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matter of law. As explained in detail below, we shall grant
respondent’s motion for partial summary judgment and deny
petitioners’ motion for partial summary judgment.1
Background
Petitioners owned two parcels of land in Felton, Delaware,
which the parties refer to as Procko Farm and Webber Farm,
respectively (collectively, the properties). In the late 1990s,
petitioners contacted the Delaware Agricultural Lands
Preservation Foundation (DALPF) about selling their development
rights to the properties. DALPF is a State instrumentality that
was established, in part, to prevent the conversion of Delaware’s
existing farmland to industrial or residential use. DALPF
accomplishes this goal by purchasing development rights to
agricultural lands. Landowners who sell their development rights
retain title to their property, but they agree to use it solely
for agriculture or related purposes.
At DALPF’s request, the properties were appraised by Real
Property Consultants, Inc. (RPC). RPC inspected both Procko Farm
and Webber Farm in November 1999 and prepared an appraisal
document for each property. RPC appraised the development rights
to Procko Farm at $222,921 and the development rights to Webber
1 In their motion for partial summary judgment, petitioners
also seek to shift the burden of proof to respondent pursuant to
sec. 7491(a). Because we render a decision as a matter of law,
we decide the parties’ motions without regard to the burden of
proof.
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