THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504010283
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
A law limiting regulations on farming operations goes into effect today, and advocates said it will keep counties from arbitrarily stopping farm expansions in agriculture zones when neighbors protest.
But the director of the Virginia Association of Counties warns that the law allows big livestock operations to move near subdivisions and give residents few rights to control the smell, noise and traffic.
``Neighbors may find it objectionable, but with this change, there's not a thing that can be done about it,'' James Campbell of VACO said Friday.
And Harrison Moody said the law won't help farmers in Dinwiddie County where he raises chickens and dairy cows because the Board of Supervisors replaced conditional use permits with tougher overall restrictions in February.
``We had a struggle getting something passed, trying to keep the farming community satisfied and the residential people,'' said Moody, a board member. ``Ours is a little stricter than I think it should be. We've just about zoned hog farming out of Dinwiddie County.''
The legislation was passed by the 1994 General Assembly, which gave counties a year to revise their zoning ordinances that apply to farming and forestry operations.
Thirty-two counties have adopted new ordinances for farming operations or are discussing them, according to Martha Moore, a Virginia Farm Bureau lobbyist.
``It creates a more level playing field for farmers at the county level,'' Moore said. ``Many counties zoned everything agriculture but still allowed very heavy residential development to occur in those areas.'' by CNB