In his presentation on land use planning and sustainable development this week, Ed McMahon mentioned a couple of interesting programs you may not be aware of (I wasn't).

One is a farmland preservation program, funded by the farm bill. It looks like he is talking about the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, one of several environmental and conservation measures in the farm bill. FRPP will provide up to $280 million per year for preserving farm land. Here's a summary:

• FRPP provides matching funds (up to 50 percent of the fair market easement value) to help State, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranchland in agricultural uses.

• Participating landowners agree not to convert their land to non-agricultural uses and to develop and implement a conservation plan for any highly erodible land. Landowners retain rights to use the property for agriculture uses.

The catch is that it provides matching funds, so there must be a state farmland preservation program in place. I believe Mr. McMahon said that Tennessee does not currently have such a program, so it might be something worth looking at in the next legislative session.

Another program Mr. McMahon mentioned in a discussion about affordable housing is the Location Efficient Mortgage program. This is a mortgage loan that promotes living in "neighborhoods where residents can walk from their homes to stores, schools, recreation, and public transportation."

The fixed rate 15 or 30 year Location Efficient Mortgage recognizes the cost savings from not needing an auto as additional income for purposes of loan qualifying, meaning that a borrower who may not qualify for a conventional mortgage can qualify for a LEM, or can qualify for a larger loan. The goals of the program are to:

• Increase home purchases in a variety of location efficient communities

• Boost public transit ridership

• Support neighborhood consumer services and cultural amenities;

• Reduce energy consumption

• Improve local and regional air quality

At present, it is only available under a pilot program in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. It was developed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Surface Transportation Policy Project, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Transit Administration, the EPA, and several charitable foundations. Fannie Mae administers the program.

Mr. McMahon noted an interesting fact: The amount spent for a typical auto purchase will service an additional $100,000 on a mortgage loan.