City of Chesapeake Open Space and Agricultural Preservation Program on the Land Conservation Assistance Network

City of Chesapeake Open Space and Agricultural Preservation Program
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last updated: August 2022

In February 2003, City Council created the Open Space and Agriculture Preservation (OSAP) Program in response to the community’s concern for the preservation of the City’s natural open spaces, rural character, and agricultural resources as an element of the City's overall growth management strategy. The program is a strictly voluntary, city-wide competitive program in which the City purchases development rights from willing landowners in exchange for a preservation easement on their property. The landowner receives fair market value for the development rights of the land, but still retains ownership as well as the ability to have a home on the land and to use the land for agricultural or open space purposes.

The OSAP Program is designed to bridge the gap between the short-term economic pressures on farmland and natural areas and the long-term benefits of farmland and open space preservation. A few of the benefits to program participants are:

The landowner is paid for the sale of development rights, but retains title and other property rights.
Parents can transfer land to their children at farm value or permanent open space value rather than at a higher development value.
Farmland preservation reduces conflicts between agricultural/non-agricultural neighborhoods.

Contact City of Chesapeake Open Space and Agricultural Preservation Program

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City of Chesapeake Open Space and Agricultural Preservation Program is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.