Proposed law would add new definitions to farm-related uses and modify criteria for Agriculture Overlay District inclusion

BY Jason Emerson

Editor

While the first two hours of the Cazenovia Town Board’s July 12 monthly meeting was overtaken by issues regarding Owera Vineyards and its neighbors’ complaints (see related story), that did not mean the board did little else that night. In fact, the board passed one new local law and proposed four more, and also added a new member to the zoning board of appeals.

Arguably the most substantive of the four proposed new laws was Local Law G of 2016, to amend the town code to further support agriculture, farm operations and farmland protection in the town. If adopted, the law would:

• Revise the definitions for “farm,” “farming” and “farm operations,” specifically to reduce the minimum acreage of the definition of a farm to 7 acres from the current definition of 15 acres. This change brings the town code more in-line with the state Agriculture and Markets law.
• Create definitions for farm-related uses such as “manure storage facility,” “winery,” “nursery,” “brewery,” “distillery” and “farm stand” as a way to provide “clarity and guidance” for farms and residents in the town, as well as for the various municipal boards reviewing applications by establishments for such uses.
• Include a new explanation of the potential exemption from the zoning law of certain restrictions on farm operations.
• Modify the criteria for inclusion in the Agriculture Overlay District zoning categorization. The existing law requires farms to have at least 15 contiguous acres and have at least 50 percent USDA prime soils. The new law requires only 7 acres, and 50 percent prime soils or at least a total of 20 acres prime soils. “This broadens the definition, making it easier for a farm to fall into the AO district and be entitled to the protections and permitted uses,” said Councilor Kristi Andersen, who has been the board’s point person in the law revision.

The purpose of the proposed law is to make the town more “farm friendly” in its zoning by implementing recommendations identified in the town’s 2013 Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan.

The town board began creating the Farmland Protection Plan in 2010 as part of its ongoing efforts to protect, encourage and enhance agricultural development and preservation in the town. The plan identified locations in the town that consisted of high quality agricultural soils that were suitable for agricultural production, and offered policies and recommendations designed to encourage the long-term protection of farmland, farm-friendly development regulations, agriculture-related economic development and tourism and increased public awareness of the importance of agriculture to the community.

The board also proposed three other new local laws during the July 12 meeting, including a law to allow the board to override the tax levy limit at budget time (which is approved every year), a law to modify the requirements for the mailing of planning board and ZBA notices to property owners affected by actions before the board, and a law to regulate solar power and energy systems.

The latter proposed law would add a new article to the town code to permit and regulate the construction of solar energy systems within the town “in a manner that preserves the health, safety and welfare of the town while also facilitating the production of renewable energy,” according to the legislation. The law would allow for the regulation of the placement and use of solar systems in the town through a coordinated special use permit and site plan review by both the town planning board and zoning board of appeals.

All four of the proposed local laws will be discussed at individual public hearings for each during the board’s regular monthly meeting starting at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 9.

Each proposed law is available for public viewing on the town’s website at townofcazenovia.org.

Also at the meeting, the board approved a local law to allow for two alternate members each to the planning board and zoning board of appeals, and approved the resignation of Tara Hash from the town zoning board of appeals and the appointment of Gary Mason, a ZBA alternate, to become a ZBA member.