Town that lost farmland to data center mulls program

Officials in the Town of Port Washington, which is losing thousands of acres of mostly farmland to a data center campus, were asked Monday if they are interested in pursuing the Farmland Preservation Program.

Although the town opted out of farmland zoning years ago, Town Chairman Mike Didier said Tuesday it’s something he’s open to considering.

But Didier warned those looking for a way to thwart development that Farmland Preservation isn’t a panacea.

“As pointed out, the reason the data center is in the (former) Town of Port is because of our agricultural zoning,” he said, noting it requires 35 acre lots in agricultural areas — something that made it easier for the developer to purchase the large swaths of land needed for the data center.

“That is why we lost 2,000 acres of farmland,” Didier said.

Ozaukee County Director of Planning and Parks Andrew Struck agreed.

“In and of itself, it won’t stop annexation,” he said, although it will likely increase the amount of time it takes for annexation to go through.

Struck said the county is in the process of updating its farmland preservation ordinance, something that is required every 10 years, and asked if the town is interested in the program.

The program has three components, he said — state tax credits of $10 to $12.50 an acre based on income generated to landowners in a farmland preservation area; agricultural enterprise areas that can be created by five or more landowners who can claim the tax credit even if they aren’t in the farmland zoning area, and agricultural conservation easements, which could be purchased from landowners to ensure the land remains agricultural in perpetuity.

But, Struck warned, the state hasn’t allocated funds for the easement program.

And, he added, while land in an easement could still be annexed, the use could not change.

The Town of Belgium is part of the Farmland Preservation Program and is likely to approve it again, Struck said, and the Town of Fredonia is considering it.

If the Town of Port is interested, he said, the county would like to know by August because it needs to complete its revised farmland by the end of the year.

Didier noted that the Town of Port opted to leave the Farmland Preservation Program in large part because it would have to eliminate its conservation subdivision ordinance.

“That was the poison pill last time,” he said, noting the town had recently approved the ordinance and landowners wanted it because they could split off a portion of their land and retain the rest as farmland. The town only has one conservation subdivision, he noted, but it provides landowners with one more option for their property.

The other factor, he said, is that farm owners weren’t interested in the program.

“That’s why we stayed out,” he said.

Even if the town opts to join the Farmland Preservation Program, he said, it may not institute it near the data center complex, where ancillary uses may pop up in the coming years.

The town’s Plan Commission was expected to discuss farmland zoning when it met Wednesday, July 9.