This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Historic Agricultural Resource Preservation Program (HARPP)."

Introduction. The purpose of this program is to implement the recommendations of Commission 2000, as adopted by CB-80-2000, and to provide regulatory incentives to preserve historic agricultural, rural, and natural resources in the Rural and Agricultural Areas. The County Council recognizes the public value in protecting certain historic viewsheds, vistas, rural culture and character as well as longstanding agricultural enterprises in the Rural and Agricultural Areas in perpetuity through the acquisition of easements. Purpose. The regulations in this Part are established for the following purposes: Implement the policies of the Prince George's County General Plan and the Green Infrastructure Plan relating to the Rural and Agricultural Areas; Preserve, protect and enhance properties that provide historic agricultural character, culture and practices; Encourage others to preserve, protect and enhance properties that provide historic agricultural character, culture and practices; Promote interest in and the study of historic properties and properties that provide historic agricultural character, culture and practices; Maintain historic rural character and way of life through the limitation of non-agricultural uses and the preservation of scenic viewsheds, vistas and related natural resources. Nature of the Program. The program is declared to be of general benefit to the citizens of this County and charitable in nature.

The HARPP program shall be available to all land zoned AG, AR, RE, or RR in, or adjacent to, land that is located outside of the County's approved Growth Policy Boundary area and is within the Rural and Agricultural Areas. Any conservation easement acquired under the HARPP program shall be voluntarily offered by the landowner.

The following definitions shall apply to the interpretation and implementation of the HARPP program: Historic Property: A parcel, site, building, structure, or object located in the Rural and Agricultural Areas with historic agricultural, rural and natural qualities that is significant in the history, upland archaeology, architecture, engineering, and culture of the County (including remains related to a parcel, site, building, structure, or object) or that provides significant viewsheds, vistas, character or otherwise contains unique agricultural qualities of significance to the community within the Rural and Agricultural Areas. Historic Agriculture Resource Preservation Program Easement ("HARPP Easement"). The term "HARPP Easement" shall be defined as a non-possessory interest encumbering a qualifying property, whether the easement is appurtenant or in gross, and conveyed by a landowner in connection with the HARPP program for the purpose of restricting the development potential on the property in perpetuity. Parcel. The term "parcel" shall mean a lot or acreage parcel, lawfully recorded among the Land Records of Prince George's County. Preservation. The identification, evaluation, recordation, documentation, acquisition, protection, management, rehabilitation, restoration, stabilization, maintenance, and reconstruction of an historic property as defined in this Section. Program Administrator. The term "Program Administrator" shall mean the person designated by the Planning Board to administer the program. Construction. A HARPP easement may encumber one (1) or more lots, parcels or a portion thereof. For the purposes of the HARPP program the term "parcel" shall by its terms include all of the property described in the legal description attached to the historic conservation HARPP easement and recorded among the Land Records of Prince George's County.

The Program Administrator shall administer the daily activities of the County's HARPP program and serve as the central clearing house for all HARPP related activities and shall have the following powers and duties: Propose program regulations and procedures for the proper administration and implementation of the HARPP program subject to Planning Board approval. Promote the HARPP program by providing educational materials to the public and conducting informational meetings. Investigate and pursue additional public and private resources to fund the HARPP Program and maximize private participation. Evaluate all applications to determine their eligibility and ranking score, rank applications and include the ranking in the recommendations to the Planning Board. Prepare a report on the development potential for each parcel subject to an application, based on the development certification provided by the Department of Planning and include the report in the recommendations to the Planning Board. Provide the staff support, report and recommendation to the Planning Board for each application. Monitor HARPP easements purchased to assure compliance with the terms and conditions of each easement. The Planning Board shall have the following powers and duties: The Planning Board shall review the report and recommendation for each application provided by the Program Administrator and the Planning Board shall determine which easements should be purchased. Periodically review the program regulations and procedures and make recommendations to the Program Administrator and the County Council of any changes needed to maintain the program's consistency with the Prince George's County General Plan and the Green Infrastructure Plan relating to the Rural and Agricultural Areas.

A parcel must meet the following criteria to be eligible to participate in the program: the parcel must be zoned AG, AR, RE, or RR and located in, or adjacent to, land that is located outside of the County's approved Growth Policy Boundary area and is within the Rural and Agricultural Areas; privately owned; the parcel shall be capable of being further developed; include a minimum of thirty-five (35) acres with no more than one (1) single family dwelling; include a minimum of twenty (20) acres with no more than one (1) single family dwelling and be contiguous to property held as a public park or preserve or property otherwise permanently protected from development by easement or otherwise. A parcel shall not be eligible to participate in the program if the development rights have been extinguished by the donation or sale of an easement to any other party, or if the property is encumbered by a tree conservation easement or any other easement which would prevent the property from being developed.

In order to effectuate the purposes of the HARPP program, parcels for which conservation applications have been received shall be ranked according to criteria and the point values established in the regulations. The criteria shall include the size of the parcel; natural, cultural and scenic resources including, but not limited to viewsheds, vistas, cultural significance; development pressures; proximity to other preserved land and deferral from prior funding cycle as a result of insufficient funding. The Planning Board may consider the rankings provided by the Prince George's Soil Conservation District pursuant to CB-47-2006.

Each HARPP easement shall be in a form recommended by the Program Administrator and approved by the Planning Board, and shall contain, at a minimum, the following provisions: Restriction on division. The parcel shall be restricted from any further division except as may provided in the program regulations. No buy-back option. The owner shall not have the right to re-acquire the development potential extinguished by the HARPP easement. Agricultural uses. Agricultural uses and commercial uses related to agriculture shall be permitted on a parcel subject to a HARPP easement. Prohibited uses. Industrial or non-agricultural commercial uses shall not be permitted on a parcel encumbered by a HARPP easement. Designation of HARPP easement holders. The Planning Board shall hold the easement or may designate the easement holder of each HARPP easement subject to applicable State law. The HARPP easements shall be recorded in the Land Records of the County. HARPP easements may be transferred and/or assigned to another governmental body, land trust or non-profit with a demonstrated ability to monitor easements of this kind subject to applicable State law.

The Planning Board shall make offers to purchase HARPP easements based on the ranking and recommendations of the Program Administrator. If funding is insufficient during a program year to purchase easements from all of the HARPP program applicants, the Program Administrator may recommend that some or all of the remaining applications be considered for acquisition in the next program year.

Inspection. The Program Administrator or his designee shall have the right, upon prior written notice to the landowner, to enter upon the land subject to a HARPP easement annually to inspect for compliance with the terms and conditions of the HARPP easement. Damages. The Program Administrator on behalf of the Planning Board shall be responsible for enforcing the HARPP easement if the landowner engages in practices or activities on the parcel which are inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the HARPP easement. Injunction. In addition to other remedies available, the Program Administrator on behalf of the Planning Board may seek an injunction to halt the practices or activities which violate the terms and conditions of the easement.

General. The landowner retains all of the rights of a fee simple owner, except for the development rights, which shall be extinguished by the HARPP easement pursuant to this Subtitle. The HARPP easement shall not grant the public any rights of access or rights to use the land whatsoever. Limited Number of Dwellings. This section applies to parcels of fifty (50) acres or more. A landowner shall be entitled to create one (1) additional dwelling in connection with an inter-family transfer per twenty-five (25) acres pursuant to requirements of the program regulations.