Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Vermont farm coalition urges lawmakers to restore municipal exemption, codify right to grow food after Supreme Court ruling
Summary
A coalition of farm groups urged the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee to clarify Title 24 so towns cannot regulate farming locally, preserve Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) criteria that help beginning farmers qualify for support, and codify a statewide 'right to grow food.'
Caroline Sherman Gordon, legislative director of Wolvenmont, told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee that a May Vermont Supreme Court ruling opened the door to town-by-town regulation of farms and urged the legislature to 'clearly and plainly reinstate the municipal exemption as it was understood since 1987 by clarifying only the language in Title 24.'
Gordon described a coalition of agriculture and food-system groups — including the Vermont Farm Bureau, American Farmland Trust, Farm to Plate and others — that propose statutory changes to preserve consistent statewide treatment of farming. She said the coalition's aim is not to loosen standards but to prevent municipalities or homeowner associations from using local rules to restrict food producing activities.
"We need to clearly and plainly reinstate the municipal exemption as it was understood since 1987 by clarifying only the language in Title 24,"…
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
