Planning Board & the annoying neighbors UPDATE 5/26/2011 Happy Ending!

[welsummerchicks]

First, the second you get a PIG, people are having hysterics. I am going to bet if you said, goat, chickens, etc, you would get a very different reaction.

The 'point on the line' is where you say you want to sell your products to the people in the area.

The line goes like this. First, the land belongs to you, second, you want to put animals and a building on it, third...you want to sell the products. That's your point on the line.

Then it no longer is just about building a building or having animals. You need to work within the rules in that area for how much product you can sell and what keeps you within the bounds of a 'home producer'.

Without a 'home' on the property, you might have a hard time. If the land is not for a residence, and you are keeping animals on it, and selling the products of those animals, it is indeed a business, an agricultural business.

I wonder if others have answered that challenge by combining that property with say, your dad's who you said lives right next to it? Haven't I heard of something like that before? Yes I think I have.

 

[rainplace]

I am mad right along with you! I'm sick of people wanting to live rurally but then get upset with the rural sounds. People who have barking dogs all day long then complain about duck quacks that erupt periodically during the day.

Livinzoo is most likely on to something and I'd look into it. We ended up building a few 12'x8' structures on our property because since they are less than 100 square feet they aren't regulated by zoning laws. Non-permenant structures are also mostly non regulated.

Look at some these for ideas:
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...c_buildings;ft1_livestock_animal_housing.html

 

[welsummerchicks]

Ok. Look, if your neighbors are not happy with what you're doing they're going to find a way to make it hard for you to do this. Best thing is to have the cooperation of the neighbors and zoning - how many animals would not be a problem, what's the limit? Can products be marketed to the neighborhood legally? What land use if not this do they want for the land? Ask the questions, doesn't mean you have to follow it but it is really, really good to know where they stand. And I STILL think, you stop talking about pigs, don't get pigs in there, things will be better.

 

[Mattemma]

Once you know the laws and rules for your property you can move forward.It would be nice if you can get the neighbors to understand what you are planning to do,but oh well if you can't-as long as the laws are followed. Hope you can build something for the animals.I can see someone calling AC because you are not providing shelter!

If the ag law is in place like that woman says then you just grow for your family and not sell the produce locally.Maybe you can change the law. I would want to put in as much animals and crops as permitted. Those 2 busybodies desrve a pot of stinging nettle!

Make sure you have a current boundary survey done.I can see them having fits over the property line(fence) and animals getting into their yard!

I too am annoyed by folks who move to country area and hate the country life.WTH.

 

[Drk_Wlf]

As things stand right now according to all laws and zoning I am permitted animals on the property. I am also permitted to sell small quantities of what I produce to the community. The current Town Planning book recommends that their policies and zoning be reviewed to allow for small scale community supported agriculture (which is what we want to become).

I plan on writing up a letter to the people of my community to dispel all of the misinformation out there.

The board last night told the crowd there multiple times this was not a matter of us having animals, that the hearing was ONLY for weather or not to permit us to build a barn without there already being a permanent residence on the land. I believe if that one lady hadn't brought up that supposed restriction that the land could not be used for ag purposes from some deed she found from the 50's, that the board would of permitted the variance.

As I said the town is one our side they just want to make sure that both my families and their butts are covered, because is there is a restriction on the land the board and my family could be brought to court if they permitted this variance.

Thanks for the advice about the non-permanent structures I will ask the code's officer about it.

 

[cluckcluck42]

This makes me mad. Factory farms are acceptable but someone having a sustainable small farm is going to ruin the environment? Give me a break. What a backwards way of thinking. I hope you win!

 

[tdgill]

crazy world we live in....

 

[teach1rusl]

In your letter, I would definitely stress your Ecology education AND the local products that you would be making available to the community. I'd throw in buzzwords/phrases like "natural", "hormone-free", etc. If there is a farmers market in the area, play that up too... Good luck!

 

[JimandCillasGirls]

Good Luck to you! Hope everything works out. This is not exactly the same but similar, I grew up in an area outside of Auburn, AL (rural as they come). A few years ago people started building these huge houses in subdivisions in areas that were definately farming communities. Needless to say they thought that their big bucks would be enough to rezone the area. The farmers and residents of the area (those that chose to live there because they truly loved the rural life) fought them and won. Good luck, things have a way of working out!

 

[PineappleMama]

Question... is this supposedly deed just for your land or is it something that effects a whole area?

If it's something just on you then you could complain that it's discriminatory... targeting just your family. That might get them to just null it, if it does exist.... no one wants to be accused of targeting, even if that is what they're doing. Find out WHY it was issued. Was it some sort of weird feud? Was it something that in the 50s was applied to all but has since been tweaked to only effect you? Maybe it applied to a whole area, but as it was sold it didn't apply or those applied for variances or?? And how the devil did that busybody find out about it? If she's that old it might be because she had something to do with the original... what's her grudge against y'all... or that particular piece of land? Be surprised at what people hold a grudge over... could be this one wanted that land and since she couldn't have it (or marry into it?) she decided to make it miserable for anyone else to have it.... just one possible... could also be that whoever was there in the 50's had some huge thing... like 500 dogs or something... one of those horror stories we hear about where the animals weren't taken care of so they were shut down and this was put in place to stop them ever being able to do it again... so many possible reasons... and quite a few that have nothing at all to do with you or your intentions. So, 1 verify that it exists (if not then to heck with them) and 2 find out WHY. If it's something that is no longer applicable then petition to have it revoked as another one of those outdated laws no one knows/cares about...

Now how to go about that... does your town keep the minutes and such from meetings that far back? Or court rulings? No idea if you can find out why... but then again, if they have no record of why then they can't prove it needed to be there either... hmmm.