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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/02/2018 "town. of Southold Agricultural .Advispry Committee Meetbig Minutes of May 2, 2018 Opening: The regular meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee was called to order at 7:10 pin on May 2, 2018, 2018 in Southold Town all conference room. Present: Members Present Members absenk Guests Chris Baiz John P. Sepenoski Karl Novak Douglas Cooper Louis Caracciolo Katie Sepenoski Jim Glover Tom Stevenson Adam Suprenant Karen Rivara Supervisor, Scott Russell John B.Sepenoski Jr. Mark Van Bourgondien Councilman Bill Ruland Approval of Agenda: Agenda distributed and next meeting will be Wednesday May 23rd at 7:00 pm in the Southold Town all Conference room. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the February 7,March 22,and April 4, and April 18, 2018 approved to be made part of public record.Motion made by Karen Rivara to approve minutes, seconded by Mark Van Bourgondien. Ongoing Business: Expectations are that in terms of legislation,the Town Board will vote on Tuesday May 8 th for a vote to go to Code Committee on codification oft e Agricultural Advisory Board Committee. Draft points will be: • The members of the committee • Easement reviewing • Scenic Vistas John Sepenoski was asked to provide LPC easements and language suggestions for this committee to review in order to draft standardized easements. "Town of Southold Agricultural Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of may 2, 201 Scott Russell addressed the committee regarding the special events code with attention to changing one permit per six events. deadline of Tuesday July 31"was set for Permitted Uses in Chapter 280. Minor definitions will e addressed with the exception of alcoholic beverages which are under the farm/winery license by the NYS liquor authority. The address on the NYS "Farm Winery" license must be a farm address. Scott Russell will coordinate on Tuesday May 8 th with the Town Board on a series of dates and tinics with ednesrlays or Thursdays optimal lor°the 'l"owr Board. L,,,airen revised the AA(" c(x1c and will be at the 1`owr°r l oard `I' wsday May 8"' work session. Scott will ;et the drall an l tt.)rward. to this committee by our next meeting on May 23`d. Recommendations need to be back to Scott by 2 weeks from Tuesday/ ay 22nd. The applications for special events will go to the Town Clerk and then to ScottRussell's office. The first code committee meeting on Permitted Uses in Chapter 280 is set up for the Town Board work session in 2 weeks, May 22nd. Covered items will e: Special Events Codification Permitted Uses in Chapter 280 The Agricultural Advisory Committee will get the draft on Wednesday May 9th Items to review: • Additional restrictions on farmlands vs. wineries • Acreage requirements • Greenhouses and lot coverage issues Discussion of certain winery owners producing wine elsewhere and competing t wineries that meet the acreage and region requirements. At present,farm stands must grow 0% of their products to sell, but under the wineries code, in order to use "North Fork of Long Island"the AVA designation on the wine label, grapes must be grown on the North Fork of Long Island. A blended wine must contain 75%of grapes grown on the North Fork of L.I. and a varietal must be 5% grapes grown on the North Fork of L.I. Point arose that some farm stands have a C of 0 allowing"on farm direct marketing permit". The registration process for permits is not about fees, but about allowing fair competition and following established rules. Scott Russell indicated that licenses should be passed as a way of enforcement, Agriculture is diverse, and we want the law applied as evenly as possible. Scott wants to discuss food trucks at the next Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting. Town of Southold Agricultural Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of May 2, 20.18 Scott Russell exited the meeting at 7:45 pm. Discussion of upcoming meetings determined that the next Agricultural Advisory meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 16t", meeting room to be determined. The May 16t"meeting will go over the AAC code permitted uses and special events for the Code committee. Karen Rivara stated that John Sep had proposed a"listening session"which was decided should be before July 31St,preferably in the first half of June. The 2 points of compromise for codification are: • the member makeup • easement review The goal will be to get the codification done. Advertise for Public Hearing on June 5, (revised to July 3d) afterward codification can be signed into law. Old Business/Review: Reviewed at the Land Preservation Committee meeting the coordinator recited that regarding easements, there were 126 purchases by the To of development rights in the last number of years. Of the 31 parcels, 8 are quadrant, 9 have a federal or state grant and 2 were a combination of both. Reviewed the Land Preservation Committee (LPC) Chapter 70 Code which contains an inherent contradiction/conflict in the chapters and code language. The definition of Agricultural production includes Agricultural structures. The LPC regulates structures, which is in conflict with the definition of Agricultural production. There is no standard easement which has therefore resulted in excessive restrictions by the Town. There is an implication that the landowner needs to negotiate with the Town. Clarification is needed for a buyer to know how the value of a parcel could be affected both now and in the future. It was stated that the Farmland Preservation Committee 9 page document from 8/29/1983 listed Agricultural productions as stated in Ag& Markets#301. By 3/31/1984, The To Board passed Chapter 70, Agricultural Production. Committee observed that value was appropriated from farmland by the To Board when#25 became#70. Town of Southold Agricultural .Advino ry Committee Meeting Minutes of May 2, 2018 New Business: Discussion of"on farm processing". Code enforcement believes if practice is not on the books, it is against the code. Processing discussed,there is no slaughtering allowed in the Town of Southold, so mobile processing units are employed for that purpose. Terms"harvesting crops"vs. slaughtering discussed. Issue of burning discussed regarding permits. No permit is needed for agricultural bums. The Fire Department and Police Dept. should be notified in order to inform the public,water must be on hand and the fire must be extinguished by the end of day. Discussion of the sale of Martha Clara vineyards. It was noted that the buyer's granddaughter is now at that operation. Motion to approve and post minutes of 2/7, 3/22,4/4 and 4/18/18 made by Karen Rivara, seconded by Mark Van Bourgondien. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Doug Cooper, Seconded by Karen Rivara. Meeting adjourned 9:05 prn. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Cheryl Kaswell