Stranded Seniors. Governing, pp. 40-42.
This article explains the transportation difficulties seniors living in the suburbs have and how this problem will compound as the baby boom generation becomes part of the senior population in the next few years.

Tadesse, L. (2005, June 19). Delmarvas poultry farms go high-tech. News Journal, p. E7. The News Journal gives an overview of the growing poultry industry on Delmarva and how new technology has made raising chickens more profitable than in the past.

Toutant, C. (2002, August 12). Farmland preservation ordinance survives fair-housing challenge. New Jersey Law Journal, 169, 7. Retrieved March 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
This article reviews the East Amwell ruling and notes that this was the "first time a court has upheld a 10-acre zoning ordinance that was enacted for purposes of advancing agriculture."
Also available at the University of Delaware Library

White, J. S. (1998, Spring). Beating plowshares into town homes: the loss of farmland and strategies for slowing its conversion to nonagricultural uses. Environmental Law, 28, 113-143. Retrieved February 2005, from the University of Delaware Library electronic journals.
White discusses different tools that have been used around the country to preserve farmland and how these tools have accomplished their purposes.
Available at: University of Delaware Library

Last Updated: Wednesday January 23 2008