New regulations for Howard County being finalized on July 25, 2013. Please pass on to people that may be impacted. This will probably set a precedent for other Maryland Counties. We need to support our neighbors. thank you Susan and TROT for bringing this issue to our attention. Debby Dear member of the Howard County Farm Community and/or Concerned Resident: As you may be aware, the Howard County Council is in the process of adopting new zoning regulations for the County. At this time, it anticipates finalizing the regulations on July 25, 2013. Included among the changes being considered are ones which would very significantly affect the farm community, particularly those raising livestock (including horses) on small to medium size farms. From what can be discerned to date, these proposed regulations, if passed, will make it much more difficult for equine, as well as other specialty farming interests (i.e., sheep, goat and alpaca), to thrive. These interests are now the backbone of agriculture in the County and contribute vast sums to the County’s tax base and its economy. Where We Are Now: Currently, “farming” is defined broadly in the Zoning Regulations to include “[t]he breeding, raising, training, boarding and general care of livestock for uses other than for food, such as sport or show purposes, as pets, or for recreation…” (Section 103.0 (77), page 1 attached). As long as you are engaged in these or other activities also defined to be “farming,” you do not have to comply with any setback or other similar County restrictions, except that you can’t put your manure pile or a structure sheltering animals within 200 feet of your neighbors’ house. (Section 128.A.4, lines 16-25 on page 11 attached). There also is currently no limit on how may horses or other livestock you may have per acre. Thus, overall there is a tremendous amount of leeway with few regulations on how property is used for farming purposes. And since “farming” is considered a use as a “Matter of Right” in almost all areas of the County, except in Columbia and on other non-residentially zoned land, neither the County nor your neighbors can shut down your “farming” activities (including livestock keeping) because they don’t like the way you farm, where you put your ag buildings, or the fact that you may drive you tractor on a local road or operate noisy farm equipment at a time not liked by your suburban neighbors. Proposed Changes: The zoning text amendments now before the County Council would change this regulatory environment very, very significantly. They would: 1) countywide, limit the definition of a “farm” to only those properties which have an agricultural tax assessment and whose principal use is agriculture. 2) make it a violation of the zoning regulations to keep livestock (other than cattle) anywhere in the County other than in the “western” portion (i.e., RC and RR zones—see attached map) if the property’s principal use is not a “farm” as defined above. 3) change the keeping of livestock in the RC and RR zones from a use as a “matter of right” to an “accessory use. “ 4) in the RC and RR districts, increase the size of a lot/land parcel needed to have any type of livestock from 40,00 square feet to a minimum of 3 acres; 5) for all properties, except “farms” as defined above, limit the number of livestock per acre as follows : Horses or Mules: 1 per 1.5 acres Ponies, miniature horses or donkeys 1 per ¾ acre Llamas or alpacas 1 per 16,335 sq. ft. (slightly more than 1 per 1/3 acre) Goats or sheep 1 per 13,036sq. ft. (slightly less than 1/3 acre) 4) require all properties in agricultural use, except “farms” as defined above, to comply with side of property set back requirements. (Note: the proposed regs penalize lots/parcels over three acres by having a 30 ft side set back instead of a 10 ft setback for smaller properties). This means you can no longer put an ag structure right on or next to your side property line. 5) prohibit the operation of farm machinery on all properties on which livestock are kept (except on “farms” meeting the definition above). What happens if your farming or livestock keeping operation does not comply with these proposed regulations if they are passed? Existing uses will be allowed to continue, but if your noncompliance is brought to the County’s attention, you most likely will be required to go through an extensive County process to get a “nonconforming use” designation. This usually requires getting an attorney. There will be a hearing on the matter where you will be required to prove that the uses in which you are not in compliance were occurring before the new zoning regulations went into effect. If you cannot prove this, your farming/livestock keeping operation must come into compliance with the new regulations or it can be shut down. If the regulations are passed as proposed, you will not be able to expand your livestock keeping to have more than the number of animals specified in the regulations and you will not be able to build anything in the side setback area of your property as of the effective date of the new regulations. What can I do now? E-mail members of the Howard County Council and the County Executive and say “STOP.” These proposed regulations have not been discussed with the agricultural community, particularly those on small to medium sized farms who will be most affected. It is extremely important that this discourse occur before any changes to the regulations are made,particularly since these proposed regulations would appear to seriously effect the long term viability of the horse and other specialty livestock industries in the County. District 1 Courtney Watson [email protected] (Elkridge area) District 2 Calvin Ball [email protected] (Columbia) District 3 Jennifer Terrasa [email protected] (Eastern/South eastern portion of County) District 4 Mary Kay Sigaty [email protected] (Columbia/ (Highland/Clarksville) District 5 Greg Fox [email protected] (Western Howard County, including Highland and parts of Clarksville) Drafted by Susan Gray 240-426-1655 Small Horse Farm Owner Land Use Attorney Resident of Highland
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:58:19 +0000
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