Table of Contents

Farmland Protection | Food Systems

The county’s zoning code addresses farmland protection. It establishes agricultural and forestal districts (Article 8E) to protect and enhance agricultural and forestal land as a viable segment of the county’s economy and as a major economic and environmental resource. The code allows for the establishment of agricultural and forestal districts, as enabled by state statute. It establishes special review criteria for land-use applications submitted for property adjacent to such districts to consider the potential impacts of such development on the agricultural or forestal use (§8E-5, §8E-6), and allows for the incorporation of buffers of 200 to 350 feet or other protective measures into the new development (§8E-7).

Integrated Water Resource Management

The county’s zoning code establishes a Watershed Management District (WMD) (Article 8C) to protect water quality and the proper management of stormwater resources in the Lake Pelham-Mountain Run Lake Watershed. It includes objectives such as enhancement of flood-control capability, adequate reserve capacity, aquifer recharge, and longevity of the lake system.

The regulations for the district require that that every development within the watershed be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment that addresses off-site impacts of stormwater and a before and after analysis of water quality (§8C-3-1).  It also addresses the preferred use of cluster development with buffering for critical watercourses and protection of environmentally sensitive areas within the watershed (§8C-3-3). And it creates development limitations for each drainage basin in the watershed in accordance with the Watershed Management Plan and defines buffer requirements around all watercourses (§8C-3-4).