Return to Criteria Map
The LESA program has two main components: Land Evaluation and Site Assessment. The land evaluation of a parcel is based
on only one factor: the soils of that parcel. The site assessment depends on three factors: development, farmland, and clustering.
Each factor has a weight which is determined by the individual county. The site assessment factors are further broken down into
criteria determined by the individual county. These criteria are listed below.
			Union County
Land Evaluation
			Soils	40%
The soils score is calculated from the amount of each soil type in a parcel multiplied by the value of that soil. The soil values are the same for
every state of Pennsylvania.
Site Assessment
Development	10%		Farmland	30%		Clustering	20%
Road Frontage	Points		Acreage	Points		Consistent with Planning Map	Points
2,000 feet or more	25		120 acres or greater	20		Located in designated ag area	20
1,000 - 2,000 feet	15		80 - 119 acres	15		Adjacent to designated ag area	10
500 - 1,000 feet	10		50 - 79 acres	10
Less than 500 feet	5		< 50, but 10 adjoins easement	5		Proximity to Other Easements	Points
						Adjacent to 1 or more easements	25
Availability of Public Water	Points		Crops, Pasture or Grazing	Points		Two easements within 1 mile	15
On site	25		90%+	20		One easement within 1 mile	10
Within 1/4 mile	15		75% - 89%	15		No easements within 1 mile	0
Within 1/2 mile	10		50% - 74%	10
Within 1 mile	5		Less than 50%	5		ASA within 1 mile of Tract	Points
						75% or more	15
Availability of Public Sewer	Points		Stewardship	Points		50% - 74%	10
On site	25		90%+ plan applied	15		25% - 49%	5
Within 1/4 mile	15		50% - 89% applied	10		Less than 25%	0
Within 1/2 mile	10		Less than 50% applied	0
Within 1 mile	5					ASA Adjacent to Tract	Points
			Farm Product Gross Sales	Points		75% or more	15
On-Site Sewage Disposal*	Points		$100,000 or more	15		50% - 74%	10
61% - 100%: slight to moderate limits	25		$75,000 to $99,999	12		25% - 49%	5
41% - 60%	15		$50,000 to $74,999	7		Less than 25%	0
21% - 40%	10		$25,000 to $49,999	5
6% - 20%	5		Less than $25,000	0		Protected Land Adjacent to Tract	Points
0% - 5%	0					Adjacent to protected open space	10
* For municipalities w/o public sewer			Century/Historical Farm	Points
			Declared century/historical farm	10		Agricultural Zoning	Points
Extent of Non-Ag Use w/i 1 mile	Points					Zoned exclusive ag use w/i 1 mile	15
90% - 100%	25		Potential to Convert to Non-Ag	Points		Non-exclusive ag zone w/i 1 mile	10
50% - 89%	15		> 25% land is environ. sensitive	5		No zoning within 1 mile	7
26% - 49%	10		< 25% land is environ. sensitive	0		Zoning for non-ag Use w/i 1 mile	0
0% - 25%	5
			Virgin Farm	Points
			No subdiv/devel. w/i 10+ years	15
			No subdiv/devel. w/i 5 - 10 years	7
			Subdivision/devel. w/i 5 years	0