Farmland Protection | Food Systems

This article establishes the importance of protecting farmland, outlines the legal authority of local governments to do so, and discusses several regulatory and nonregulatory farmland protection policies and implementation techniques, including agricultural zoning (area-based and large-lot), cluster development, agricultural buffering, right-to-farm laws, agricultural districting, land evaluation systems (LESA), conservation easements, purchase of development rights/conservation easements, transfer of development rights, agricultural tax programs, impact fees, and mitigation ordinances. It presents Miami-Dade County as a case study for the suggested application of the tools discussed within the article.