
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997              TAG: 9704020503

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: PUBLIC LIFE 

SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS 

        STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  102 lines

PROTECTING PIECES OF OUR LAND ONE OUT OF EVERY THREE ACRES IN SUFFOLK GETS A TAX ADVANTAGE.

James A. Pendleton and his wife spend their free time farming timber and raising goats, cattle and chicken on their 30 acres off Sleepy Hole Road.

Without his paycheck from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to fall back on, Pendleton says he would not have the money for fencing, feed, pesticides, and tractor repairs that the farm always seems to take.

``I'm trying to hold on to what I have now,'' he said.

Suffolk taxpayers help Pendleton keep the farm. Last year, they forgave $300 of the $570 taxes on his land. It's not much, he said, but it was the difference between breaking even and losing money.

Pendleton did not get a favor from a friend in the assessor's office. Pendleton's break came from the land use program, a policy intended to slow speculation on raw land in Virginia's fast-growing areas.

``This allows a family to keep their land and farm their land,'' said Pendleton. ``It keeps me from being penalized for growth.''

Signs of development are all around. Most rural land near Pendleton is being rezoned for houses. This would drive up the value of his land and his taxes.

The story's the same in rural parts of Cheasapeake and Virginia Beach.

One of every 3 acres in Suffolk qualifies for the tax break. In all, owners of about 2,000 properties covering 154,810 acres received $1.7 million in tax breaks last year.

Last year in Virginia Beach, taxpayers forgave $2.9 million in taxes on 46,812 acres, nearly 30 percent of the land in the program. Tax breaks in Chesapeake amounted to about $3 million on 32,590 acres, or 2 percent of the land in the program, said Diane Anderson, a city assessor. Portsmouth has only one property, the Elizabeth Manor Golf Course and Country Club, that qualifies; Norfolk has none.

Many people see the public benefit of giving farmers like Pendleton a taxpayer-financed subsidy.

It's harder for people to understand why tax breaks should go to speculators who don't rely on farming for a living, or the owners of golf courses used for recreation.

For example, Cedar Point Country Club is assessed at $6.7 million. But it was taxed only on its land, $309,700. The city lost $37,072.

Critics say land speculators should help pay for services to support residential growth. Supporters say it helps taxpayers in the long run by preserving open space and slowing the growth of subdivisions that add to city burdens.

The tax breaks originated in 1971 when the General Assembly allowed taxes to be levied on the crops and timber land produced, rather than the price the land would get on the open market. Later, state legislators added open spaces, such as golf courses, to protect the state's scenic beauty from development pressures. Marshlands are also included.

Some officials, including Suffolk Treasurer Ronald H. Williams, say that although a locality loses revenue, the program is beneficial, especially for struggling farmers.

``Other taxpayers think the farmers are getting a break. If you did away with land use, that land would be developed,'' said Williams. ``The farmers wouldn't be able to afford it. You'd see more foreclosures, auctions and `for sale' signs.''

In Virginia Beach, the aim is to build more golf courses, so the break is an incentive, said City Assessor Gerald D. Banagan.

Cities have the ability to recoup taxes when farm land is sold for development, said Suffolk Real Estate Assessor Maria Kattmann.

Before property taxed under the land use program can be changed in use - say, sold to a developer for a subdivision - the applicant must pay a rollback tax equal to the difference in the tax paid over the previous five years and the amount that would have been paid at market value, said Kattmann.

Critics, including former Suffolk Mayor Andrew B. Damiani, said five years isn't enough. In the late 1980s, Damiani pushed the General Assembly to increase the rollback to 10 years. That would deter certain people, such as land speculators, he said. The proposal died.

``I thought it would be additional money for the city, especially the way the city is always scrambling for money,'' Damiani said.

Yet Finance Director M. Christine Ledford, said that with Suffolk's growth, agricultural land already is changing to residential. That will gradually add more real-estate revenue.

``The amount of land will change as the city grows,'' said Ledford. ``The comprehensive land use plan will decide a lot of that, and it should be a good balance.'' ILLUSTRATION: SELECTED SUFFOLK PROPERTIES

VP GRAPHIC

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]

SOURCE: Suffolk Planning Department and Real Estate Assessr's Office

JOHN H. SHEALLY II

The Virginian-Pilot

James A. Pendleton with his daughter, Troy, at the family's farm. He

says the tax break lets farmers keep their land.

LAND USE PROGRAM

HISTORY: In 1971, the General Assembly decided to levy taxes on

crops and timber grown on the land, rather than the open land's

worth on the market.

WHAT QUALIFIES: