About
The Howard County Agricultural Preservation Board (APB) consists of seven board members from the local farming community. Board meetings take place throughout the year on matters related to the Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP) and the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF). Please see below for more information on the current Board Members, the current meeting agenda, department contacts for the program, and other related resources.
James Zoller, Executive Secretary (APB)/Agricultural Coordinator | 410-313-3861
Joy Levy, Administrator (ALPP) 410-313-4382
Board Information
Upcoming Meeting
Upcoming Meeting Materials
2024 Meeting Schedule
Meetings are generally held on the fourth Monday of each month, with the exception of May and December, when there will be no meeting. The meetings will be held at the George Howard Building located in Ellicott City in the Ellicott City/Columbia Room. The meetings will also be held online or by phone too.
The meetings of the Board are open to the public. The decision of the Board is determined by a majority vote (four votes) except a recommendation to acquire an easement requires five affirmative votes.
Note: All meeting dates are subject to change, so please visit the website to verify the date and time.
| Meeting Dates | Deadline for Submission |
| 4th Monday of Each Month | 3 Mondays Prior to Meeting |
| January 22nd | January 2nd* |
| February 26th | February 5th |
| March 25th | March 4th |
| April 22nd | April 1st |
| May 20th*** | April 29th |
| June 24th | June 3rd |
| July 22nd | July 1st |
| August 26th | August 5th |
| September 23rd | September 3rd** |
| October 28th | October 7th |
| November 25th | November 4th |
| December - No Meeting | December - No Meeting |
*Submission deadline for January will be January 2nd, due to the New Year’s Day Holiday.
**Submission deadline for September will be September 3rd, due to the Labor Day Holiday.
***Was added in April meeting.
Scheduling Notes
Unless otherwise noted, all meetings will begin at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).
Board Members
- Leslie Bauer
- Jamie Brown - Chair
- Abby Gibbon
- Cathy Hudson - Vice Chair
- Joseph Dymek
- Chris Rhodes
- Derek Patrick
Enhanced Agricultural Grant FY24
Enhanced Agricultural Grant FY24 application
After filling in the form, please save it and email a copy to James Zoller at jzoller@howardcountymd.gov.
Meeting Agendas & Minutes
2023
2022
Meeting minutes are available online after approval by the APB. Please see below for past meeting minutes and staff reports.
Requesting properties in the County Program only adhere to the Howard County APB. Requesting properties in State Program(s) must be reviewed by both the County APB and the MALPF Board of Trustees in Annapolis. For more information on state proceedings, please visit the MALPF Board website.
November
October
September
June
April
March
February
January
2021
2020
2019
November 25, 2019
October 28, 2019
September 23, 2019
September 12, 2019
August 26, 2019
July 22, 2019
June 24, 2019
May 21, 2019
March 25, 2019
February 25, 2019
January 28, 2019
2018
Additional Information
Location & Directions
Address
Fair Office Board Room, Howard County Fairgrounds
2210 Fairgrounds Road
West Friendship, MD 21794
Directions
- From Interstate 70, take Exit 80 for MD Route 32 towards Clarksville/Sykesville
- Take MD Route 32 South towards Clarksville/Howard County Fairgrounds
- Turn right on MD Route 144 West (Frederick Road) towards West Friendship
- Turn right on Fairgrounds Road
- Turn left on Livestock Lane (3rd left from Fairgrounds Road)
- The Fair Office Building will be on the left
- After entering the building, the Board Room will be to the left.
Rules of Procedure
Submission Procedure
To submit a property request before the Agricultural Preservation Board (APB), please contact Joy Levy at (410) 313-5407. Please refer to the Schedule tab above for meeting dates and submission deadlines.
For program application information, regulations, and policies, please visit the Agricultural Preservation homepage. Please refer to the Solar Submission Procedure tab below for information related to commercial solar facilities (CSF) requests.
Solar Submission Procedure
To submit a Commercial Solar Facilities (CSF) Conditional Use (CU) Petition to the Agricultural Preservation Board (APB), please carefully review the Department of Planning and Zoning Policy below before submitting a CSF request.
Please contact the Division of Public Service and Zoning at 410-313-2350 for questions and instructions on how to submit a Conditional Use Petition for Commercial Solar Facilities. Please review the documents below for additional information on how to submit a CSF request to Zoning and the APB.
- Conditional Use Petition
- Conditional Use Process
- Agricultural Land Preservation Program (APB) Commercial Solar Facilities Policy
- Agricultural Land Preservation Program (APB) Commercial Solar Facilities Application Procedure & Checklist
After consultation with the Division of Public Service and Zoning, application materials should be sent to the Program Administrator, Joy Levy, before the deadline of submission for the APB meeting. If you have any questions about submitting a CSF request before the APB, please call 410-313-5407 for assistance.