1. (a) There is a Prince George's County Agricultural Preservation Easement Program.

2. (b) The purposes of the Program are to:

   1. (1) implement the policies of the county's general plan and the Green Infrastructure Plan to preserve, protect, and enhance agricultural properties, particularly those in the Rural Tier;
   2. (2) preserve ecologically fragile and aesthetically valuable environments of the county, including streams, stream valleys, floodplains, wetlands, groundwater, steep slopes, woodlands, habitats, scenic vistas, and scenic corridors;
   3. (3) retain agricultural land and augment other local and State programs certified in accordance with the Code of Maryland Regulations for the preservation of agricultural land;
   4. (4) recognize the public value in protecting agriculture and agricultural viewsheds, vistas, rural culture and character, and longstanding agricultural enterprises;
   5. (5) limit nonagricultural uses;
   6. (6) conserve and protect biodiversity and wildlife and aquatic habitats;
   7. (7) promote interest in and the study of agriculture and agricultural preservation; and
   8. (8) promote tourism through the preservation of scenic resources.

Added by Acts 2012, c. 426, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2012.