Agenda - 10-03-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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11 1 The new law broadly defines agritourism as follows: "For purposes of this section, "agritourism" 2 means any activity carried out on a farm or ranch that allows members of the general public, for 3 recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or enjoy rural activities, including 4 farming, ranching, historic, cultural, harvest-your-own activities, or natural activities and 5 attractions." It goes on to define a building used for agritourism activities as "any building or 6 structure used for public or private events, including, but not limited to, weddings, receptions, 7 meetings, demonstrations of farm activities, meals, and other events that are taking place on 8 the farm because of its farm or rural setting." 9 10 UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE RELATED TO AGRITOURISM 11 As noted above the State of North Carolina has determined that local governments may not 12 regulate agricultural activities. In addition to the production of crops and/or the raising livestock, 13 North Carolina law includes many activities within the definition of agriculture, as contained in 14 G.S. 106-581.1, that are considered agriculture or farming. Among them, G.S. 106-581.1(6) 15 provides that agritourism, when conducted on the farm, is agriculture. This means that 16 agritourism activities are agriculture as a matter of law and if the agritourism venture occurs on 17 the farm, no other agricultural activity is required to be active or ongoing. Pursuant to this 18 statute if an agritourism activity occurs on a property that qualifies as a bona fide farm, a local 19 government may not regulate that activity. 20 21 Orange County's land use enforcement staff members recognize the State restrictions on local 22 government authority and thus the corresponding limitations on their enforcement authority. It 23 is for this reason that some activities that may look commercial in nature can occur on a 24 property that qualifies as a bona fide farm and County staff are unable to take action to regulate 25 or restrict the activity. In acknowledgement of state law various provisions of the Unified 26 Development Ordinance (UDO), most notably Section 1.1.8, excludes agricultural activities from 27 the UDO's development regulations. 28 29 The UDO also specifically allows what may be considered nonfarm activities to occur on a farm. 30 For several years the Board of Commissioners sought ways to expand the financial 31 opportunities available to farmers in Orange County. This culminated in, among other things, 32 the adoption of various text amendments into the UDO including creation of the Agricultural 33 Support Enterprises (ASE) Conditional Zoning District that benefits farmers by allowing them to 34 conduct farm activities on non-farm properties as well as various land uses permitted by right 35 (i.e. staff review and approval only) to operate on a property designated as a bona fide farm. 36 This includes the Rural Special Events land use. 37 38 The Rural Special Events provision of the UDO allows the owners and/or operators of 39 properties that qualify as bona fide farms to engage in activities that may traditionally have been 40 considered commercial or more urban in nature consistent with the overall intent of the County 41 elected officials. More specifically, it allows meetings and other activities that may not 42 necessarily qualify as agritourism activities to be conducted on a farm. Such events involve 43 more than 20 guests and are permitted by right under the terms of the UDO. Permitting staff 44 have minimal discretion in any use or activity that is permitted by right. As with any law or 45 authorization, ASE and Rural Special Events permits are capable of being abused within the 46 confines of the law, but overall these UDO authorizations provide needed benefits to farmers in 47 a time when farms are increasingly being eroded by development. 48 49 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS POLICY AND GOALS