Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Agency of Agriculture will seek to restore municipal zoning exemption for farms after Supreme Court ruling
Summary
The Agency of Agriculture told legislators it will propose language to restore a longstanding municipal zoning exemption for farms narrowed by a May 2025 Supreme Court decision, while negotiating limited carve-outs for village centers and addressing related housekeeping fixes.
The Agency of Agriculture said Wednesday it will ask the legislature to restore a long-standing municipal zoning exemption for agricultural activity that the state has treated as uniformly protected for decades.
Steve Collier, general counsel for the Agency of Agriculture, told the committee the Supreme Court’s May 2025 decision narrowed the scope of what towns cannot regulate to only what is enumerated in the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs). "The Supreme Court construed it differently than my understanding then," Collier said, and the agency plans to propose corrective language "to restore the exemption." Collier said the agency hopes to share draft language with the committee early next week.
Collier said the agency has been negotiating language with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) and farm groups to build…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
