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Legislators consider fixes after Vermont court narrows municipal control over farms
Summary
Legislators heard from legislative counsel about a Vermont Supreme Court ruling that read 'required agricultural practices' narrowly (focused on water quality), raising questions about municipal authority over farm structures, noise, composting and other local bylaws and prompting discussion of legislative or administrative fixes.
The committee reviewed the legal status of Vermont’s required agricultural practices and the implications of a recent state Supreme Court interpretation that, according to legislative counsel, limited the municipal exemption to water-quality-related practices.
Michael Grady, legislative counsel, told the committee that “the required agricultural practices are currently rule, and they have been rule since they were first authorized in 1991,” and that the General Assembly in 2015 (Act 64) replaced the phrase “accepted agricultural practices” with “required agricultural practices.” Grady said the agency’s RAP rule has long included provisions…
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