HomeMy WebLinkAbout102223 farm code revisions feedbackALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Hello Commissioners and Staff,
Yes, I know the comment period is closed but I have some problems with the latest iteration of this code thing and I just can't deal with it like it is so here we go...
Also, I am having internet issues so I am juggling multiple devices in different rooms and traversing my house between the various screens to convey this seemingly pointless message.
I can only make visible about 2.3 lines of text at a time so I feel like I'm reading Picasso's oil on canvas rendition of this draft code as mimeographed by a half blind person operating
a machine which is low on ink. If my comments reflect this disability, don't be surprised.
I do appreciate some of the changes made to this most recent draft, but here are the things which are still sticking in my craw:
1- The $3000 threshold is woefully inadequate and burdensome. Seriously. When's the last time this limit was adjusted? Has it kept up with inflation? I highly doubt it. Shouldn't this
figure have some basis in reality? I'm not talking about that utter nonsense about it being $1500 before this current proposal. I'm talking about real world farming requirements based
on what real world farmers need. Maybe call an actual farmer and ask how far $3000 goes these days. Hell, I spent more than $3000 on fence panels and t-posts this year alone and that
is to say nothing about anything that would require a building permit.
2- This peculiar language about the building in question being free-standing and located 10' from the nearest structure UNLESS ATTACHED TO ANOTHER AGRICULTURAL BUILDING has my knickers
in a twist. If I was the mischievous type, I'd assert that this could be interpreted to mean that if you attach the building in question to another ag building that it does not need
to be more than 10' from any other building. Are you following me there? Unclear and dubious language is an invitation for exploitation. It might be better stated as: "...the building
is free-standing and located at least 10' from any non-agricultural building", or something along those lines so as to close the potential loophole.
3- I'm still unhappy with the language of the "vehicles which are not licensed as farm equipment". While some on/off-road vehicles may be licensed as farm use, others are not and should
not be excluded. For instance, nobody registers tractors and they should not be excluded. ATVs are often used as farm vehicles and may or may not be registered as such because they
can be dual purpose recreational vehicles. Please include these.
While I'm at it, and just in hopes you don't get carried away tomorrow and backtrack on some of the inclusions I consider to be steps in the right direction, here are some of the things
I like about the latest draft:
I like the definitions of buildings and structures with the inclusion of greenhouses, temporary grow structure and agricultural structure. That is very helpful and unambiguous.
I like the exclusion of particular types of permits (water heater, sprinkler, etc) from the totally arbitrary $3000 threshold. That is productive.
I mostly like the plumbing allowances as defined to exclude anything which should be plumbed to a septic system. A wash basin for cleaning dirty hands would not offend me if it drained
into the lawn. It's the same thing as a hose but there is less bending down to pick up a hose in the mud if you have a sink to stand at and who doesn't want to reduce the frequency
with which they are forced to bed down and pick up a muddy hose? I think the important thing here is prevention of detergents running wild.
I like the inclusion of heat sources for ag purposes and I think the electrical or wood stove permit is a reasonable requirement.
OK, I think I got in my 50,000 steps just now and wore a bare spot in my wood floor from running back and forth from room to room to read those precious 2.3 lines at a time.
Good night,
Jean Ball