Councilmembers voted during committee session Monday afternoon to move an agritourism zoning measure to full council.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 24-02 will expand campground use to allow overnight stays in the county’s agricultural reserve and rural cluster.
As the council’s Planning, Housing and Parks committee, Council President Andrew Friedson, Councilmember Natali Fani-González and Councilmember Will Jawando unanimously approved the ZTA and recommended the measure to the full council.
“The aim of the bill is to provide property owners with an additional way to promote and conduct agritourism without overburdening the agricultural reserve and our agricultural land,” Friedson said during a media briefing Monday morning. “The proposal would also enable residents and visitors to have fully immersive experiences, and enjoy the natural resources that are available in the agricultural areas of the county.”
The measure would allow campground use on agricultural and rural properties that meet requirements for farming in the county’s Zoning Ordinance. There would be additional requirements for properties, like minimum acreage.
The ZTA was introduced in June with lead sponsors Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Dawn Luedtke, Sidney Katz, and Fani-González.
A similar measure was introduced in November of last year by Fani-González. It would have allowed overnight stays on farms in the agricultural reserve that have education and tourism activities as part of regular operations.
According to council documents, the ZTA currently being considered is a follow-up to the one introduced in November, which “never proceeded beyond the Council Public Hearing due to substantial pushback from community groups.”
