July 7th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

For 30 years the state of Maryland has had a largely successful program designed to preserve farmlands that is conducted through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation- however a stumbling block arose when routine action was requested by the Allegany County Commissioners.  Essentially the program consists of the purchase of development rights of highly productive farmlands. These easements are held in perpetuity but do not allow the creation of housing lots for the children of the original easement seller. When making a presentation to the county on the proposal which includes parcels in Flintstone, Little Orleans and Oldtown- Planning Coordinator David Dorsey declined to identify the owners due to what he called privacy concerns. That raised a red flag for County Attorney Bill Rudd…