Sullivan County holds public hearing on three proposed additions to agricultural districts

Sullivan County lawmakers opened a public hearing July 17 on three applications to add parcels to certified agricultural districts, county officials said.

A representative of the Sullivan County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board told the Legislature the county received three requests during the board’s annual 30-day review period. “This year, we have 3 applications,” the representative said, summarizing the proposals for legislators and the public.

The proposed inclusions are: a 7-acre property in the town of Bethel for a honey operation that would be used mainly for bottling and processing; an additional 5-acre parcel to expand Sprouting Dreams Farm’s vegetables operation in the town of Liberty (bringing the farm’s total enrolled acreage to about 16 acres); and a new hop farm in the town of Mamakating with 540 plants on 54 poles that would supply hops for a brewery associated with the applicants.

The presenter said the hop operation’s poles are “very tall and very hard to put in” and noted the hops are intended for a nearby brewery that opened on a separate property. A member of the public identified as Melinda provided location details, saying, “The brewery is in Bloomingburg as well off Winterton Farms Road, and then the hop farm is just at a separate location at a different property. … This is Mann McKinney Horton Road.”

The Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board conducted on-site visits in May, voted with recommendations on May 21, and the county sent notifications to adjoining landowners, the presenter said. After the public comment period, a legislator moved to close the hearing; another seconded the motion. The motion was made on the record, but the transcript does not include a roll-call vote tally for the motion to close.

No final legislative action to add the parcels was taken at the July hearing. The presenter said the next step will be for the Legislature to return in August with a resolution to include the identified parcels in Agricultural District Number 1 and Agricultural District Number 4, in keeping with the county board’s recommendations and pursuant to New York State law.

The public hearing notice read into the record cites New York State Agriculture and Markets Law 25‑aa, section 303‑b, as the statutory authority governing the inclusion of predominantly viable agricultural land in certified agricultural districts. The presenter and members of the public referred repeatedly to the county board’s May recommendation and to the site visits conducted in May.

No zoning or permit decisions were made at the hearing; county staff and the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board will carry the matter forward to the Legislature for formal action at a future meeting.