Delaware’s Secretary of Agriculture appeared at a Kent County Levy Court meeting last week to push for a zoning change in the county’s agricultural areas.
Commissioners were considering a change to the county's laws that would allow not just farming, but agricultural production and distribution facilities to locate in areas zoned as agricultural.
That’s a move Secretary of Agriculture Don Clifton said will help his department’s mission of preserving farmland as the purchase of easements through the state’s Agricultural Preservation Program becomes more expensive.
“The Ag Lands preservation program notwithstanding, the best farmland preservation strategy is to enhance the profitability of farming itself," Clifton told Levy Court commissioners. "This requires enhancing, not restricting, the marketing and distribution of the commodities which can be produced by Delaware's remaining farmers.”
Clifton also notes the zoning change could have economic effects outside the county, saying that a lack of distribution facilities is holding back the state’s aquaculture and oyster farming industry.
Commissioners were supportive of the proposal, although some said they were disappointed by how long it took to get to this point.
The ordinance would require some concessions from distributors wanting to build sites in agricultural zones, like greater setbacks and landscaping buffers to minimize the impact on nearby farmers.
The zoning change was approved unanimously.
