For 30 years, a farmland conservation program in Long Island was able to keep farmers farming land that was becoming increasingly valuable and sought by developers. But now, the land is being bought by developers and is not being farmed.
"But because land in eastern Long Island is so valuable - in some places, developable land sells for as much as $5 million per acre - even land that cannot be developed has increased in price. An acre of farmland that must stay in its natural state now commands as much as $100,000 an acre."
Increasinlgy, "developers buy the land as an amenity for the housing subdivisions they put up around the farmland. The open grassland or fallow parcels raise the prices of homes around them on the East End."
"A homeowners' association or an adjacent homeowner ends up owning the agricultural reserve, neither of which is very likely to lease that land to a farmer, whose pesticides and noisy tractors and farm equipment might spoil an open vista on a tranquil summer afternoon."
FULL STORY: Preserving Land, but Not for Farmers

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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