Township professionals are working on compiling a list of the issues raised during a Planning Board workshop meeting held to discuss farmland preservation.
During the workshop meeting, held on June 2, members of the Planning Board and Agricultural Advisory Committee discussed a newly drafted farmland preservation plan element. Among the issues that were raised were the right to farm, issues regarding leases, and the “51 percent rule,” which is implemented in other towns, but not in West Windsor.
The 51 percent rule requires that 51 percent of the products sold on farms are grown locally on that farm. The township’s current policy requires that 100 percent of the products sold comes from the local farm.
Implementing the 51 percent rule would permit almost 50 percent of products sold on farms to come from outside sources and not local farming, explained Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner. “We’re also looking into issues regarding construction of buildings that would market these types of products,” he said. “Those buildings will certainly come into play at some point when we develop an ordinance reflecting what’s contained in the farmland preservation element.”
Particularly, the Planning Board is concerned with height and setbacks from the road.
Gardner said the board has asked its staff to prepare a list of the issues that were raised at the meeting so it can have further discussions with the members of the Agricultural Advisory Committee. This could mean that another workshop will be scheduled before the public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, July 28, but no workshop meeting is currently scheduled.
The plan element is intended to continue support for the preservation of agriculture as a viable industry within the township. The draft identifies sites that are to be retained specifically for the continuation of agriculture.
