Minutes 09-11-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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10 Unified Development Ordinance, the statutory limitations on the County's authority, and the Board's polices on agritourism. This meeting is not a hearing on any particular situation, a forum for offering comment and/or updates on pending litigation, nor is this a question and answer session. Rather this meeting is an opportunity to improve communications and develop some shared understandings about County policies and the limitations of those policies. AGRITOURISM LEGAL SUMMARY Agritourism is a state and nationally recognized means of providing farmers the opportunity to generate streams of income outside the traditional production of crops or livestock. Many states have laws that authorize agritourism activities in conjunction with or related to traditional farming activities. Some states, including North Carolina, authorize agritourism activities without requiring traditional farming activities so long as same are conducted on a parcel or parcels that qualify as a bona fide farm. Some of the many activities recognized by the State of North Carolina as agritourism include but are not limited to: • Barnyard Animals, Fiber Animals, Farm Riding Trails, Walking Trails • Camping, Bird Watching, Fishing, Hunting • Farm Bed & Breakfasts, Country Cabins, Retreats, Parties, Weddings, Honeymoons • Hay Rides, Mazes, Pumpkin Patches, Quilt Barns, Farm Craft Events • Historic Farms, Reunions, Museums, Holiday Farms, Christmas Trees • Pick Your Own Farms, Farm Roadside Stands, Nurseries, Flowers , Picnics • School Field Trips, Summer Camps, Farm Vacations • Slow Food, Dining, Vineyards, Wineries Due to the broad authority for bona fide farms to host agritourism activities it has become increasingly difficult for local governments to distinguish, and thus prohibit, non-agricultural commercial activities from agritourism activities. In fact, local governments are specifically prohibited by Article 18, Chapter 153A of the North Carolina General Statutes from enforcing zoning regulations on properties that qualify as bona fide farms. LEGISLATIVE PREEMPTION AND LOCAL RESTRICTIONS Since approximately 2011 the North Carolina legislature has consistently expanded the authority of bona fide farm properties and agricultural operations to engage in activities that, while beneficial to the farm, have either been traditionally located in more urban or suburban environments or typically require a heightened/public review and approval process. The State legislature has even decided to punish local governments that attempt to enforce zoning and development ordinances against uses or activities occurring on bona fide farms by giving courts the authority to require the local governments to pay all the costs and the property owner's attorneys' fees resulting from the enforcement action. This could result in local governments facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unbudgeted costs for enforcement actions that aren't clearly and specifically supported by law. In recent years North Carolina Courts have followed a similar path that restricts local government authority particularly with regard to property rights. A prime example of this is the case of Byrd v Franklin County, 765 S.E.2d 805 (2014) in which the Court held "Zoning regulations are in derogation of common law rights and they cannot be construed to include or exclude by implication that which is not clearly [within] their express terms. It has been held that well-founded doubts as to the meaning of obscure provisions of a Zoning Ordinance should be resolved in favor of the free use of property."