Eastern Shore Land Conservancy

RESEARCH

Queen Anne’s Rural Preservation and Development Act

A Hard Look at the Link between Downzoning and Land Values

Queen Anne’s County Planning Commission is considering a new zoning policy, called Ordinance 08-25 - the Rural Preservation and Development Act, that has raised concerns about the link between downzoning and land values. To address this question ESLC has compiled a research synthesis of studies focusing on downzoning and land valuation with citations, available below.

ESLC Executive Director Rob Etgen presented this information to the Queen Anne’s County Planning Commission at their December 11^th meeting. According to Etgen, "We work with hundreds of farm families every year and are very sensitive to any impacts of regulations on land values. While we are comfortable that the new Queen Anne’s ordinance will not cause any dramatic decrease in land values, it is important for the decision makers to read the research and draw their own conclusions."

Summary of Research

Of the eleven studies within this research synthesis, seven found that downzoning did not decrease land values and four found that it did. Of the four that found a loss in value from downzoning, the only one more recent than 1988 was a New Jersey study which was not published nor peer reviewed. Of the seven that found no loss in value from downzoning, five were published and peer reviewed. The bottom line is: although the research on downzoning and land values is not unanimous, the majority of the research has found no impact on land values from downzoning.

The Caroline County Experience

The Caroline County Planning Commission also provided the Queen Anne’s County Planning Commission their experience on the issue with a letter describing a successful ordinance in Caroline that is very similar to the Queen Anne’s proposal. The letter available here stated that "the major concern of all involved is the fair market value of farmland due to the regulation change." After analyzing appraisals from the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation for two years prior and two years after the new Caroline ordinance, they found that farmland values had actually increased after the new ordinance was passed. According to the letter, "When comparing those values to FY05 and FY06, prior to the TDR regulation change, there was an increase in fair market value per acre."

Downloads: (all are in pdf format)