Editor, The Transcript:

“Why so much for the land?”

On the Transcript's Sunday editorial page Roy L. Brown asks the question above, comparing the cost per acre of the proposed Potts' conservation easement with the cost per acre of the Kuhlman conservation easement, acquired in 2002. It is a valid question. I appreciate the opportunity to explain the difference.

The short answer to his question is because the Potts' property, albeit in the floodplain, was zoned Residential 1(R-1) in the early 80s and is adjacent to an existing residential development. By contrast the 107 acres of the Kuhlman conservation easement at the southeast corner of Porter and Franklin was and is zoned agricultural. Both properties are in a floodplain. Everything else is different-location, the year with its corresponding property values, and the zoning.

Roger Spears of Mannford, who appraised the Potts' property, is one of only two appraisers in Oklahoma qualified by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) training to appraise conservation easements. Mr. Spears has appraised conservation easements in many parts of Oklahoma. In this case he appraised parcels separately, based both on present zoning and use. For example, the oil well site, with R-1 zoning, was appraised at $0, while acres out of the floodplain with R-1 zoning were appraised in line with similar property in the area.

It has also been claimed that properties in the floodplain cannot be developed, therefore purchasing development rights are not necessary. Unfortunately this is not true.

The preservation of farm and ranch land is a priority for the United States government. The City of Norman expressed a similar goal, Goal 6: Greenbelt Development, in the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided funds in recent farm bills to help acquire conservation easements, essentially development rights, from willing sellers, on prime or locally important soils. In the 2008 Farm Bill, preservation goals have been expanded to cover lands important to a community. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service, administers these funds for the USDA.

The Norman Area Land Conservancy (NALC) was incorporated in 2000 and later applied for private non-profit status, after Norman's Greenbelt Task Force expressed the need for a local conservancy. One of NALC's goals is to consider farmland in the floodplain because it is often the most productive farmland and is usually reasonably priced.

In 2004 NALC applied for and received an NRCS grant, which included the Potts property. These federal dollars require a local match. We approached the City of Norman for the match. The City Council responded by encumbering funds for a match, should we find willing sellers of conservation easements on their property. All of the funds are paid to the willing landowner/seller of development rights, creating a perpetual conservation easement filed in the courthouse, running with the land title. The owner still owns the land.

One of the many things I appreciate about Norman is alert citizens, who watch what is going on and ask their questions. I hope that I have been able to provide useful facts. I believe that the protection of this land is a good deal for Norman's citizens.

Lyntha Wesner,

Vice President,

Norman Area Land Conservancy, Inc.