[1]
Editor's Note: Prior ordinance history includes portions of Ordinance No. 2/16/81.
[Ord. #2007-14]
a. 
The Township Committee finds that farming has existed and been carried on in the Township for hundreds of years and long before the residential development that has since been prevalent in the Township.
b. 
The Township Committee further finds that residences have been located in close proximity to existing "working" farms that engage in spraying, the spreading of animal wastes, fertilizing and irrigation as well as other activities which are indigenous to farming.
c. 
The Township Committee finds and determines that farmers must be secure in their ability to earn a livelihood and utilize customary farming procedures and techniques.
d. 
The Township further finds that whatever burden may be caused to contiguous property owners is offset by the benefits of farming to the Township, County and State, as well as preservation of open space areas within the Township.
[Ord. #2007-14]
This section shall not be construed as a zoning ordinance and does not supersede any zoning ordinance and the rights and privileges arising from said ordinance. It is the intent of this section to prohibit farming from being found to be a nuisance when practiced according to customary farming practices.
[Ord. #2007-14]
a. 
As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:
COMMERCIAL FARM
Shall mean:
1. 
A farm management unit of no less than five (5) acres producing agricultural or horticultural products worth five hundred ($500.00) dollars or more annually, and satisfying the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.; or
2. 
A farm management unit less than five (5) acres, producing agricultural or horticultural products worth fifty thousand ($50,000.00) dollars or more annually and otherwise satisfying the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.
FARM MANAGEMENT UNIT
Shall mean a parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, together with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures and facilities, producing agricultural or horticultural products, and operated as a single enterprise.
FARM MARKET
Shall mean a facility used for the wholesale or retail marketing of the agricultural output of a commercial farm, and products that contribute to farm income, except that if a farm market used for retail marketing at least fifty-one (51%) percent of the annual gross sales of the retail farm market shall be generated from sales of agricultural output of the commercial farm or at least fifty-one (51%) percent of the sales area shall be devoted to the sale of the agricultural output of the commercial farm, and except that if a retail farm market is located on land less than five (5) acres in area, the land on which the farm market is located shall produce annually agricultural or horticultural products worth at least two thousand five hundred ($2,500.00) dollars.
PICK-YOUR-OWN OPERATION
Shall mean a direct marketing alternative wherein retail or wholesale customers are invited onto a commercial farm in order to harvest agricultural, floricultural or horticultural products.
b. 
The right to farm is hereby recognized to exist in this Township and is hereby declared a permitted use in all zones of this Township. This right to farm includes, but not by way of limitation:
1. 
Production of agricultural and horticultural crops, trees, apiary and forest products, livestock, poultry and other commodities as described in the Standard Industrial Classification for agriculture, forestry, fishing and trapping.
2. 
Housing and employment of necessary farm laborers.
3. 
Erection of essential agricultural buildings, including those dedicated to the processing and packaging of the output of the commercial farm and ancillary to agricultural and horticultural production.
4. 
The grazing of animals and use of range for fowl.
5. 
Construction of fences.
6. 
The operation and transportation of large, slow-moving equipment over roads within the Township.
7. 
Control of pests, including but not limited to insects and weeds, predators and diseases of plants and animals.
8. 
Conduction of agriculture-related educational and farm-based recreational activities provided that the activities are related to marketing the agricultural or horticultural output of the commercial farm and permission of the farm owner and lessee is obtained.
9. 
Use of any and all equipment, including but not limited to: irrigation pumps and equipment, aerial and ground seeding and spraying, tractors, harvest aides, and bird control devices.
10. 
Processing and packaging of the agricultural output of the commercial farm.
11. 
The operation of a farm market with attendant signage, including the construction of building and parking areas in conformance with Township standards.
12. 
The operation of a pick-your-own operation with attendant signage.
13. 
Replenishment of soil nutrients and improvement of soil tilth.
14. 
Clearing of woodlands using open burning and other techniques, installation, and maintenance of vegetative and terrain alterations and other physical facilities for water and soil conservation and surface water control in wetlands areas.
15. 
On-site disposal of organic agricultural wastes.
16. 
The application of manure and chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides.
17. 
Installation of wells, ponds and other water resources for agricultural purposes such as irrigation, sanitation and marketing preparation.
c. 
Prohibitions. The application or storage of sewage or industrial sludge is prohibited unless it is determined to be an accepted agricultural management practice by the State Agricultural Development Committee.
Commercial farm operators may engage in any other agricultural activity as determined by the State Agricultural Development Committee and adopted by rule or regulation pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L. 1968, c. 410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.).
d. 
Commercial farm operators are strongly advised to adhere to generally accepted agricultural management practices that have been:
1. 
Promulgated as rules by the State Agricultural Development Committee;
2. 
Recommended as site-specific agricultural management practices by the County Agricultural Development Board;
3. 
Approved by the local soil conservation district in the form of a farm conservation plan that is prepared in conformance with the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG), revised April 20,1998, as amended and supplemented; or
4. 
Recommended by the Rutgers Agricultural Experimental Station.
e. 
The foregoing activities must be in conformance with applicable Federal and State law.
f. 
The foregoing practices and activities may occur on holidays, weekdays and weekends by day or night and shall include the attendant or incidental noise, odors, dust and fumes associated with these practices.
g. 
It is hereby determined that whatever nuisance may be caused to others by these forgoing uses and activities is more than offset by the benefits of farming to the neighborhood community and society in general.
h. 
Any person aggrieved by operation of a commercial farm shall file a complaint with the applicable county agriculture development board prior to filing an action in court.
1. 
To help parties resolve conflicts involving the operation of commercial farms, the State Agricultural Development Committee has also established an Agricultural Mediation Program. Mediation is a voluntary process in which a trained, impartial mediator helps disputing parties examine their mutual problems, identify and consider options, and determine if they can agree on a solution, A mediator has no decision-making authority.
2. 
In the event the dispute concerns activities that are addressed by an agricultural management practice recommended by the State Agricultural Development Committee, the County Board shall hold a public hearing and issue findings and recommendations within sixty (60) days of the receipt of the complaint.
3. 
In the event the State Agricultural Development Committee has not recommended an agricultural management practice concerning activities addressed by a complaint, the County Board shall forward the complaint to the State Committee for a determination of whether the disputed agricultural operation constitutes a generally accepted agricultural operation or practice. Upon receipt of the complaint, the State Committee shall hold a public hearing and issue its findings and recommendations within sixty (60) days of the receipt of the State Committee's decision.
4. 
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the County board shall Appeal the decision to the State Agricultural Development Committee within ten (10) days. The State Committee shall schedule a hearing and make a determination within ninety (90) days of receipt of the petition for review.
5. 
The decision of the State Agricultural Development Committee shall be binding, subject to the right of appeal to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. Any decision of the Warren County Agricultural Development Board that is not appealed shall be binding.
i. 
An additional purpose of this section is to promote a good neighbor policy by advising purchasers and users of property adjacent to or near commercial farms of accepted activities or practices associated with those neighboring farms. It is intended that, through mandatory disclosures, purchasers and users will better understand the impacts of living near agricultural operations and be prepared to accept attendant conditions as the natural result of living in or near land actively devoted to commercial agriculture or in an agricultural development area, meaning an area identified by a county agriculture development board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:1C-18 and certified by the State Agricultural Development Committee.
j. 
Each deed of conveyance of land shall contain a recital as follows:
"The Township of Frelinghuysen acknowledges that a substantial quantity of land is devoted to active agricultural uses and further acknowledges the right of that landowner to continue to farm. Therefore, the grantee, his heirs and assigns are hereby on notice that the adjoining land or lands in the vicinity are actively being farmed and the other farmland owner has the continued right to farm under the provisions of Chapter 15 of the Zoning Ordinance of the Township of Frelinghuysen."