ordinance to ban tractors

   / ordinance to ban tractors #51  
Just curious, did anybody here actually go to the Town of Prospect website and read the zoning regulations? When I first read this thread a couple of years ago I was upset. But agter I read the 200+ page regulations, which all FARMS is all zones (only one zone requires a special permit), and grandfather in all preregulation uses, I think much of what has been written was written without the benefit of facts. Take a look at the regulations, you may be suprised. Conn also has very strong statewide pro farm regulations. Farms are exempt from many local forms of control. An example is farms are exempt from wetlands regulations. Also no registration, insurance, or license is required to drive farm equipment on public roads. And I do hate regulation as much as the next guy. I just think the facts should be presented.

Andy
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #52  
<font color="green">The same farmer who complains about the developer will cry foul if an ordinance is passed affecting his ability to sell his property for the maximum value. </font>

I don't know about new york but in farming/ranching country here it isn't the farmer that is crying foul and trying to re-write law books. It isn't the farmer that is crying foul over the land value or what is being done with the land. The farmer doesn't really care that the housing project is going in or objecting to the houses being built. You're right the developer has a right to do what he wants with the land if they get the zoning. However why in the world does John Q not still have the right to do what he was doing before the project went in. Or why now can't the farmer move his equipment between fields on the roads because the $50k mercedes is going to get mud on it. And why now can't the farmer run his equipment after 9pm. And how fair is it that the farmer who can sometimes hardly afford next years inputs go up against a millionaire developers law team. He hires a $75/hour lawyer and has to borrow money for that while the developer has five lawyers and is spending $1500/hr.

Yes all this happens and more. NO there sure as heck isn't fair compensation for the land either in most cases.
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #53  
<font color="green"> "However why in the world does John Q not still have the right to do what he was doing before the project went in. Or why now can't the farmer move his equipment between fields on the roads because the $50k mercedes is going to get mud on it. And why now can't the farmer run his equipment after 9pm." </font>

Actually, in New York they usually can.

Here we require buyers of homes near a farm sign a disclosure indicating that they know there may be farming activities, including the smell of manure and tractors running at night. Most towns here encourage farming and give very generous tax classifications to protect farmers from being put out of business by high property taxes. Some towns also work lucrative deals where the Farmer sells his development rights to the Town for Cash and the property, since it can't be developed without the Town's participation, is assessed at a much lower rate and is taxed much less. The Farmer can "cash out" and still keep farming his land. My town is spending something like $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 to preserve farms and other "open space" this year. The state even had a program a few years ago that gave grants to repair and preserve Barns.

Given that our state is controlled by legislators from New York City and Long Island, who forget the state extends west of the Hudson River, I would have expected other states to be more farm friendly. Go figure.

Further, I don't always believe the rumors that farming activities have been prohibited. If you look back this thread you will see that the original premise, that tractors were being banned in this town, was not entirely correct. One of the posters said he talked to the mayor and it only affected a small area where there were no working farms. As AndyMa said, you have to look at the facts before you jump to conclusions.

Your post shows a lot of frustration. I expect there is the same frustration on the other side of the fence. I'm not taking sides. I live in a very expensive neighborhood. Mine is the only large property and I'm the only one with a tractor and the only one with a loader, boxblade, blade, utility trailer, mound of wood chips and big stacks of fire wood in my side yard. I'd be unhappy if someone told me I had to store that stuff out of site. But I would also understand.

My point is that for every frustrated farmer there's probably a frustrated homeowner.

It's all a matter of perspective.
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #54  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My town is spending something like $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 to preserve farms and other "open space" this year.)</font>

Dang, Webster is preserving farms and open spaces??? Every time I drive into Webster, there's a new development, strip mall, Lowe's... Your place must be a little off of 104, 250 and 5 mile line Rd.
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #55  
You're right, development here is going crazy. That's why the town passed the referendum to protect some open land. Then there are people like me who buy larger pieces of land and vow to keep it undeveloped.
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #56  
It's calle NIMBY. It stands for Not In My BackYard. And it's a plague spreading across the country. Folks leave their home area to move somewhere a little more appealing, slower paced, more charming, etc. The problem is, once they've gotten settled in, they then want to start changing things, and/or not allowing anyone else to move into "their" town.

I remember years ago in the small grocery store in Litchfield, CT, a weekender from NY got pissed off about the store being crowded while she was trying to shop, so she blurted out as she was waiting in line at one of the registers: "why can't you people do your shopping during the week?". Suffice it to say that she was advised where to go (back to) by some of the full time residents with full time weekday jobs.

The town I recently moved out of here in Colorado, had a mayor for two years that moved here from the east coast. Not long after she moved in, she went on a crusade to virtually stop all residential development, that continued into her Mayoral term. Once she realized that she couldn't stop the residential development that had been previously approved when the town approved its master plan, she set out to block all retail and commercial development. The loss of those tax revenues that ended up going to other nearby towns and sent the town into a financial spiral downward, caused her and her trustee lackees to leave their offices sooner than they had wanted.
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #57  
Here in Maine, the legistlature has passed a set of laws which form the baseline for all Zoning Ordinances, including identifying where towns can pass local ordinances. Most towns have established Planning Boards which define local zoning regulations based on state law, local conditions, and growth needs. All of their meetings must be publicized and open to the public. Once they have finalized their local regs, they must hold one or more public hearings to educate the town and accept and act on comments from the public. Finally, all zoning ordinances must be adopted by the town via referendum ballot. The problem is that hardly anyone ever shows up for any of the public meetings or the hearings on the final regs.... except developers and realtors. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif And then only about 10% of the voters even bother to vote on the referendum.

I sit on the Zoning Board of Appeals in our town. Many of those people that don't participate when given a chance, are the ones that whine to us when they need a variance. Unfortunately, state law does not permit us to consider whinning when we evaluate variance applications. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #58  
RE: <font color="blue"> Unfortunately, state law does not permit us to consider whinning when we evaluate variance applications.
</font>

My favorite when I watch our local Planning Commision on cable access is the people who claim they have a "hardship" and need a variance so as to be able to add a room because their mother-in-law is moving in with them. It is tough to argue that they don't have a hardship - is just not the kind the law recognizes!
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #59  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Having your 50K Mercedes shown up by a 200K tractor just will not be proper.

Egon : )</font>Good one Egon-I liked it.
 
   / ordinance to ban tractors #60  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It's calle NIMBY. It stands for Not In My BackYard.
)</font>

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Reminds me of the cartoon sketch of an old run down shack and the Mobile Home being placed on the lot next door.
The wife is exclaiming to her husband.
Oh my God somebody put a trailer next door.
 
 
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