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Committee chair presents Draft 5.1 amending how towns may regulate small-scale farming
Summary
The committee reviewed Draft 5.1 of a bylaw amendment that changes how municipalities can regulate farming, clarifying exemptions for parcels actively farmed by July 1, a 3/4-acre threshold for limited regulation, and that the draft mainly targets livestock-related traffic and siting issues.
The chair of the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry Committee walked members through Draft 5.1 of a proposed bylaw amendment and highlighted changes to how towns would be allowed to regulate farming.
The chair said the draft is posted on the committee page and noted a substantive revision near the bottom of page three in subsection 16; the chair described that the draft had “struck” part of a prior sentence but did not read the full original and revised clauses aloud. Committee members agreed further work is needed and that a Senate bill with different language will also be considered.
Under the draft, the chair said, the rules would apply only to parcels that do not currently have farming activity; “anything that’s currently being farmed or would be farmed on July 1st would be exempt,” the chair said. The draft includes a 3/4-acre threshold and permits towns to regulate only certain enumerated items for smaller parcels; the chair referred to those items as “A and B” in the discussion but did not read their full text during the meeting.
The chair read aloud examples of permissible regulatory topics in the draft, saying a bylaw may regulate “ingress and egress, siting and setbacks,” and added that the amendment primarily addresses issues tied to livestock (not poultry), including traffic patterns when animals or products are sold from a residence.
The chair also flagged a consistency edit on page two, line four, to make clear that a bylaw shall not regulate farming except as described in section 44-12-16; the chair said the intent was to match later language that separately treats farm structures and other exceptions. The draft also incorporates cultivation language described as defined in “60 SA,” which the chair said was added in last Friday’s calendar version.
During the review the chair read examples such as cut flowers and named specific plants (Japanese knotweed, purple loosestrife, firebush, firethorn) when discussing the list of cultivated or non-plant items covered by the draft.
No formal vote or motion was recorded in the transcript; the chair said they would present the bill to the floor and noted a straw poll would be taken before sending materials to the clerk. The committee agreed more work with the Senate language may be needed before final adoption.
