Bald Hill Nurseries: The Proposed Rhode Island Implementation
In 2005, the Schartner family purchased 140 acres in Exeter and North Kingstown that had formerly been the site of the Bald Hill Nurseries at South County Trail (Route 2) and Ten Rod Road (Route 102).

The key corner was, according to the state’s Director of Environmental Management, “The entry to the North Kingstown-Exeter agriculture belt, a very visible corner piece for most living people’s memories”

Schartners Recognized as Stewards of the Land
The Schartners’ desire to preserve the land for farming and their plan to use the land for the inauguration of the Agricultural Conservation Model received wide acclaim from state officials, conservationists and elected officials in both Exeter and North Kingstown.

As noted in the May 2007 minutes of the North Kingstown Planning Commission, “Preserving the rural look of this street corner was important to the members of the commission. They did not wish to see fast food-drive through restaurants here, or a big drugstore on the corner, as they felt they would definitely lose the rural nature of this area with those types of uses.”

In Exeter, public officials also applauded the Shartners’ commitment to keeping the land as a working farm. The Providence Journal reported in June 2007 that “Scott Millar, an Exeter resident and chief of sustainable watersheds for the state Department of Environmental Management, said the town could trust the Shartners as stewards of the land.”

The Financial Realities
When the Schartners bought the property in 2005 for $7.4 million, they knew that maintaining it as a viable farm would require not only the sale of development rights, but also the ability to incorporate housing for farmers and the ability to have limited farm related businesses on site.

While the land would be enormously profitable if it was parceled off and sold for commercial or residential development, the family maintained its commitment to create a sustainable farm for generations to come. This has proven to be an expensive commitment for the Schartners. Since 2005, the family has paid $10,000 every week in interest on the Bald Hill Nurseries property, a tally that as of September 2008 is close to $1.6 million.

Status
Several important changes have taken place as the Schartner family works toward implementing the conservancy model:

• Private supporters have indicated they will donate the money to purchase development rights;
• Voters in Exeter approved a $500,000 bond to be used in purchasing development rights to the property;
• Both North Kingstown and Exeter have amended zoning to accommodate the conservancy model, and;
• Negotiations with the parties involved have been underway in an attempt to reach an agreement that will guarantee the conservancy model and protect the parcel as a working viable farm for generations to come.

Status: Time is Running Out
Currently, negotiations for the implementation of the Agricultural Conservation Model at Bald Hill Nurseries have stalled. The obstacle is not financial, but rather an inability to agree on a method to guarantee decisions made by elected officials today would be binding on their successors.

The Schartner family is seeking certainty that these safeguards be in place in order to ensure that the farm can remain viable for future generations.

With the negotiations stalled and the financial clock running, the Schartners are anxious to finalize the sale of development rights at Bald Hill Nurseries. In order to recoup some of the $1.6 million they’ve paid in interest while attempting to shepherd the Agricultural Conservancy Model through the various bureaucracies, the family has put an unrelated 5.2 acre parcel of land on the market.

“While we would very much like to implement the Agricultural Conservancy Model on the former Bald Hill Nursery parcel, we also must be prepared for the possibility that an agreement will not be reached,” said Richard Schartner. “We are still anxious to get the deal done, but we will only do it properly and with peace of mind for those who want to farm this land in the future. Without that key linchpin – the Model just doesn’t work.”