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"The owner of a parcel, or contiguous parcels totaling more than thirty-five acres may create that number of lots determined in the following manner. The total number of contiguous acres will be divided by thirty-five. If the resulting quotient is a whole number, the owner may create that number of lots. If the quotient is a whole number plus a fraction, the owner may create that number of lots equal to the whole number plus one additional lot if the remaining fraction equals or exceeds 18/35. " For the Seston property, the acreage in common ownership as of 12/12/81 totaled 75.3 acres, allowing a maximum of 2 splits. At the time the Zoning Division completed their density study for the 6/23/98 public hearing, only one split (CSM 8813) had been recorded by the Register of Deeds. On 6/22/98, CSM 8954 was recorded, which created a second split of 11.5 acres on the Seston property. There is currently a residence on the 2.3 acre CSM 8813 lot, while the 11.5 acre lot created by CSM 8954 remains undeveloped. Although the town plan is silent on the subject, the Town Chair and the Chair of the Town Land Use Committee assert that Berry has never counted the separation of an existing farm house toward the number of splits permitted under the density policy described above (see letter from Melvin Bankes and Barbara Ripp-Statz dated 7/6/98, attached). In the absence of a formally adopted policy, Town officials and county staff were unable to identify a previous rezoning petition in the Town of Berry approved by the county board that would establish a precedent. It is possible that this is the first time this issue has come up in a rezoning context. The Town Land Use Committee Chair has informed staff that several other properties may be in a similar situation to the Seston's, and similar requests may be expected in the near future. The Town is currently considering amendments to its Land Use Plan to clarify this and other issues, but is still in the very early planning stages. Formal adoption of an amended plan is likely several months away. The 1981 Dane County Farmland Preservation Plan, which sets the guidelines for town plans, is also silent on the subject of separation of existing farmsteads from the balance of the farm. Although staff were unable to identify another town plan that explicitly adopts a policy similar to that of the Town of Berry, there would seem to be nothing about such a policy that would be inherently inconsistent with any of the county's adopted plans. B. Public, Local Government, And Agency Input The Town Planning Commission and the Town Board both unanimously recommended approval with no conditions. At the time of this report, no other local, county or state agencies had commented on this proposal. III. CONCLUSIONS A. Summary of main issues/findings Whether or not the proposal meets the requirements of the town land use plan depends on the interpretation of land divided to separate existing farm residences from the balance of the farm.