§ 3. Findings.

Agriculture is an integral component of the City's economy. Agriculture, tourism and the military are the three major industries in Virginia Beach, and maintaining the continued vitality of all three is necessary in order to achieve and preserve a balanced tax base and a diverse, healthy economy benefitting all of the citizens of the City.

Agriculture is more, however, than just an important facet of the City's economy. It is an equally important part of the City's cultural heritage, having existed, and flourished, in Virginia Beach for more than three centuries. Just as agriculture contributes to the diversity of the City's economy, so does it contribute to the diversity of the City's character.

Notwithstanding the economic and cultural importance of agriculture, its continued viability in Virginia Beach is unsure. The amount of farmland within the City, both north and south of the Green Line, has dwindled from approximately fifty-one thousand (51,000) acres in 1982 to about thirty thousand (30,000) acres in 1993. More farmland is converted to residential and other nonagricultural uses every year. Because of the fundamental incompatibility between agricultural and residential uses, as more and more farmland is converted to residential subdivisions, farmers are often forced to alter or cease certain practices, to the detriment of their businesses, or are discouraged from making investments in farm improvements, or both. The result is the decline of agriculture.

As the Comprehensive Plan recognizes, effective and affirmative agricultural preservation strategies must be implemented. Agricultural preservation is an important economic, environmental, land use, and cultural issue.

(Ord. No. 2585, 6-6-00)

(Ord. No. 2585, 6-6-00)