Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Municipal Officials Back ‘Right to Grow Food’ for Plants, Urge Excluding Livestock and Preserving Local Zoning
Summary
Municipal representatives told lawmakers they support statutory protection for residents and institutions to grow plants, orchards and maple products but warned that a broad exemption for livestock would strip towns of long-standing public-safety and animal-welfare tools. They recommended moving plant protections into 24 V.S.A. §4413, clarifying allowed municipal rules, and grandfathering existing farms.
Municipal leaders and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns told a legislative committee they back a statutory “right to grow food” for plants, orchards and maple production but urged lawmakers to exclude livestock from that protection and preserve narrow municipal regulation for setbacks, screening and other public-safety concerns.
"We support the right to grow food," said Josh Shannen, director of intergovernmental relations, stressing that most of the League’s members are small municipalities and that their interest is in keeping consistent local land-use rules rather than regulating farming itself. Samantha Sheehan, municipal policy and advocacy specialist for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said municipal bylaws that set coop size, setback distances and manure disposal…
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
