[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town
of Fairhaven 5-2-2009 by Art. 33. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to state with emphasis
the right to farm accorded to all citizens of the Commonwealth under
Article 97 of the Constitution, and all state statutes and regulations
thereunder, including but not limited to Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 40A, Section 3, Paragraph 1; Chapter 90, Section 9; Chapter
111, Section 125A; and Chapter 128, Section 1A. We, the citizens of
the Town of Fairhaven, restate and republish these rights pursuant
to the Town's authority conferred by Article 89 of the Articles
of Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution ("Home Rule Amendment").
B.
This chapter encourages the pursuit of sustainable agriculture, promotes
sustainable agriculture-based economic opportunities, and protects
farmlands within the Town of Fairhaven by allowing sustainable agricultural
uses and related activities to function with minimal conflict with
abutters and Town agencies. This chapter shall apply to all jurisdictional
areas within the Town.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
- FARM
- Includes any parcel, or contiguous parcels of land, five acres or greater in size, or water bodies used for the primary purpose of commercial agriculture, aquaculture, or accessory thereto.
- FARMING
- Encompasses activities including, but not limited to, the following:
- A. Breeding, planting, growing, and raising of crops;
- B. Operation and transportation of slow-moving farm equipment over roads within the Town;
- C. Control of pests, including, but not limited to, insects, weeds, predators and disease organism of plants and animals;
- D. Application of manure, fertilizers and pesticides in compliance with local, state and federal regulations;
- E. Conducting agriculture-related educational and farm-based recreational activities, including agri-tourism, provided that the activities are related to marketing the agricultural output or services of the farm;
- F. Processing and packaging of the agricultural output of the farm; and
- G. The operation of a farmer's market or farm stand, including signage thereto; subject to Chapter 198, Zoning, and appropriate Building Codes; and
- H. Maintenance, repair, or storage of seasonal equipment, or apparatus owned or leased by the farm owner or manager used expressly for the purpose of propagation, processing, management or sale of the agricultural products.
- FARMING OR AGRICULTURE OR THEIR DERIVATIVES
- Includes, but is limited to the following:
- A. Farming in all its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil;
- B. Dairying;
- C. Production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural, aquaculture, floricultural, viticulture, or horticultural commodities;
- D. Growing and harvesting of forest products upon forestland and any other forestry or lumbering operations;
- E. Raising of livestock, including horses;
- F. Keeping of horses as a commercial enterprise;
- G. Keeping and raising of poultry, livestock, and other domesticated animals for food; and
- H. Other agricultural purposes as listed under the Standard Industrial Classification, U.S. Department of Labor, Division A, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, maintained by O.S.H.A.
The right to farm is hereby recognized to exist within the Town
of Fairhaven. The above-described agricultural activities may occur
on holidays, weekdays and weekends by night or day and shall include
the attendant incidental noise, odors, dust and fumes associated with
normally accepted agricultural practices. It is hereby determined
that whatever impact may be caused to others through the normal practice
of agriculture is more than offset by the benefits of farming to the
neighborhood, community and society in general. The benefits and protections
of this chapter are intended to apply exclusively to those commercial
agricultural and farming operations and activities conducted in accordance
with generally accepted agricultural practice. Moreover, nothing in
this chapter shall be deemed as acquiring any interest in land, or
as imposing any land use regulation, which is properly the subject
of state statute, regulation, or local zoning law.
A.
Not later than 21 days after the purchase and sale contract is entered
into, or prior to the sale or exchange of real property if no purchase
and sale agreement exists, for the purchase or exchange of real property,
or prior to the acquisition of a leasehold interest or other possessory
interest in real property, located in the Town of Fairhaven, the landowner
shall present the buyer or occupant with a disclosure notification
which states the following:
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"It is the policy of this community to conserve, protect and
encourage the maintenance and improvement of agricultural land for
the production of food, and other agricultural products, and also
for its natural and ecological value. This disclosure notification
is to inform buyers or occupants that the property they are about
to acquire or occupy lies within a Town where farming activities occur.
Such farming activities may include, but are not limited to, activities
that cause noise, dust and odors. Buyers or occupants are also informed
that this property may be impacted by commercial agricultural operations."
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B.
A copy of the disclosure notification shall be given on a Town-approved
form prepared and signed by the landowner, prior to the sale, purchase,
exchange or occupancy of such real property.
Any person who seeks to complain about the operation of a farm
may, notwithstanding pursuing any other available remedy, file a grievance
with the Board of Selectmen, the Zoning Enforcement Officer, or the
Board of Health, in accordance with statute and appropriate bylaws
and regulations of the Town of Fairhaven. The filing of the grievance
does not suspend the time within which to pursue any other available
remedies that the aggrieved may have. The Board of Selectmen, Zoning
Enforcement Officer or the Board of Health shall forward a copy of
the grievance to the Agricultural Commission or its agent, which shall
review and facilitate the resolution of the grievance, and report
its recommendations to the referring Town authority within an agreed-upon
time frame.
If any section, paragraph or part of this chapter is for any
reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid by any court of last
resort, every other section, paragraph or part shall continue in full
force and effect. This chapter restates the various protections afforded
to commercial farms throughout Massachusetts state law and is intended
to educate citizens that farming activities are valued in the Town
of Fairhaven. Our few remaining commercial farms provide essential
components to maintain the character of the Town. The notification
provisions of this chapter will enhance awareness relative to the
value of agriculture in the Town of Fairhaven. There are no new benefits
or protections provided in this chapter beyond those contained in
state laws.
