DATE: Wednesday, June 25, 1997              TAG: 9706250499

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN MURPHY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   48 lines

BEACH BUYS THE RIGHTS TO COUNCILMAN'S ACREAGE

Two years ago, City Councilman John A. Baum helped the city create an ambitious $87 million program to keep farmers in business and preserve open space.

On Tuesday, Baum, who farms corn, soybeans and wheat in the Blackwater borough, became a member of the program.

The City Council voted 6-1 to buy the development rights to 567 acres of farm and timberland owned by Baum and his family as part of the Agricultural Reserve Program.

The city will pay the Baum family $849,963 over the next 25 years in return for agreeing not to sell the property for residential development.

Baum abstained from voting on the measure Tuesday. During the meeting, he read from a formal statement distributed earlier to the council that explained how he consulted the city attorney last year to see if he would be allowed to join the program.

``I was advised that, although my participation in the Agricultural Preservation Program would be permitted, I would be prohibited from participating in any discussion and vote by City Council regarding inclusion in the ARP, of any property in which I have personal interest,'' he read.

The City Council Tuesday also approved purchasing the development rights to 352 acres on Fitztown Road in Pungo owned by Robert and Betty Lusk, and 92 acres on Head of River Road in Blackwater owned by Ernest Brown. Both agreements will cost the city a total of $830,000 over the next 25 years.

Baum's farmland, which he inherited from his father with his five brothers and sisters, is located in two areas: one section on Baum Road and another on Crags Causeway.

Councilwoman Reba S. McClanan, who opposes the agricultural program, voted against all applicants Tuesday, including Baum's. Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, Councilwoman Nancy K. Parker and Councilman William W. Harrison, Jr. did not attend the meeting.

Under the Agricultural Reserve Program, which began last year, the city pays landowners with bonds that mature over a quarter-century. Property owners collect interest on the bonds annually, then receive the principle at the end.

Landowners continue to own and farm their property and can sell it if the buyer also agrees not to develop the land.

The Beach benefits, officials say, because the city doesn't have to provide expensive services to new developments in its rural areas.

Baum Tuesday became one of about 20 landowners to sell their development rights to the city. So far, the program has preserved about 3,000 acres in Virginia Beach at a total cost of about $8 million.

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