[Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Warwick as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-21-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
It is the declared policy of the Town of Warwick to conserve,
protect and encourage the use of its agricultural land for the production
of food and other agricultural products. When nonagricultural land
uses extend into agricultural areas, agricultural operations often
become the subject of nuisance suits. It is the purpose of this policy
to reduce the loss to the Town of its agricultural resources by limiting
the circumstances under which agricultural operations may be deemed
to be a nuisance. It is expressly found that whatever nuisance may
be caused to others by such uses and activities so conducted with
sound agricultural practices is more than offset by the benefits from
farming to the Town economy by the production of local food and products,
and to neighborhood and community and to society, in general, by the
preservation of open space by maintaining the inherent beauty of the
countryside and by the preservation and continuance of farming operations
in the Town of Warwick.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Those activities involved in the production of crops, livestock,
and livestock products by farm operations, all as defined in § 301
of Article 25-AA of the New York Agriculture and Markets Law of New
York, including but not limited to the following:
Field crops including corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, hay, potatoes,
dry beans and sod;
Vegetables including tomatoes, snap beans, cabbage, carrots,
beets, onions and corn;
Fruits including apples, berries, cherries, peaches and pumpkins;
Horticultural ornamental specialties including nursery stock,
shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers and vegetables;
Livestock and livestock products, including cattle, sheep, hogs,
goats, horses, poultry, ratites such as ostriches, emus, rheas, kiwis,
farmed deer, farmed buffalo, fur-bearing animals, wool-bearing animals,
such as alpacas and llamas, milk, eggs and furs;
Christmas trees derived from a managed Christmas tree operation
whether dug for transplanting or cut from the stump;
Aquaculture products, including fish, fish products, water plants
and shellfish;
Forestry products such as short rotation woody crops used for
bio-energy and maple syrup products.
Further, agricultural activities shall include an activity engaged
in, by, or on behalf of a farmer in connection with any furtherance
of the business of agriculture or farming and shall include, without
limitation, the collection, transportation, distribution, composting,
cooling, drying and storage of animal and poultry waste; storage,
transportation and use of equipment for tillage, planting, harvesting
and marketing; transportation, storage and use of legally permitted
fertilizers and limes, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides;
construction of farm structures and facilities, including farm wineries
and other on-farm food processing, as permitted by local and state
building code regulation, in order to enhance the marketing of farm
products; construction and maintenance of fences and other enclosures;
and the use and/or maintenance of related pastures, idle or fallow
land, woodland, wetland, farm ponds, farm roads and certain farm buildings
and other structures related to agricultural practices.
The Dispute Resolution Center presently located at 210 East
Main Street, Middletown, New York, serving Orange, Putnam, Sullivan
and Ulster Counties.
Land within an agricultural district created pursuant to
§ 303 or land used in agricultural production subject to
an agricultural assessment pursuant to § 306 of Article
25-AA of the New York Agriculture and Markets Law, used primarily
for bona fide agricultural production, for commercial purposes, of
all those items and products defined in the New York Agriculture and
Markets Law, § 301.
The right to farm shall apply to farmers as well as those employed or otherwise authorized to act on behalf of farmers and shall also include, subject to the provisions of § 80-3 of this article, the use of large irrigation pumps and equipment, aerial and ground seeding and spraying, cooling and drying, transporting large, slow-moving equipment over roads within the Town, and the employment of farm laborers, all for the purpose of producing from the land agricultural products such as vegetables, grains, hay, fruits, fibers, wood, trees, plants, shrubs, flowers and seeds.
This "right to farm" shall also include, subject to the provisions of § 80-3 of this article, the right to use land for grazing by animals, subject to the restrictions for intensive fowl or livestock farms. The foregoing uses and activities included in the right to farm, when reasonable and necessary for the particular farming, livestock or fowl production and when conducted in accordance with sound agricultural practices, as determined in accordance with § 80-3 of this article, may occur on holidays, Sundays and weekdays, any time of night or day, and the noise, odors, dust and fumes that are caused by them are also specifically incorporated in the right to farm. In addition to the factors set forth in § 80-3 of this article for determining whether an agricultural practice is sound, and in determining the reasonableness of the time, place and methodology of such operation, due weight and consideration shall be given to traditional customs and procedures in the agricultural industry, advances resulting from increased knowledge or improved technologies and whether or not the practice is legal and not causing off-site property damage or bodily harm.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, agricultural
activities conducted on farmland, if consistent with sound agricultural
practices as may be determined by the New York State Commissioner
of Agriculture and Markets and with federal, state, and local laws,
regulations or ordinances, are deemed to be reasonable and shall not
constitute a nuisance.
For the purpose of giving due notice of agricultural activities
to proposed new residential areas adjacent to unimproved land being
farmed or suitable, this article authorizes the Town Planning Board
requirement that any applicant for an adjacent major or minor subdivision,
as a condition of approval of such application, include a provision
in each and every deed conveying all or any portion of the lands thereby
subdivided, as well as on filed final subdivision maps, the following
record notice to and waiver by grantees of such present or future
proximate farming uses, which provision shall be made to run with
the land:
|
Agricultural Notes: Being that this project is located within
2,000 feet of an agriculturally zoned district or within the AP-O
District, it may have active farming operations in the vicinity. Be
advised of the following:
| ||
|
1.
|
Farming is encouraged in the Town; it does not only occur between
8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and is dependent on Mother Nature. Residents
should be aware of noise from agricultural machinery being operated
in nearby fields in both early morning and evening hours and noise
from crop drying fans, which run 24 hours a day during harvest season.
| |
|
2.
|
The roads leading to and from the subdivision are frequently
traveled by farmers and their slow-moving vehicles and equipment.
| |
|
3.
|
Farmer neighbors very often spray their crops with pesticides
in accordance with accepted practices of the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation (6 NYCRR Part 325).
| |
|
4.
|
Existing agricultural operations may create both unavoidable
odors and unsightliness commonly associated with farming operations
in the area.
| |
|
5.
|
There are dangers in letting children and pets roam into any
adjacent agricultural fields, which is private property.
| |
|
6.
|
Residences for seasonal farm laborers are an accessory use to
farming activities in the agricultural zone.
| |
|
7.
|
Be advised of the nuisance of blowing black dirt caused by wind
storms in the area.
| |
|
8.
|
In accordance with § 164-46J(23) of the Town Code, no Building Department permit for a new residence shall be issued and no lot shall be sold or conveyed in the Agricultural Industry and Agricultural Protection Overlay Districts unless the applicant/purchaser of such residence/lot files a statement with the Town Clerk that he or she understands that the lot lies within the Agricultural Zoning District within which the primary activity is farming.
| |
|
9.
|
A declaration referencing the Agricultural Notes has been recorded
in the Orange County Clerk's Office at Liber _______ and Page
______ on _______________.
| |
A.
In accordance with New York State Real Property Law § 333-c
and Real Property Tax Law § 574 and Agriculture and Markets
Law § 310, prior to the sale, purchase, or exchange of any
real property located partially or wholly within an Orange County
Agricultural District established pursuant to the provisions of New
York State Agriculture and Markets Law Article 25-AA, the prospective
grantor shall deliver to the prospective grantee a notice which states
the following:
"It is the policy of New York State and the Town of Warwick
to conserve, protect and encourage the development and improvement
of agricultural land for the production of food and other products,
and also for its natural and ecological value. This notice is to inform
prospective residents that the property they are about to acquire
lies partially or wholly within an agricultural district and that
farming activities occur within the district. Such farming activities
may include, but are not limited to, activities that cause noise,
dust and odors."
B.
Failure of the grantor to provide such information to the grantee
shall not prevent the recording officer from filing such deed.
Should any controversy arise regarding any agricultural operation
or practice, the aggrieved parties may submit the controversy to the
Dispute Resolution Center ("Dispute Resolution Center") for mediation
under the New York State Agricultural Mediation Program.
The provisions of this article shall not defeat the right of
any person, firm or corporation to recover damages for any injuries
or damages sustained by them on account of any pollution of, or change
in condition of, the waters of any stream or on account of any overflow
of lands of any such person, firm or corporation.
