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Vermont witnesses urge narrow, equity-focused rules if towns gain power to regulate farms
Summary
Conservation districts, the Land Access and Opportunity Board and Farm‑to‑Plate-aligned witnesses told a legislative committee that if municipalities are allowed to regulate agriculture, the state should pair that authority with clear protections for community food land, technical guidance, and measures to avoid exclusionary zoning.
Witnesses at a legislative hearing on municipal authority over farming urged lawmakers to proceed cautiously if towns are granted power to regulate agricultural activity, emphasizing protections for small-scale growers, equity in zoning, and the need for technical state guidance.
"For the record, I'm Michelle Munro. I'm the executive director of the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts," Munro said, and she urged the committee not to resolve municipal authority by broad changes to the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs). She said the RAPs' definition of farming is a separate policy question from where municipalities should be allowed to exercise oversight, and warned that changing RAPs could sweep small backyard operations into heavier regulation.
Jean Hamilton, director of program development for the Land Access and Opportunity Board (LAOB), told the committee…
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