In the results of the 2000 Comprehensive Plan Survey that was sent to all residents of Mount Joy Township, two-thirds of the responses said that the Township is growing too fast.  So fast, in fact, that the rate of growth in Adams County is the fourth highest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania .  During the past decade, Mount Joy Township , alone, has seen the growth rate increase by 13.5%.   This increase may not seem significant, but when compared with a state-wide increase of only 3.4%, it is a shocking amount.

Mount Joy Township covers an area of approximately 16,700 acres.  Of this area, approximately 11,000 acres are still considered farmland.  Due to the Township's rapid growth, this farmland acreage is also that which is subject to development.

According to the Comprehensive Plan Survey, the responders overwhelmingly supported the idea of maintaining rural character and protecting the quality and quantity of groundwater.   When asked what types of development should be encouraged, crop farming and raising livestock & poultry (excluding intensive, concentrated operations) were among the top three preferences.  About two-fifths of the residents that responded, were in favor of the Township spending its own tax dollars for farmland preservation.

The Board of Supervisors, of Mount Joy Township , took a visionary step towards addressing the problem of urban sprawl, and during their September 2001 meeting, decided to start an Agricultural Land Preservation Program of its own.  The Agricultural Land Preservation Program would be a voluntary program to give landowners an alternative method to preserve farms.  Its purpose would be to purchase perpetual conservation easements on farmland.  These easements would guarantee that agricultural land could never be subdivided, nor used for a purpose other than agricultural production.

In an effort to decide whether or not to approve this program, the Supervisors formulated the following list of benefits that preserving agricultural land would provide:

1.          It would help to maintain our quality of life.  The residents of Mt. Joy Township enjoy a certain quality of life that, surely, is not exclusive to them, but is something special nonetheless.  Even with recent development, we can still take pleasure in pristine views, fresh air, and open spaces, with plenty of elbow room.

2.          It would help to safeguard our rural economy.  Agriculture is the number one industry in the state, in the county and in the township.  Although a very small segment of the population is directly involved in the production of agriculture, as much as 25% of the population is employed in some aspect of the food sector.  This makes agriculture essential to the economy.

3.          It would lower municipal costs.  At the present time, Mt. Joy Township is required to provide very little in the form of costly services, for its citizens, compared to other nearby municipalities.   Road maintenance is provided, but we do not need other services such as municipal police protection, paid fire service or schools; which would surely come with greater growth.

4.          It would reduce environmental concerns.  Open spaces, particularly farmland, offer another important advantage over more congested areas:  less pollution.  Pollution of all types, including air pollution from manufacturing & automobiles, water pollution from on site septic systems or pollution from noise & light, are all reduced or nonexistent in rural areas.

5.          According to the Comprehensive Survey, the Township would have the support of its citizens.   In the survey, the residents stated that they wanted to do everything possible to maintain the rural character of Mount Joy Township .

And so, after a yearlong effort by the Agricultural Land Preservation Board, a program was developed and approved, unanimously, by the Board of Supervisors.  The Supervisors also allocate $200,000.00 towards the costs associated with the purchase of easements within the Township.

The Agricultural Land Preservation program closely resembles the program used by the State/County.  At the start up of our program, we received the County results and then did our own ranking of the Township farms which were not purchased by the County.

In its sixth year of existence, the Mount Joy Township Agricultural Land Preservation program, is the first of its kind in Adams County.   It has preserved over 894.53 acres of land, which will NEVER be developed, thus preserving our rural quality of life.  Mount Joy Township hopes to preserve, through its program, at least 5,000 acres in a span of 15 years by all entities (including also the Land Conservancy of Adams County, Adams County Agricultural Land Preservation).  

The IV round has been completed and Round V will open sometime in 2008.  The program has spent $1,674,764.87 which it has used the full 2003 Bond of $1 Million and County Grants of $100,000.00 and other fund's ear marked for Agricultural Land Preservation. The residents of Mt. Joy, at it's Nov. 2005 election, approved a 2006 Bond in the amount of $2 Million for this program. The goal of Mount Joy Township' s Agricultural Land Preservation program has always been, and will always be, to support the rural character and viability of agriculture in the Township.  With the participation and support of all the residents, this program will do just that.

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Ag Land Preservation Packet

Please download this PDF about the Ag Land Preservation Program and find out just what the program is, how it works and lots of other useful information.

Ag Land Packet (293 KB)

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