Frederick County Council Approves Amendments To Two Agri-Tourism Bills

A hearing on the amended legislation is expected to take place next week.Councilman  Jerry DonaldFrederick, Md (KM) Two bills dealing with Frederick County’s agri-tourism industry will undergo public hearings once again. The County Council on Tuesday approved amendments to that legislationOne bill would amend the County’s building code to clarify the usage of farm buildings for agri-tourism. It’s sponsored by Councilman Jerry Donald who introduced an amendment to limit the amount of time farm buildings could be used for agri-tourism to 120 days per year. “The purpose of the bill is to clarify when and how an agricultural building can be used for public uses in accordance with the agri-tourism enterprise definition,” he said. “So we’re talking buildings, not the entire operation.”Councilman Steve McKay raised a concern. “I appreciate the amendment. but I guess I’m still probably going to be a bit concerned  it’s not long enough time, particularly given some of our agri-tourism businesses that are trying to operate in multiple seasons across the year,” he said.Also raising a concern was Councilwoman MC Keegan-Ayer. She said many farm buildings have multiple uses. “It’s not just for a store. They may use it for weighing the produce as it comes out of the field when the people pick it. They’re also using it  for storage of equipment and things like that,”: she said.The amendment passed unanimously.A second agri-tourism bill, also sponsored by Councilman Donald, would put restrictions on some agri-tourism activities such as fruit and vegetable cannons, fireworks and amplified music. Councilman Donald introduced an amendment to limit the number of fire pits on one property to no more than 20,  and they could not be located within 500 feet of a property line.It brought this comment from Councilman McKay. “Without any information about the size of the property–not just the distance to neighboring residential units–it’s a just arbitrary context independent limit. that I just had a problem with,” he said. “This is better then before. But I’m just concerned on it from that perspective>”Donald said these fire pits generate a lot of smoke. “If I was not receiving people’s complaints even recently of  the intensity of the smoke in their yard, I would never have bothered  with this. But they’re complaining for a reason, and that’s the reason,” he said.That amendment was passed on a 6-1 vote with Council Vice President voting in opposition.Another amendment, also sponsored by Councilman Donald, would require agri-tourism operations to respond to the County’s Office of Agriculture when it comes to their zoning certificates. The question would be have there been any changes in the past year. “The county will reach out to their businesses. If things were operating as they were last year, that’s it. Check! done,”  he said. “The onus is not on the farm owner or the person operating. It’s on the county to reach out yearly.;”He said this probably would not impact to many agir-tourism operations. “A lot of these small operations it will not apply to at all,” Donald said. “We’re talking about ones only that use amplified music, fireworks, or if there’s going to be a whole new structure for any of them. If that is going to change, you’re going put a new structure in, then you’re going to have to go back to the Zoning Administrator. But if you’re going to operate pretty much as you did last year, you’re good.”The Council also unanimously approved an amendment sponsored by Councilman Mason Carter which requires the new law to take affect on July 1st, 2025.A hearing before the Council on these amended bills is expected to take place next Tuesday. A vote on whether to adopt these new pieces of legislation could come in November.By Kevin McManus