[Ord. No. 1033, § II, 10-13-2009]
The intent of this article is to encourage the pursuit of agriculture,
promote agriculture-based economic opportunities, and protect farmlands
within the City by allowing agricultural uses and related activities
to function with minimal conflict with abutters and City agencies.
This ordinance shall apply to all jurisdictional areas within the
City.
[Ord. No. 1033, § III, 10-13-2009]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Farming and the cultivation and tillage of the soil; dairying;
the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural,
aquacultural, floricultural or horticultural commodities; the growing
and harvesting of forest products upon forest land, including the
cultivation of sugar maple trees for the production of maple products;
the raising of livestock, including horses; the keeping of horses
as a commercial enterprise; the keeping and raising of poultry, swine,
cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes, bees,
furbearing animals; and any forestry or lumbering operations, performed
by a farmer, who is hereby defined as one engaged in agriculture or
farming as herein defined, or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction
with such farming operations, including preparations for market, delivery
to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market.
Shall encompass activities, including, but not limited to, the
following:
Operation and transportation of slow-moving farm equipment;
Application and storage of fertilizers, manure and pesticides;
Conducting agriculture-related educational and farm-based recreational
activities, including agritourism, provided that the activities are
related to marketing the agricultural output or services of the farm;
Processing and packaging of the agricultural output of the farm
and the operation of a farmer’s market or farm stand, including
signage thereto;
Construction and use of farm structures and fences;
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; and
On-farm relocation of earth and the clearing of ground for farming
operations.
Agricultural uses not exempted from regulation by MGL. c.
40A, § 3. Includes crops and related activities, but specifically
excludes livestock.
[Ord. No. 1033, § III, 10-13-2009]
The right to farm is hereby recognized to exist within the City
of Pittsfield. The above-described agricultural activities may occur
on holidays, weekdays, and weekends by day or night and shall include
the attendant incidental dust, noise and odors 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 article are intended to apply exclusively to those commercial
agricultural and farming operations and activities conducted in accordance
with generally accepted agricultural practices. Moreover, nothing
in this Right to Farm ordinance 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.
[Ord. No. 1033, § III, 10-13-2009]
In order to ensure that prospective owners and prospective tenants
are aware of the policy of the City of Pittsfield expressed in this
article regarding agricultural uses, the notification of this policy
shall be prominently posted in the City Hall and on the City’s
website. Property owners shall make efforts to inform prospective
tenants and buyers that Pittsfield is a Right to Farm Community. Notice
shall be provided by the City to all landowners, by mail, once each
fiscal year with the tax bill that Pittsfield is a Right to Farm Community
and that there is a Right to Farm ordinance in effect.
[Ord. No. 1033, § III, 10-13-2009]
(a)
Any person who seeks to complain about the operation of a farm may,
notwithstanding pursuing any other available remedy, file a grievance
with the Zoning Enforcement Officer or the Board of Health, depending
upon the nature of the grievance. The filing of the grievance does
not suspend the time within which to pursue any other available remedies
that the aggrieved may have.
(b)
The Zoning Enforcement Officer may 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 Zoning Enforcement Officer within an agreed-upon
time frame.
(c)
The Board of Health, except in cases of imminent danger or public
health risk, may 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 recommendation to the Board of Health
within an agreed upon time frame.
[Ord. No. 1033, § IV, 10-13-2009; Ord. No. 1061,
6-26-2012]
(a)
The mission of the Agricultural Commission is to promote agricultural-based
economic opportunities; preserve, revitalize and sustain the Pittsfield
agricultural industry, and encourage the pursuit of agriculture as
a career opportunity and lifestyle. The Commission will meet as needed.
(b)
The Agricultural Commission shall consist of seven members, five of whom must be farmers or have an interest in agriculture; one member shall be a member of the Community Development Board; and the other member shall be a member of the Pittsfield City Council. The members of the Commission should represent the diversity and scale of agricultural businesses. The overall intent is to be inclusive, not exclusive. In accordance with Article 2, Section 2-10, Article 3, Section 3-3 and Article 6 of Chapter 72 of the Acts of 2013, the Mayor shall appoint all of the members to the Agricultural Commission, subject to City Council approval. In accordance with Article 10, Section 10-6(a) of Chapter 72 of the Acts of 2013, the members of the Agricultural Commission shall elect from the membership a chairperson, vice chairperson, a secretary and any other officers that the membership deems necessary.
[Ord. No. 1115, § I, 3-10-2015]
(c)
Excepting the City Councilor and the member of the Community Development
Board, who shall serve so long as they are serving in their official
capacities, the remaining members shall serve a term of three years.
In the event of a vacancy, the Mayor shall appoint a successor as
soon as practicable, subject to city council approval, and said successor
shall fulfill the unexpired term of the member whose seat was vacated.
Members may be removed by the Mayor for cause, subject to the approval
of a majority of the members of the City Council.
[Ord. No. 1115, § I, 3-10-2015]
(d)
As an official municipal commission, all meetings must be posted
and are open to the public in accordance with the Massachusetts Public
Meeting Law[1] and all records are subject to the Public Records Law.[2] All commission members are subject to the provisions of
the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law.[3]
[Ord. No. 1033, § V, 10-13-2009]
This article may be amended from time to time by a majority
vote of the City Council, consistent with the provisions of MGL c.
58, § 8C.
