A final hearing on these two measures was held on Tuesday.
County Council President Brad Young.
Frederick, Md (KM) The Frederick County Council is expected to vote on Tuesday, November 12th on two bills covering the agricultural tourism industry. One says that farm buildings can be used for non-farm purposes for no more than 120 days per year. The second one puts restrictions on some ag tourism activities, such as fire pits, amplified music, fireworks and fruit and vegetable cannons. “I’m totally supportive of agra tourism. But I think it makes sense to look at some limits that, again, you just can’t have a free-for-all on what you do,” says County Council President Brad Young, who was a guest recently on WFMD’s “Morning News Express.”
The Council has held two hearings on the bills, the most recent one on Tuesday, October 29th. At each of those hearings, Council members heard from some Middletown residents who live near Summers Farm, which has ag tourism component. These residents have complained about the noise and dust generated by the venue. Young says it’s important to try to find a happy medium. “We’ve exempted agra-tourism from a lot of the typical things that normal businesses have to do in order to be supportive of our farmers. But, again, we just want to make sure that the neighbors that are there are not being adversely impacted by what’s happening,” Young says.
He pointed out that the community in the Middletown area being impacted by the Summers Farm has been around since 1968, and is not a new development.
The bill that sets the number of days farm buildings can be used for non-farm activities at 120 days would not prevent farmers from holding ag tourism activities throughout the year such as pick-your-own produce. But activities like “renting it out for prom dances, or other events that are not agriculturally-related. That those are limited to 120 days per year. If it’s an agricultural use, they can still use it 365,” says Young.
Regarding the bill which puts restrictions on some ag tourism activities, Young says it will not take affect immediately if it’s approved on November 12th. “We have amended it, and one of the amendments is that even if it is passed, it won’t take affect until July 1, 2025. That’s a little bit of a saving grace to allow these businesses to adapt to whatever changes that are there,” he says.
At this time, Young says he hasn’t made up his mind as to whether he will support these bills. “Whenever you put a piece of legislation that’s primarily aimed to fix one problem, it creates other problems,” he said. “I want to look at it and make sure it’s doing the right things to protect people that are next to the farms, but also it’s not limiting the farm’s ability to make money to pay what they need to pay for.”
By Kevin McManus