Politics

County commission votes to put farmland bond on ballot

By Bill Moss, Published: July 14, 2026

Speakers on Wednesday morning lined up to strongly support a $25 million bond referendum to fund farmland preservation, saying that the bond issue would be a worthwhile investment to prevent farms from becoming subdivisions and to protect the county's rural character.

Among the speakers were former state Rep. Chuck McGrady, who volunteered to help lead a campaign for passage of the bond issue; Jimmy Cowan, a Mills River farmer and N.C. Farm Bureau representative; Chae Davis, of North River Farms in Mills River; and Ken Shelton, a retired physician and strong advocate of land conservation, who said the borrowing plan if adopted would cost taxpayers an additional $36 a year. The speakers pointed out that farmland preservation was a goal in the recently adopted comprehensive land-use plan, was strongly supported in public hearings on the comp plan and was viewed favorably in a survey the county commissioned.

“I don't blame the farmers for selling. I blame us as a county for not allowing them options — tools in the toolbox, besides just calling their local realtor and signing a listing agreement,” Cowan said.

“I ask you to allow the citizens of the county to decide if farmland preservation is a priority for them and their grandchildren by putting the bond referendum on the ballot in November. There are pros and cons to the idea, I realize that. It's not all positive, and I have some questions myself.

“But I feel like we as citizens should educate ourselves on the bond and make that thoughtful decision at the ballot box, like we do when we decide who will lead our county, our state and our nation.”

Later in the meeting, in discussing whether to green light the bond issue, commissioners and the county manager strongly supported the initiative.

"In my time the board has supported at great length Cooperative Extension, AgHC, numerous farmers markets, zoning, ag districts, numerous public meetings in the farming community," County Manager John Mitchell said. "The board has also hired a farmland preservation coordinator, supported Soil & Water, and the board has allocated resources for the specific purpose of preserving farmland. It's something that routinely has been included at the very top of every comprehensive plan I've been involved in."

Commissioner Sheila Franklin noted that over the past three or four years land conservation and saving farmland have a constantly recurring theme in public input settings.

“Out of all the projects and things that we do, all the things that we're borrowing for, this is the one thing consistently over and over we've been asked for," she said. "It's almost like a hail Mary. This is one thing in our control, in our wheelhouse, that we could do, and I totally agree with putting it on the ballot to let voters decide. If there's so many that have always said that they want this and they desire this, then it's putting your money where your mouth is.”

McCall said the program has the potential to not just to save farms but to preserve the pastoral view of their neighbors.

“Right now, you're looking at cows and horses and maybe some apple trees, but that's owned by somebody else, and if they decide to sell it to a developer because they don't have any other choice — because they have no children to leave it to, or their children do other things and decide they don't want to be farmers — and they sell it, they have a perfect right to do that.

“This is an opportunity for the citizens of Henderson County to protect those views, that land, the integrity of who we are, without having to put up the money to personally buy that property. It allows the farmers to sell their property in a way that they can make a good return on their investment and it still remain in farmland because if they tried to sell their land to another farmer today they would not get anywhere near what those developers are offering.”

County Attorney Russell Burrell laid out the timeline to get the question on the ballot, starting with a special called meeting at 9:30 a.m. July 27, then another called meeting after that. A public hearing is also required. If the commissioners don't act to get the question on the ballot by an Aug. 7 deadline, he said, the next opportunity would be for the primary election in March of 2028.

"I suggest you start talking about the structure of the bond issue — how you're going to use it," he said.

Commissioner Jay Egolf acknowledged there are questions about the process, how the proceeds would be used and how much it would cost taxpayers.

"What I do know is that there has been an overwhelming response to the idea of putting this on the ballot in November and let the general public decide," he said. "I don't have every answer to every question at this moment but that's the purpose of having these meetings in the future. I just feel so strongly in the fundamental right to vote in this country, I just say, man, let the voters decide."

Chairman Bill Lapsley called the farmland preservation "a baby step" in preserving the 11,000 acres of land owned by farmers who have already expressed an interest in a voluntary ag conservation easement.

“If the voters of this county approve this concept, this is not the end all," he said. "It's not gonna be the magic wand to solve the issue. It's a start, and if it goes well, two or three years from now, maybe there's another bond referendum instead of $25 million. Everybody's excited — we'll do $50 million, maybe it's $100 million. It's going to take a lot of money to achieve this goal. Should the board agree to proceed, it's not the single answer.”

While “it's going to be a long road,” Egolf responded, “I feel confident that we should start down this path and see where it takes us. … It's what keeps coming up time after time after time. Let's do it, and let's see where it takes us.”

McCall made the motion to start the process to put a bond issue of up to $25 million on the Nov. 3 ballot. The next meeting to move the process along is set for 9:30 a.m. Monday, July 27. 

EARLIER COVERAGE:

Henderson County farmers could get access to $25 million in farmland preservation grants to ensure that their land stays in agriculture use instead of becoming subdivisions or another type of development.

The county Board of Commissioners was scheduled this week to consider whether to authorize a bond referendum on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. The county faces a tight deadline to complete the steps required under state law. The approved ballot language must reach the county Board of Elections by Aug.7.

“We don’t have a day to spare” to get it done, County Attorney Russ Burrell said Monday.

The bond issue discussion was on the county commission’s agenda for its regular mid-month meeting on Wednesday.

“It would provide funding for incentives for farmers to keep their land in farmland,” said Commissioner Rebecca McCall, who co-chairs the county’s Farmland Preservation Task Force.

Thanks to a state grant and local match, the county has around $822,000 set aside for farmland preservation. A bond issue if approved by the voters would dramatically increase the amount available.

‘All about farmland preservation’

Commissioners are leaning toward making the money available specifically to save farmland, not for general land conservation or acquiring parkland.

“It would be all about farmland preservation and (providing grant) to be able to compensate the farmers to keep their land,” McCall said.

Henderson County lost nearly 10,000 acres of farmland from 2017 to 2022 — 20 percent of the agricultural land.

In an alert he emailed to supporters on Monday, David Weintraub, an environmental activist and filmmaker, urged conservationists to attend the Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday to express support for the bond issue.

“Agriculture generates over $1 billion in revenue in the county each year and supports 4,600 jobs,” he said. “However, if agriculture continues to be replaced by development, another 14,000 acres of farmland is likely to disappear by 2040, taking with it substantial revenues and jobs.”

Weintraub pointed out, too, that a state law barring counties from downzoning land — making the land-use regulations more restrictive — has impeded local government’s ability to curtail high-density development.

“However, if the commissioners vote on Wednesday to proceed with a bond referendum that if accepted by the voters in November could make available $25 million for farmland preservation and other land protections, it would go a long way to protect what’s so precious about Henderson County — our rural character,” he said.

The $424,571 grant the county received from the Farmland Preservation Division of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is intended to encourage the preservation of qualified farmland and “support the growth, development and sustainability of family farms.”

Under one grant program the county is likely to pursue, farmers would agree to place a conservation easement on their land that would block development, subdivisions, industrial use and non-agricultural use while ensuring the landowner’s right to farm, sell or lease, maintain roads and utilities and offer ag-tourism.

What is property tax impact?

While preserving the county’s rural heritage is widely supported by voters, the bond referendum could face opposition from taxpayers who already face a 4-cent property tax increase this year. McCall said Tuesday she did not know yet whether the bond issue would require a property tax increase, or how much one could be. That was expected to be among the topics commissioners would discuss on Wednesday.

Under state law governing a bond referendum, the county must disclose to voters an estimate of how much the property tax rate could go up to cover the debt service. The ballot question must also state what a potential property tax increase would cost per $100,000 of property value.

A legal notice published in this issue of the Lightning notifies the public that the county could seek approval from the state Local Government Commission to issue $25 million in bonds to fund programs for “the protection of natural resources and preservation of farmland and scenic landscapes, including the acquisition of the development rights in the land.”

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The Board of Commissioners meets at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 15, in the second-floor meeting room of the Historic Courthouse. Public comment time generally is scheduled at the beginning of the meeting.