[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Township of Florence:
Art. I, 6-2-1993 as Ord. No. 1993-12. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Land development — See Ch. 91.
[Adopted 6-2-1993 as Ord.
No. 1993-12]
This Article shall not be construed as a zoning ordinance and does not
supersede any zoning ordinance and the rights and privileges arising from
said ordinances. It is the intent of this Article to prohibit farming from
being found to be a nuisance when practiced according to customary farming
practices.
In accordance with the purposes set forth above and the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 4:1C-l et seq., the following farming activities shall be acceptable,
recognized and entitled to encouragement and protection as the collective
embodiment of the right to farm, subject in all cases, however, to any supervening
applicable federal, state or county laws or regulations respecting the public
health, safety or otherwise:
A.
Produce agricultural and horticultural crops, trees and
forest products, livestock, poultry and other related commodities;
B.
Process and package the agricultural output of the farm;
C.
Provide for the wholesale and retail marketing, including
"U-Pick" marketing and sales, of the agricultural output of the farm, and
related products that contribute to farm income, including the construction
of building and parking areas in conformance with applicable municipal standards;
D.
Replenish soil nutrients, including but not limited to
the spreading of manure and applying chemical and organic fertilizers;
E.
Use federally-approved products, in accordance with labeled
instructions, as recommended by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
and the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the control of pests,
predators, varmints, diseases affecting plants and livestock and for the control
of weed infestation;
F.
Clear woodlands using state forestry approved burning
methods and other accepted techniques and install and maintain vegetative
and terrain alterations and other physical facilities for water and soil conservation
and surface water control in wetland areas;
G.
Use irrigation pumps and equipment and undertake aerial
and ground seeding and spraying, using tractors and other necessary equipment;
H.
Hire and utilize necessary farm labor;
I.
Construct fences;
J.
Transport large, slow-moving equipment over roads within
the township;
K.
Conduct farming activities on holidays and Sundays as
well as weekdays, in the evening and during the day, notwithstanding the production
thereby of normal but unavoidable noise, dust, odors and fumes caused by such
necessary activities when conducted in accordance with recognized agricultural
practices.
[Amended 7-7-1993 by Ord.
No. 1993-14]
A.
For the purpose of giving due notice of nearby farming
uses to proposed new residential areas adjacent to unimproved land then being
commercially farmed or suitable therefor, the Planning Board shall require
an applicant for an adjacent major or minor subdivision, as a condition of
approval of such application, to include a provision in each and every contract
for and deed conveying all or any portion of the lands thereby subdivided,
as well as on the filed final subdivision maps, the following record notice
to and waiver by grantees of such present or future proximate farming uses,
which such provision shall be made to run with the land: "grantee hereby acknowledges
notice that there are presently or may in the future be farm uses adjacent
or in close proximity to the above described premises. Grantee further acknowledges
that the Township of Florence has adopted Ordinance No. 1993-12, as amended,
entitled `An Ordinance to Encourage, Establish and Preserve Agricultural and
Horticultural Right to Farm Activities in the Township of Florence,' has deemed
established as acceptable, recognized and entitled to encouragement and protection,
farm activities which may result in the emanation of noise, odors, dust and
fumes caused by such necessary activities when conducted in accordance with
recognized agricultural practices. Such activities include but are not limited
to the production and processing of agricultural and horticultural crops and
livestock, aerial and ground spraying, the spreading of manure and chemical
and organic fertilizers and the wholesale and retail marketing of agricultural
and related products. Grantee further acknowledges that such activities may
occur on holidays, weekends and at all times of the day, including early morning,
evening and nighttime hours. By acceptance of this conveyance, Grantee does
hereby waive objection to such activities."
B.
Exceptions and prohibited agricultural practices. The
provisions of this section are not intended to protect or encourage the land
application of sludge or sewerage waste or its by-products as a recognized
acceptable agricultural practice, which practices are specifically prohibited
in the Township of Florence.
