ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606190054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MONETA
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
A RETIRING COUPLE can't find buyers for their cattle farm in today's economy, and Bedford County's zoning law won't let them sell the land to a housing developer.
Henry and Helen Bramlett are in a bind.
At 71, Henry's arthritis has gotten so bad, it's hard for him to keep up with the daily maintenance of their 104-acre cattle farm. So, a couple of years ago, they decided to put it on the market and retire.
It hasn't been that easy. Few people are in the market for farms these days, particularly when the cost of farming is higher than it has been in years. The only buyer they could find was a developer who wants to build an 80-lot subdivision on the farm.
The problem is, "We found a buyer for it, and now they won't let us sell it," said Henry Bramlett.
The developer, George Shute, owner of Diversified Building Systems Inc., will buy the land only if the county rezones it from agricultural land to residential use. Because the farm, priced at $395,000, is not in one of the growth areas designated by Bedford County's comprehensive plan, it has been turned down for a change of use permit by the county Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Trying another tack, the Bramletts requested Tuesday that the commission recommend the Board of Supervisors add a designated growth area that would include the area around their farm. The commission is expected to make a decision on that next month.
So now what are they supposed to do? the Bramletts ask.
"The way I look at it, we bought it and we paid for it, and when we get ready to sell it, it looks like we should be able to do with it what we want," Henry Bramlett said.
At least one person disagreed. Someone took an anonymous stand against the proposed subdivision, spray-painting "SAVE FARMS" in big orange letters on a sign in front of the Bramletts' farm.
"I don't like to see farms go into a subdivision, either, because I have farmed all my life and enjoyed it," said Helen Bramlett. "But we can't take care of it. And what happens to the farmland then?
"No young person wants to farm or can afford it. If it wasn't us selling it for a subdivision, it would be the the next person down the road."
Marilyn Walker, the Bramletts' real estate agent, said, "If a young couple wanted to come in and take over this farm, they couldn't afford it. It's too tough to make ends meet doing this."
"They could probably afford to buy the cattle, but when they get ready to sell, they couldn't get anything for it," Henry Bramlett said. "They'd have to give them away."
Auction prices are low and feed prices are high. Cattle that at one time would fetch up to $1 to $1.10 a pound at market now sell for 38 cents a pound. That's not to mention the cost of fertilizer, which also has risen, or insurance, taxes and equipment.
The Bramletts' farm is on Virginia 24, a major two-lane road, less than a quarter mile from Staunton River middle and high schools. Many smaller subdivisions already dot the roadsides, and more new houses are under construction in the area. The Bramletts think that's evidence enough to prove their farm is already in a growth area, county designation or not. But many of those developments predate county zoning or are or permitted under a rule allowing 14-lot subdivisions.
The subdivision would not have the advantage of services such as public water and sewer that designated growth areas such as Forest have. And the county has decided it's important to preserve open land and green spaces, said the county's chief planner, Jeff Burdett.
"From a personal perspective, I understand [the Bramletts'] situation," Burdett said. "They can't survive farming, and there's not a strong incentive for young people to do agriculture. Yet, from the planning perspective, I have to look at the big picture and ask: Why do people want to move here?
"Most people cite the rural beauty and the open land. There has to be some protection for that, or ultimately, we'll end up like a Fairfax County years down the road. Instead of the rural character, we could end up with something that's solid development and the only open space is in a county park."
Debbie Kendall, another county planner, said, "We're not here to prevent people from doing what they want with their property. We're here to protect the rights of everybody in Bedford County."
However, if farmers can't subdivide because their farms aren't in growth areas, and they aren't able to sell their land as farms, "That means no farmer in Bedford County will be able to sell their farms," Walker said. "If this farm doesn't get bought, what's going to happen to it? It's going to get run down. Henry can't keep this up forever."
H.L. Morris, a neighboring dairy farmer, said, "There's no incentives to farm, but they won't let you sell, either. They're going to make you farm and starve to death."
The county gives farmers a significant break on their real estate taxes, and it doesn't tax farm equipment or livestock. However, as an incentive to keep farmland rural, it penalizes farmers who sell their land for subdivisions by making them pay back, with interest, the savings they received in real estate taxes for the last six years.
"I'd rather drive up the road and see beautiful farms," Morris said. "But these beef cattle people are really hurting. They're not getting nothing, and the feed prices are higher than they've ever been."
At his own farm last year, Morris paid about $1,400 a month for feed for his cows. This year he's paying $2,500 a month for the same amount of feed.
Tom Lovell, who owns a rodeo that adjoins the Bramlett farm, opposes the subdivision. "It's kind of hard to bad-mouth a man who bought a piece of property and can't do what he wants with it, but you also have to have rules and regulations," he said. "Bedford County has set up growth zones, and this is not one of them. This is a farming community."
Lovell said he likes the rural peace and isolation of his property, but added, "I sympathize with Mr. Bramlett. Someday, I might want to sell this place, and at that time, I'll probably be like him. I'll want the most I can get out of my property."
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: WAYNE DEEL/Staff. 1. Someone spray painted his or herby CNBopposition to rezoning this Bedford County farm for a housing
development. Color. 2. Helen an Henry Bramlett requested Tuesday
that the county zoning commission recommend theBoard of Supervisors
add a designated growth area that would include the area around
their farm. The commission is expected to decide next month. Color.