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Farming Subdivisions: Problematic or Promising?

By Lynn Markham, Land Use Specialist, Center for Land Use Education

Hold it. Don�t planners usually advise against combining agricultural and residential land uses? Tom Daniels, for instance, states:

It is not widely understood that modern agriculture is an industrial process, using chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and heavy machinery. Although farmland is pretty to look at, farmers and nonfarm residents generally do not make good neighbors. Farming generates noise, dust, odors, chemical sprays and slow-moving machinery. Manure runoff and fertilizers can raise nitrate levels in nearby groundwater and surface water above federal safety standards. In turn, farms are subject to trespassing, vandalism, and complaints from nonfarm neighbors.¹

This article will briefly discuss agricultural trends, examples of farming subdivisions, types of farms that are a good fit for farming subdivisions, and planning tools for guiding farming subdivisions.

Agricultural trends

While the overall trend in U.S. agriculture in the last century has been toward a global, industrialized system of production, a counter trend toward local, small-scale, less chemically dependent agriculture and food production has emerged in recent years. An example of this trend in Wisconsin is the rapid growth of community supported agriculture (CSA). Since the first CSA farms began in Wisconsin in 1988, this local food approach has expanded to about 90 CSAs serving over 5,000 households in 2007.²

Farming subdivision examples

So, can CSAs and other forms of small-scale agriculture designed to feed local people successfully combine with residential land uses? A few recent examples suggest that in some cases the answer is �yes.�

One of the best known farming subdivisions, Prairie Crossing, is located forty miles north of Chicago. Designed from the start as a conservation development, it features clustered homes, ecologically restored wetlands and prairie grasslands, and 154 acres reserved for organic farming. Prairie Crossing houses Sandhill Organics, a small family farm on nearly forty acres. One-quarter of Prairie Crossing�s residents have volunteered on the farm, and the farmers� market is an important meeting place for the entire community.³ In Minnesota, The Fields of St. Croix conservation subdivision has preserved 90 acres of farmland and is home to Natural Harvest, an organic CSA.⁴ The Windsor Park subdivision, also in Minnesota, has set aside open space for community gardens.⁵

Other conservation subdivisions have protected agricultural land largely to grow crops for livestock or to graze livestock. In Massachusetts, the Pardon Hill development includes a permanent dedication of 60 acres for active agricultural use � for crops such as corn, hay and grapes, and for grazing cattle, sheep and horses.⁶ The 418-acre Farmview subdivision in Pennsylvania contains 145 acres of cropland that was donated by the developer to a local conservation organization. The cropland is leased to farmers in the community through multi-year agreements that encourage adoption of traditional farming practices to minimize impacts on the residents. Yards are separated from the farming operations by a 75-foot deep hedge-row area thickly planted with native trees and shrubs. Although other developers were skeptical of the proposal to build large homes (ranging from 2,600�3,700 sq. ft.) on lots generally less than one-half acre in size (in a marketplace consisting primarily of one acre lots), the high absorption rate helped convince them that this approach was sound. Reduced infrastructure costs for streets, water, and sewer lines provided financial benefits to both the developer and township. Premiums added to �view lots� abutting the protected fields or woods also contributed to the project�s profitability.⁷

What types of farms fit in farming subdivisions?

Based on a review of several farming subdivision examples, it�s clear that some types of agriculture are a better fit near residential areas than others. Common characteristics of farms in farming subdivisions include:

• Production of vegetables, fruits, nuts, hay, corn, trees or grasses for biofuels

• Grazing animals

• Products or services sold to local residents

• Organic or low pesticide input

To maintain good farm-neighbor relations, both potential farmers and potential homebuyers should be aware of expectations regarding the farm operation including noise, dust, chemicals and odors.⁸

Planning tools to guide farming subdivision development

Many of the farming subdivisions discussed in this article were developed as conservation subdivisions with the agricultural land protected through a conservation easement or land donation. These agricultural conservation easements are described in the box at the right. Notably, the easements limit subdivision and non-farm development, but do not ensure the land under easement will continue to be farmed.

Some of the developers of farming subdivisions used transfer of development rights programs to increase the density of homes. Farming subdivisions may also be developed using Planned Unit Developments or mixed use zoning districts. Effectively using these tools to guide farming subdivisions requires that the tools clearly delineate the types of farms and farming practices that are accepted by both farmers and neighboring landowners.

Conclusions

Subdivisions that include farms have sprouted across the country, countering conventional notions that farmers and homeowners don�t mix. A variety of planning tools are available for guiding farming subdivisions. Farming subdivisions have many of the same potential benefits and limitations as other conservation subdivisions.⁹ Limitations specific to farming subdivisions include relatively small land areas for farming, potential complaints from residential neighbors, and no guarantee that the land will continue to be farmed. If the right types of farms are thoughtfully incorporated into farming subdivisions, potential benefits include reduced reliance on food transported from distant sources, stronger community connections, increased understanding of food production and its challenges, a more localized economy, and improved public health if organic methods are used.

¹ Daniels, Thomas L. et al. (1995). The Small Town Planning Handbook, 2nd edition, p. 131.

² Markham, Lynn. (2007). Community Supported Agriculture in Wisconsin: Supporting Local Farmers and Protecting Drinking Water, Center for Land Use Education, p. 2. 

³ Cohen, Nevin. (2007). Civic Agriculture = Sane Housing, The Nation.

⁴ Minnesota Land Trust, (2005). Conservation Design Portfolio, Case Study 2, The Fields of St. Croix. 

⁵ Minnesota Land Trust, (2005). Conservation Design Portfolio, Case Study 4, Windsor Park. 

⁶ Qroe Farm Corporation, Pardon Hill, South Dartmouth, Pennsylvania. 

⁷ Natural Lands Trust, Inc., Farmview. 

⁸ Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development, Inc. (2006). Conservation Design Handbook: Moving toward a profitable balance between conservation and development in Southwestern Illinois. 

⁹ Haines, Anna. (2002). �An Innovative Tool for Managing Rural Residential Development: A Look at Conservation Subdivisions,� The Land Use Tracker, Vol. 2, Issue 1.