City zoning may crush small farms (Moscow, Sandpoint: credit card, lawyer, home)

[Preston Berry Farms]

Help...I have 5 acres in city limits 200 ft are zoned Residential and the rest is Transitional. I am surrounded by farms and agriculture. I did my research and asked the city concerning building licenses, zoning, ect. all was well so I have invested all my savings and maxed out my credit cards. I have 1000 berries which will arrive next week and over $20,000 in high tunnels to cover them are already on my farm. I have recieved a Stop Order because the change from alfalfa and pasture to raspberries raised in high tunnels is no longer agriculture but is commercial. I need a good attorney to represent me on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 4:30p who understands the zoning laws and Idaho Statute Title 22 Chapter 45. Please help with my right and my neighbors Right to Farm. I spoke with the Idaho First Lady's assistant and she suggested I get legal counsel and a voice. I am a mother of six children, 14 grandchildren and just want to grow the best raspberries in South Eastern Idaho so I can be with my family, provide a good living and give back to my wonderful farming community. Please help

[norcalmom101]

Have you considered asking for a continuation until you are able to get counsel?

[Sandpointian]

Sorry I cannot help, but by all means, keep this out of the courts and get this into the media, perhaps even the national media.

Doing so will bring out of the woodwork some great lawyers.


THe continuation is a great idea given the time deadline.
Get this in the regional media ASAP. File whatever you need to keep your side buoyant...

[Sandpointian]

I spoke with a lawyer friend of mine


What is key on your side is the nature of your operations. If you are buying raspberry seedlings to grow raspberry bushes and then planning to harvest them, you are engaged in agriculture. If you are planning to sell them in value added products (like jam, etc.) then you are involved in commerical agriculture. I cannot tell by your post. Are you using the land? Sory, I am unfamiliar with the business--my raspberries are wild and overgrown!


What is key on the land side is permissibility under the current zoning laws. Does it permit both types? Was zoning specifically alfalfa & pasture? What is meant by "Transition?"

Have you fully documented the process as to "I...asked the city concerning building licenses, zoning, ect (sic)...?" DO you have stuff in writing? Signatures? If their advice was improper I would think that at a minimum, the courts would be more flexible, perhaps to get a continuance...


Have you complied 100% with your permits as stated? For most cases, zoning should be black or white, so either they misled, you failed to comply or you are in the gray area which may require clarification and a court case.


But,, you have painted yourself into a corner given this is Easter weekend and you literally have to find a lawyer on the day of the hearing, Yikes.

In order or urgency...
1) Lawyer
2) Media--only if ASAP
3) Common Sense Advice that perhaps some on City-Data can provide. But even there, it is Easter weekend. No time to waste.

On the latter, answer the questions above and give the online coimmunity some chance to prep you. Even if you find a lawyer, it should prove helpful...

S

[ejay]

It sounds like to me that we have too many rules people used to be able to make money with their land. This is another area where rural places are going to lose the very people who we need to stay there and farm and live. It's a sad truth and a sign of things to come..

[Preston Berry Farms]

Thanks everyone...first my ground is farm land always has been always will be. I purchased the ground to farm. It is grandfathered. The transitional part is the term the city uses to buffer the land between agriculture and residential. The ordinance states it is not intended to eliminate agricultural use within the city but to discourage the establishment of a new agricultural operation within the city limits. I am changing crop from alfalfa to raspberries...it is more profitable and uses less water. Farmers change crop all the time...nothing new...it is still farming. We will sell them fresh, pick your own, road side markets, farmers market, ect. Same thing that we all do as farmers, grow crop, raise livestock, live a good life. I am not a contentious person and consider myself a good citizen and neighbor. This situation has gone from nothing to much more than it should be...with that being said, I do not want to bring a liability suit to my beautiful little city and its tax payers unless they give me no choice. Many State and Local Representatives are watching to see what will happen and like me are hoping the City Fathers will make the right choice and allow me to plant my crop and grow it in the most profitable manner...it is my right as a citizen of the State of Idaho. With out too much more being said if I lose all the farmers in my small farming community will also suffer. It opens the door for the city zoning and planning to walk up to any farmer and issue a Stop Order. I have farmers all around on every border of my property. They plant, they farm, they harvest and they sell. If I lose, it will set the precedent for the city to interfer with other farms located in the city limits. It is morally wrong to deprive families the right to farm...especially during these times. It is the American Farmer that feeds the people and it is the small farm that feeds over 60% of the people according to the USDA. I will do all I can to protect my ground and fight for my right to sustain my family financially with Preston Berry Farms.
There will be a public hearing on Monday at 4:30. Pray all will be well.

[Preston Berry Farms]

Sandpointian...to answer your other questions Preston Berry Farms is a high tunnel raspberry farm. We will sell fresh raspberries to anyone with taste buds. I have been preparing for this for 3 years and yes we have been farming our ground, raising horses, cows, turkeys, chickens and children . We have actively been studying the zoning laws, requested building permits, sought a business license, registered our name with the State of Idaho and tried to recieve a tax i.d number. I have a full business plan with profit loss, income projections, expenses, balance sheet, cash plan and ratio analysis. I have studied and implemented techniques from Cornell University in up state New York, Idaho State University, University of Moscow, and Utah State University. I am also working very closely with the Idaho Extension Service and the Utah Extension Service. My berries are being certified as "Idaho Preferred". I believed I had done all I needed to do, including the zoning and according to our city inspector no building permits were required and no business license is required for agriculture. Our city inspector is a good man but the planning commitee had different ideas. We have been deligent in preparing our ground for our raspberry plants which will be arriving on Monday. If we can not plant they will die. The city is aware of this...they are also aware that I would have not made this amount of investment only for them to tell me NO. You are right about the "grey area"...southeastern Idaho has never used High Tunnel technology except in the Universities. It is an approved methology of farming...but, when I put up the first tunnel it raised some attention and unfortunately not the good kind. So...here I am with a stop order and there is no definition that fits my high tunnel in the city ordinance...it is neither a building nor a structure by definition. There is a lack of understanding, communication and knowledge...so I have attempted to fix that by bringing in my Extension Agent and documentation. This has failed. So, my feelings are they do not want me to beautify, invest or farm my ground, they have left me with the impression they do not want me to provide jobs, crop or stimulate our economy. My hands are truely tied but...not all hope is lost. This is my dream. I have grown up on a farm and both of my grandparents farmed. As a Delta Flight Attendant it is time for me to expand my horizons closer to home...and home is Idaho! home is my Family! home is my Farm! I look forward to giving back to my community and being an asset to them by offering nutritional, juicy sweet raspberries. Thanks for befriending me.
P.S. We will be sending a petition around tomorrow to make my neighbors aware of the city's intent and the City Counsil Meeting on Mon...the media sounds like a great idea but I still have hope they will come to their moral senses.

[shades_of_idaho]

Well even me a non farmer knows a crop like alfalfa needs to be replanted every few years. You can not replant it right back to alfalfa because it will kill it self off. There has to be rotation.

I will assume you have studied the state statutes.

Idaho Legislature Search Form

Maybe this one is better to use.



Good luck. Sounds like a wonderful adventure. I would love to have something like this to be able to pick berries. I hope the city can work it out. I know there is some things about agriculture on our zoning ordinance here too. More to the point they do not want housing within say so many feet of a caffo for obvious reasons. Also you will get a subdivision sprung up in the middle of a large agricultural area and then the people moving in complain about say the farmers cutting and bailing their hay in the middle of the night because they have to when the due is right. The balers have a rhythmic Ker thunk ker thunk ker thunk. I personally find it soothing to listen to on the nights I might not be able to sleep. Some do not feel the same.

Chris

[Mtn. States Resident]

Preston Berry Farms,

I'm assuming you live in or near Preston, thus the reason for your user name. Is that correct?

If you do live in Preston, have you checked with the Franklin Co. Commissioners? I know it is a city issue, but it may well be a county issue too, especially if the city is becoming aggressive about changing zoning laws.

Also, have you talked to the attorney who represent the city of Preston? I wouldn't think one would be retained full-time, but the city has to have some form of legal representation. Is this lawyer aware of what you've done and what the city is trying to do?

It wouldn't be the first time some in city government didn't talk to their attorney, or vice versa.

Good luck....I hope you get your answers. Nice to know there will be raspberries in Preston.

MSR

[Preston Berry Farms]

Yes it is true...after several meetings with Preston's Planning and Zoning....my plea went before Preston's City Counsel and after paying for a building permit and moving one of our high tunnels, we were allowed to plant our 1000 Joan J Raspberry plants. We are behind by a month but we have been blessed with strong healthy plants and they are full of blossoms. We had good folks come from all around wanting to help. Even some really nice people from the Govenors Office were waiting and watching to see what would happen. Mrs. Lori Otter and her assistants made me feel like my little farm was as important to them as it was to me. Many of our Senators and Congressmen for the great State of Idaho called to give advice and support. Farm Bureau was there for advice and one of our retired Commissioners from Franklin County helped out too. We also had a "Bulldog" of an attorney (which...thankfully we did not need his services) who gave me counsel without charge. Of course, he has home-made raspberry pie when ever he wants it . Although this experience was a hard one for me, the friendships and acquaintances that have been made make the reach for the "good life" all the sweeter. Life is good and we are so excited for our first harvest. Thank you...Thank you everyone for your advice, your prayers and your friendship. It is official Preston, Idaho has a raspberry farm!