Recently, the Buckland Farmers’ Market, now located just
over the Fauquier County line in Prince William County, has
expressed an interest in moving to Fauquier County. They
have found a property on Route 29 just north of New
Baltimore owned by the Smith family. The Smiths own and
farm multiple properties in the area, with the parcel of
interest being a 25-acre lot on the northwest side of Route
29, just north of the Riley Road intersection with Route
29. The property is zoned RA/Rural Agriculture.
The farmers’ market would be allowed on the subject property
as a Community Farmers’ Market by approval of a special
permit, except that it cannot meet several of the standards
for the use. The existing standards for a Community Farmers’
Market are listed below, with the proposed changes
highlighted and discussed.
1. The minimum lot size requirement shall
be one hundred (100) acres; multiple contiguous legal lots under common ownership may be
utilized to satisfy the lot size requirement.
The requirements of this section shall not preclude the
property owner from conducting compatible, Permitted Uses on
the same parcel. <While the subject parcel is only 25
acres, a contiguous parcel of 80 acres is under the same
ownership, for a combined total of 105 acres.>
2. The road frontage requirement shall be
a minimum of 300 feet on a road designated as a major
collector (or higher) in the Comprehensive Plan unless the
Board of Zoning Appeals finds that the type and amount of
traffic generated by the facility is such that it will not
cause an undue impact on the neighbors or adversely affect
safety of road usage.
3. All open off-street parking and loading
areas shall be no closer than 25 feet from any lot line.
4. In addition to the allowed farm sign,
one temporary, portable sign may be erected of up to 12
square feet in size and six (6) feet in height to advertise
hours of operation and products available.
5. The permitted activity is the use of
any tract of land in a rural agriculture zoning district for
the retail sales and preparation of agricultural products,
horticultural products, aquacultural products, and hand made
crafts. Any other retail sales conducted on the property
shall be accessory and incidental to the permitted
activity. Permitted accessory products shall be accessory
and incidental to the permitted activity. Permitted
accessory products include pottery, baskets, garden
accessories, baked goods, floral supplies and other similar
type items directly related to the culture, care, use of, or
processing of the principal use. Products using electrical
or combustion power such as lights, lawn trimmers, and
tractors shall not be allowed. Outdoor recreational
activities such as corn mazes, hayrides, pumpkin patches or
other similar activities which are dependent on the products
being produced on site may be held in conjunction with a
community farmer’s market if approved as part of a special
permit application.
6. Highway entrance shall be approved by
the Virginia Department of Transportation.
7. Sanitary facilities shall be approved
by the Fauquier County Health Department.
8. No structure used for or in conjunction
with the use shall be located within 500
100 feet of any adjoining
property located in a Residential or Rural Zoning District.
<The subject parcel in this case is only 260 feet wide,
making it impossible to meet the 500 foot setback
requirements from adjoining property lines. If the Board
is concerned about proximity to residential use, a standard
requiring a 500 foot setback from any adjoining residential
unit may be appropriate.>
9. No more than one new structure shall be
allowed to be constructed, not to exceed 2,500
6,500 square feet in size
and shall meet all location requirements for the RA zoning
district. However, structures previously existing on the
parcel may be converted to a farmers’ market use, regardless
of size or number, if the Board determines the location,
accessibility, and visibility of these structures is
appropriate to this use. <The owners of the Buckland
Market need 6,500 square feet for the proposed market, and
no existing buildings are located in proximity to the street
that could be utilized. Most other uses allowed in the RA
zoning district do not have a size limitation on the
buildings. And, in fact, just down the road on Route 29 are
two uses located in the RA district with larger buildings
(Meadows Farms with about 6,500 square feet and the Golf
Practice Facility, at about 5,000 square feet). Much larger
structures have been built elsewhere on RA land for uses in
the RA district (i.e., Tri-County Feeds and the Culpeper
Farmers Cooperative).>
10. All
At
least 80% of the agriculture products,
horticultural products, and hand made crafts shall be grown
or produced within the Commonwealth of Virginia. <The
Buckland Market operators have indicated that they
occasionally would want to offer products from outside the
Commonwealth of Virginia in order to provide a full array of
produce throughout the year. They have indicated they could
work with a requirement that 80 percent of the products must
be from Virginia. This proportion is consistent with the
requirement for “Farmer’s Market” where only 80% of the
goods are required to be produced in Fauquier County,
allowing 20% to come from anywhere else. It may be
reasonable for the broader “Community Farmers’ Market”
category to allow equivalent flexibility.”>