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Committee splits two agricultural-district inclusion requests; Newburgh parcel faces scrutiny after town letter and code-enforcement reports
Summary
The committee divided two open-enrollment applications for inclusion in Orange County Agricultural District No. 1, approved one parcel and did not approve the Newburgh parcel after the town submitted correspondence reporting code-enforcement actions and construction-fill concerns.
The Education & Economic Development Committee on June 16 split two open-enrollment applications to include land in Orange County Agricultural District No. 1, approving one parcel and withholding approval for a second parcel in the town of Newburgh after officials received a letter from the town reporting ongoing code-enforcement matters.
The split matter is significant because inclusion in an agricultural district confers the countys "right to farm" protections and is part of a statutory review process under New York's Agriculture and Markets Law that includes public notice, a local-agency recommendation and a legislative decision within a statutory time frame.
Alan Sorensen, commissioner of the planning department, briefed the committee. He said the county received two applications during open enrollment: one for a hemp farm and a second for a 3.13-acre parcel in the town of Newburgh (APJ Enterprises of Newberg LLC) described in the application as intended for boarding horses, hay production and a small petting zoo. The Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board had visited both properties and recommended inclusion. After that recommendation, the county received a letter from Bill Claudio, supervisor of the town of Newburgh, saying there were ongoing code-enforcement actions and town-court matters related to construction debris, large volumes of fill and other issues on the Newburgh parcel.
Committee members and county counsel discussed timing under Agriculture and Markets Law: county staff calculated a deadline of July 29, 2025 (120 days after the 30-day notice period ended) to adopt or reject inclusion. The committee voted to separate the two parcels so the straightforward parcel could move forward; the Newburgh parcel was referred back for further consideration. Committee members cited the town's unanimous vote against inclusion and the town's code-enforcement record as reasons to pause; several members said they preferred to let the Ag and Farmland Protection Board revisit the matter at its next meeting and to treat the town letter as material new information.
The committee recorded that inclusion in a district does not itself grant an agricultural-assessment tax break (that requires a separate assessment process), and staff said property owners may reapply during the next open-enrollment period in March. Members also noted that any pending town-court actions should not, by themselves, legally bar inclusion but could be relevant to the committee's discretionary judgment. The committee took no final floor-level approval for the Newburgh parcel at the meeting; the other parcel moved forward.
