Agenda - 02-28-2005-c1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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appropriate for value -added farm enterprises to be located in residential zoning districts or should they be limited to the rural activity nodes? • How does the Agricultural Service Conditional District fit into the picture? How much impact should the size and scale of an operation have on its location? • Does the use create a nuisance for neighboring property owners? Does it lower the value of their property? Is the use inconsistent with the Land Use Element, and, if so, how and to what effect? Are these rural enterprises compatible with suburbanizing parts of rural Orange County? Farm Related Businesses The following three examples of farm - related land use provide a glimpse of the variety of operations and the way that they tend to fit within our existing regulations. Reba and Roses is a small retail garden center located along St. Mary's Road, just outside of Hillsborough. It was permitted through the special use process as a Historic Sites Non - Residential Reuse /Mixed Use based on the historic status of the main house known as Sunnyside (or the John Berry House). Since the operation is not linked to a specific farm, it could not be permitted as an accessory use to a farm. The business operates as a commercial use in a residential area, which is, generally speaking, inconsistent with the County's policy and regulatory documents.. Despite the increase in vehicular traffic, and greater land use intensity than a solely residential land use, most customers and local residents would argue that it works —it does not destroy the residential character of the community, but rather contributes to the farm character of St. Mary's Road while providing a service to Hillsborough and rural residents. 2. The former Wizard's Caldron facility is located on NC Highway 86 North, near the Caswell County line. The approximately 10,000 square foot facility was used to produce and store specialty sauces. A portion of the larger farm tract was rezoned Ell when zoning was put into place in northern Orange County. This allows the existing operation to continue. The existing industrial (EI) status allows existing rural industrial uses to stay in business in an area surrounded by a residential zone. (The existing commercial EC5 zoning district is another zoning classification designed to allow existing ventures to stay in operation. Examples of EC5 uses include country stores, barbershops, auto repair businesses and similar uses commonly found in rural areas.) The Wizard's Caldron business proved profitable, but watershed protection impervious surface regulations limited expansion possibilities so the owner relocated the operation to another county. The business did not appear to negatively impact surrounding residential and agricultural uses. 1 A few years ago, the Nutter family pursued another layer of value -added business to their successful dairy operation and constructed the Maple View Ice Cream Parlor at the corner of Dairyland and Rocky Ridge roads, adjacent to their farm. Viewed as an extension of their dairy farm and milk processing facility, the ice cream parlor was determined "incidental and related" to the bona fide farm and therefore exempt from zoning regulations. While the ice cream parlor is clearly linked to the Nutter's bona fide farm operation, it is also a retail business located in a residential zoning district. Despite the increase in vehicular (and bicycle) traffic, most would agree that the business is an asset to the County. These examples speak to the two key questions regarding value -added farm businesses in Orange County. Can farm businesses be successful and provide income to the owner? Can agricultural uses with strong commercial /industrial components blend into the existing land use plan without generating nuisance complaints or negatively impacting adjacent residentially zoned property? The answer to both questions appears to be yes, although not everyone agrees.