Agriculture Commission Minutes September 22_2015Northampton Agricultural Commission-- Minutes
7:30 PM Tuesday September 22, 2015
210 Main Street, Room 10 (2nd floor, City Hall), Northampton, MA
Members present:
Chair John Omasta
Chip Parsons
Stan Zawalick
Vice Chair Rich Jaescke
Tim Smith
John Bobala
Robert Vollinger
Wayne Feiden (staff)
Public comment—there was no public comment
Approval of Agriculture Commission minutes of May6, 2015—Upon motion by Rich Jaescke and second by Chip Parsons, the commission unanimously approved the minutes.
Farmland preservation and related open space activity—Feiden updated the commission- the city closed on the Kings Highway APR and just signed an option to purchase a very small APR on
Island Road.
Right to Farm signage (two signs)—The commission reviewed the new completed signs and decided that the two locations should be 1) by Florence Fields and 2) at Smith Vocational and Agricultural
School’s fields.
Stormwater Ordinance update and discussions—The commission agreed that the summary of issues from their May meeting is accurate. They agreed to participate in discussions about revisions
to the stormwater ordinance that will probably start in or after December.
Annual agricultural forum—The Commission agreed to sponsor an agriculture forum again in January 2016, with Pete Westover coordinating the agenda and outreach. The forum to be held
on January 9th or 30th, depending on availability of space. The commission suggested that Bob Ritchie, former Dept. of Agricultural Resources counsel, might be a great speaker (Pete
Westover will check on his availability).
Other items not identified when the agenda was written. There was some discussion of whether the proposed zoning reform act would create new limits on farmers ability to convert their
land to other uses or divide their property. Rich Jaescke provided an update on his efforts to get better road grading on Meadow’s roads. There was also discussion on whether Shayla
Howe, the City’s new farm animal inspector and dog officer could meet the commission at a future meeting.
Upon motion by Rich Jaescke and second by Chip Parsons, the commission voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:35 pm