Established by law in 2008, the Building Lot Termination (BLT) Program is a farmland preservation tool. A BLT easement restricts residential, commercial, industrial and other non-agricultural uses on a given property. The primary purpose of a BLT easement is to preserve agricultural land by reducing the fragmentation of farmland resulting from residential development.
Creating a BLT easement can provide additional compensation to a landowner who can demonstrate that the land is capable of residential development and agrees to forgo that development and terminate the approved waste disposal system associated with the lot.
BLTs are subsequently used in the development process. Acquisition of whole or partial BLTs is required for all optional method projects in Commercial Residential (CR) and Life Sciences Center (LSC) zones. BLTs are options in the Commercial Residential Town (CRT) and Employment Office (EOF) zones as part of the public benefit portion of incentive development. Details are available in the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance, Section 59.4.7.3.
Building Lot Termination Map
News and events
- View the Building Lot Termination presentation (PDF) from the April 7, 2016 Planning Board briefing.
Background
A building lot termination (BLT) easement is a form of agricultural easement that generally terminates remaining development rights by extinguishing the right to build a dwelling unit on an eligible buildable lot. In addition, a BLT easement creates a transferable development right created from land that:
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- Consists of at least 25 acres.
- Can be served by an individual sewage treatment unit that satisfies Chapter 27A, Individual Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Facilities, of the Montgomery County Code and applicable regulations issued under that Chapter.
- Is located in the Agricultural Reserve (AR) zone.
- Meets the requirements under section 2B-16 which would allow for the creation of a BLT easement
When a BLT easement is recorded in the land records, the easement extinguishes the right to build a dwelling unit in the AR zone. This attribute distinguishes a BLT from other transferable development rights.
The Montgomery County Office of Agriculture and the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office are responsible for the administration of the BLT program. To learn more about the process, visit the Office of Agriculture’s website. Information from the County Code regarding the BLT Program is found in Chapter 2B, Article 4.
Goals of the BLT Program
- Preserve agricultural land.
- Preserve open space.
- Protect environmental resources.
- Reduce residential development potential in the County’s Agricultural Reserve to achieve the Master Plan recommendation of an effective density of one dwelling unit per 50 acres.
Staff Contact
Joshua Penn
301-495-4546
Email
Office of Agriculture Staff Contact
Mike Scheffel
Agricultural Land Preservation Program Administrator
18410 Muncaster Road
Derwood, Maryland 20855
301-590-2856
Email
Office of Agriculture