New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials - by By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D
Fauquier County officials forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm, and so she took action and had Commonwealth law changed...
Fauquier County Virginia officials threatened a family farmer, Martha Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit...
By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D. March 31, 2014
In a hard-fought and stunning victory for family farmers and property rights throughout the Commonwealth, Gov. Terry McAuliffe on March 5 signed into law legislation solidifying Virginia’s status as a right-to-farm state by limiting local officials’ ability to interfere with normal agricultural operations.
The governor’s signature marks the latest chapter in a swirling controversy that attracted nationwide attention in 2012 when the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm. No longer allowed to sell the vegetables she had harvested, Boneta donated the food to local charities lest it go to waste.
Fauquier County officials threatened Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit, and advertising pumpkin carvings. Seeing the county’s action against Boneta as a brazen effort to drive her off her land, Virginians from all walks of life rallied to her defense. Supporters gathered in Warrenton, the county seat, for a peaceful “pitchfork protest” to vent their anger over what an out-of-control local government had done to a law-abiding citizen....
[...]
Fauquier County officials forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm, and so she took action and had Commonwealth law changed...
Fauquier County Virginia officials threatened a family farmer, Martha Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit...
… opponents of the bill, including well-funded
environmental organizations and power-hungry county governments – both
determined to preserve strict land-use controls – reportedly employed lobbyists
to kill the bill. In the end, highly
motivated citizens triumphed over highly paid lobbyists...
Labels: Ag, Ag
farm markets, Ag issues,
Ag
Land Planning, Ag Virginia,
Big
Government, Business
Economics, Governance,
Urban
planning Euclidean Zoning
Read more: New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials at http://netrightdaily.com/2014/03/new-virginia-law-protects-farmers-meddling-local-officials/?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Unions+coming+to+college+football%3f&utm_content=New+Virginia+law+protects+farmers+from+meddling+local+officials+%0d+
By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D. March 31, 2014
In a hard-fought and stunning victory for family farmers and property rights throughout the Commonwealth, Gov. Terry McAuliffe on March 5 signed into law legislation solidifying Virginia’s status as a right-to-farm state by limiting local officials’ ability to interfere with normal agricultural operations.
The governor’s signature marks the latest chapter in a swirling controversy that attracted nationwide attention in 2012 when the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm. No longer allowed to sell the vegetables she had harvested, Boneta donated the food to local charities lest it go to waste.
Fauquier County officials threatened Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit, and advertising pumpkin carvings. Seeing the county’s action against Boneta as a brazen effort to drive her off her land, Virginians from all walks of life rallied to her defense. Supporters gathered in Warrenton, the county seat, for a peaceful “pitchfork protest” to vent their anger over what an out-of-control local government had done to a law-abiding citizen....
[...]
By contrast,
opponents of the bill, including well-funded environmental organizations and
power-hungry county governments – both determined to preserve strict land-use
controls – reportedly employed lobbyists to kill the bill. In the end, highly motivated citizens
triumphed over highly paid lobbyists...
Read more at NetRightDaily.com: Read more: New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials at http://netrightdaily.com/2014/03/new-virginia-law-protects-farmers-meddling-local-officials/?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Unions+coming+to+college+football%3f&utm_content=New+Virginia+law+protects+farmers+from+meddling+local+officials+%0d+
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Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
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My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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