8.21.14 Right to Farm Regulations

The Town of Daniel has areas that have traditionally been used for agriculture. The Town of Daniel legislative body places a high value on the protection and preservation of agricultural land for the residents who wish to continue agricultural practices. Developments which border agricultural areas shall have additional requirements imposed upon the developer in the form of an analysis to be reviewed and implemented as part of the development process. The impact analysis shall be used to determine the impacts on associated farming or livestock operations affected by development, and to mitigate conflicts that may occur with the agricultural operation. (1) Analysis Required. The developer is responsible for the performance of the analysis and shall use the following review guidelines in determining the impacts of the development, and will apply appropriate conditions during the approval process to insure that the agricultural use is assured a right to farm without undue burden of development growth and complaints by neighbors. Rights to farm are preserved to the best ability of the Town of Daniel, taking into consideration practical land uses and private property rights and concerns. (2) Factors to Consider. The following factors shall be used as guidelines in the preparation and review of the impact analysis, and may be addressed by notes on a plat, restrictive covenants and/or in development agreements: (a) Protection of irrigation access and maintenance of ditches and canals; (b) Safety and protection of the public from ditches, canals, ponds and drainage systems; livestock movement corridor protections and safety concerns; (c) Fencing safety (i.e. electrical, barb wire) and design; (d) Private property protection issues; (e) Hunting protection, access and safety concerns; (f) Protection of farm equipment ingress and egress; (g) Erosion and soil protection; (h) Drainage and designs to minimize impact on agricultural lands and soils; (i) Noxious weeds, pests and pet controls in the subdivision; (j) Provisions, acknowledgments and understandings by new property owners that farm work hours run late and begin early, and that farm operations may contribute to smells, flies and noises; (k) Screening provisions, fencing and landscaping designs to reduce or abate noise or negative visual impacts, and; (l) Other reasonable concerns that the planning commission deems necessary to protect the rights of the developer as well as the agricultural operation. (3) Existing Water Courses. The developer is hereby advised that interfering with natural water courses or existing irrigation facilities without legal right and prior written notice to the affected irrigation companies is prohibited in the Town of Daniel. The developer has an obligation to put buyers on notice that the existence of water on the property to be purchased does not, in and of itself, grant any legal rights to the water or the right to alter the natural watercourse or existing irrigation facility. Easements for irrigation canals shall be noted and disclosed to future buyers. (4) Obligation to Fence. The Daniel Town Council recognizes the importance of agricultural pursuits within the Town of Daniel. As development replaces agricultural uses, fencing becomes a very important issue. Therefore, Large Scale Subdivisions must provide a fencing plan at the time of preliminary application. This fencing plan shall adequately address the following: (a) existing and potential agricultural uses in the area, (b) materials that will be used in the fencing, (c) safety, (d) traffic and roads, and (e) aesthetics. If the proposed Large Scale Subdivision is in the vicinity of existing or potential agricultural land, the proposed fencing must be reinforced so as to be of suitable quality to keep farm animals out of residential properties. The sufficiency of the proposed fencing plan will be determined, and approved or rejected, by the land use authority prior to preliminary approval. (5) Obligation of Adjoining Property Owner to Mitigate Damages. If a person owns property adjoining land used for farming and farm animals, and that person desires to protect certain landscaping or other property from damage by stray farm animals, the person is obligated to mitigate potential damage to his or her property by maintaining a fence around the property. It is the intent of this section to require the owner of land adjoining an agricultural use to be responsible for adequate fencing on the adjoining property line. If animals escape the agricultural use at any point other than the adjoining property line, the agricultural user is responsible for damages done by his or her animals. (6) Right To Abate Nuisance and Enforce This Title Preserved. Nothing in this section entitled "Right to Farm Regulations" shall be construed to limit or in any way impair the right of the Town of Daniel or any private citizen to petition the courts to abate a nuisance or public nuisance arising from agricultural use of land, or to otherwise enforce the provisions of the Daniel Municipal Code.