New performance standards will prevent farming on more than 6,000 York County properties.
Residential properties in zones that allow agricultural activities must sit on 2 acres of land or more to operate livestock or underwater farming operations to comply with the new regulations that received a unanimous vote from the York County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
More than 6,000 of the 7,685 properties zoned in the affected designations have less than 2 acres of land, according to Assistant County Administrator Mark Carter.
Home gardens, orchards, vineyards, riparian shellfish gardening, beekeeping and backyard chicken-keeping are still allowed on all properties within the two affected zoning designations — Rural Residential and Resource Conservation — under the new provisions.
The performance standards do not apply to crop farming. Any off-shore underwater farming activity is regulated by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Only when a landowner brings the operation on shore does it become affected by the county’s regulations.
[stextbox id=”news-sidebar” caption=”New Performance Standards” float=”true” width=”250″ bwidth=”0″ bgcolor=”a9a9a9″ cbgcolor=”a9a9a9″]
- 2-acre minimum for livestock keeping, commercial horse stables and aquaculture uses
- 500-foot setbacks from adjacent dwellings and 300-foot setbacks from property lines for swine-keeping
- 200-foot setbacks from adjacent dwellings and 100-foot setbacks from property lines for poultry operations
- 100-foot setbacks from shorelines for aquaculture operations
- 100-foot setbacks from adjacent dwellings for any stable or housing for animals
- Restrictions on the number of workboats docked
- 100-foot setbacks from adjacent dwellings for docking and offloading
- Requirement of rear outdoor storage and screened buffers for aquaculture-related equipment
- Limited noise from equipment and trucks
- Work restricted to resident employees [/stextbox]
Any current operations lawfully established in the two zones will not have to comply with the changes as long as the operation is not discontinued for more than two consecutive years.
A law passed by the General Assembly in March allows properties that meet the performance standards to have livestock and commercial underwater farming without going through the special-use permit process starting Jan. 1.
The new law prohibits localities from putting special-use permit requirements on agriculturally zoned areas. The performance standards are still subject to a court’s definition, as the General Assembly did not define what constitutes as an “agricultural zone” in the new law.
Attorney General Mark Herring said an area zoned Rural Residential is not an agricultural district for the purposes of the law, but a residential district that allows agriculture.
County Attorney James Barnett asked the Board of Supervisors to think conservatively when adopting the regulations, explaining a court may disagree with the attorney general’s opinion and rule that York County’s Rural Residential and Resource Conservation designations are agricultural zones.
Two citizens spoke during the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night in favor of the standards.
“Performance standards will avoid the disharmony of attempts to rezone neighborhoods in order to achieve that same level of protection,” said Dandy Loop Road resident Richard Hixson.
No one spoke against the performance standards.
Several oyster farmers have fought to use their land to operate oyster farms in York County since 2010, applying for and being denied special-use permits and taking their cases all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court, who ruled with the county in January.
A Tabb citizen was recently given permission to use her property to occasionally clean and store oyster cages as part of an off-shore oyster harvesting operation. In this case, the board approved the special-use permit because most of the applicant’s operation is done off-shore using a pontoon boat that is docked in the city of Poquoson.
“I never thought I’d see the day when I would welcome an oyster business,” Chairman Donald Wiggins said after the permit was approved. “I don’t know how anybody could complain about this, because you’re not affecting everybody else.”
Other measures are being taken by York County citizens attempting to prevent livestock and underwater farming in areas they consider residential. Seaford’s York Point was rezoned in June after its citizens told supervisors they did not want commercial farming in their neighborhood.
A proposal to rezone Dandy to the same residential designation will be reviewed by the board Nov. 18. The Planning Commission voted against recommending the rezoning earlier this month. Nineteen people spoke against the rezoning and six people supported the rezoning during the public hearing.
Related Coverage:
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- York Planners Recommend Approval of Farming Regulations
- York Supervisors Start Process to Regulate Farming on Thousands of Properties
- York Planners Identify Potential Farming Regulations
- Proposed Farming Regulations Head to York Supervisors This Week
- Supervisors Rezone York Point to New Residential Designation, Cut Farming Rights
- Planners Say No to Rezoning York Point
- York Residents, Farming Activists Spar Over Property Rights
- Greg Garrett Seeks to Clear Dandy Oyster Farm with York County
- York Supervisors to Consider Plan to Bar Farming, Accessory Apartments from York Point
- Land-Use Debate Pits York Point Residents Against Each Other
- York Planners to Study Proposed Zoning Changes That Could Erase Farming on Thousands of Properties
- Ag Bill Lessens Local Control of Aquaculture; Regulatory Options Remain for York County
