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Chester planner recommends broader agritourism definition, removes acreage minimum from farm definition
Summary
Planner proposed defining 'agritourism' as public-facing farm activities (apple picking, hay rides, farm tours) and recommended removing a fixed acreage requirement from the definition of commercial agriculture, leaving lot size to the bulk table.
At the Town of Chester work session, the planner proposed a clear definition of agritourism and urged the board to treat agritourism as an accessory use that promotes farm products and experiences. She said typical examples include apple picking, hay rides, wine trails, farm-to-table dining and farm festivals.
On commercial agriculture, the planner reviewed two draft definitions: one that used a 10-acre minimum and another broader, use-based definition. She recommended eliminating a hard acreage threshold from the definition and allowing the bulk table to govern lot-size requirements instead, noting that embedding an acreage threshold in a definition could create a large number of newly nonconforming operations.
The planner also proposed excluding slaughterhouses and concentrated animal feeding operations from the agricultural-use definition, treating horse-boarding and some horse operations as distinct uses that may require different acreage or conditions, and allowing normal on-farm composting while flagging commercial composting for separate review.
The planner said the draft will be refined in redlines and coordinated with Kristen and the comprehensive-plan committee before public circulation.
