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Staff Report:
The Zoning
Ordinance defines a farmers market as “the use of any tract
of land in a rural zoning district for the retail sales of
agriculture products, horticultural products, aquicultural
products and handmade crafts.” As noted in the definition, a
farmer’s market is allowed only in the Rural Agricultural
District (RA) with approval of a Category 18 Special Permit.
The current Ordinance regulations distinguishes between a
farmer’s market that offers agricultural products for sale
that are largely produced on-site or locally
within Fauquier County, and a community farmer’s market,
which offers agricultural products for sale that are largely
produced off-site but within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
For a farmer’s market, the minimum lot size requirement is
five (5) acres and the proprietor of the business must
reside on-site or on an adjacent parcel. For a community
farmer’s market the minimum lot size requirement is much
more onerous, at one hundred (100) acres but there is no
residency requirement for the proprietor of the business,
which is similar to standard commercial retail practices.
Therefore, in order to allow farmer’s markets that offer the
sale of locally produced agricultural products to operate on
lots where the proprietor does not reside on the business
site, an ordinance amendment is necessary. The purpose of
this proposed amendment is to allow such flexibility while
protecting the rural character of areas zoned to the RA
District and continuing to minimize the further encroachment
of commercial activity into such areas.
Pursuant to
the current regulations, an applicant seeking to operate a
farmer’s market to sell locally produced agricultural
products but who does not reside on the subject property
would be required to apply for the community farmer’s market
designation. Although the primary activity associated with
both market designations is the sale of agricultural and
homemade goods, a community farmer’s market is a much more
intensive commercial use and is primarily a retail operation
by virtue of the provision that allows all of the products
offered for sale to be produced off-site by other parties
with no requirement that any of the products be produced
locally. In addition, the maximum building size of 6,500
square feet is also significantly larger, and therefore more
impacting, than the 2,500 square feet maximum allowed for a
farmer’s market. For these reasons, a farmer’s market is
much more in keeping with the rural character of the RA
District and the sale of locally produced agricultural
products, whether grown on a farmer’s market site or on
another site, supports economic development within the
County.
In
considering an amendment to address this issue, staff has
carefully reviewed the requirements for both designations
and has proposed changes to the farmer’s market use that
will provide the desired flexibility while maintaining the
intent of the original text language to minimize commercial
activity in rural areas. As identified in the proposed text
amendment, staff is recommending that the residence
requirement for proprietors of farmer’s markets found in
Section 5-1812.7 be waived by the Board of Supervisors
subject to the approval of a Special Exception. By requiring
the Special Exception, the Board will have the authority to
determine whether the operation of a farmer’s market in this
capacity is compatible with the existing or planned use of
the area in which it is proposed. It is staff’s position
that although the lack of a residency requirement for a
farmer’s market is more akin to a community farmer’s market
and would obviously preclude the sale of agricultural goods
that are grown on-site, this is off-set by the regulations
already in place that limit a proprietor to sell only those
appropriate products that are locally produced within
Fauquier County. Therefore, while more non-traditional
farmer’s markets could be approved under this new provision,
the intent to promote locally produced products is retained.
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