​MCA Serves on Agritourism Study Advisory Committee (ASAC)

​A large and diverse group of stakeholders (ASAC) has been tasked by MC Planning Department to tackle the issue of how best to allow Agricultural Reserve farms to engage in agritourism.  Historically, we think of agritourism as hayrides, corn mazes and pick your own but agritourism is evolving to include on farm events such as weddings and parties as well as other activities. Breweries and wineries have been growing in popularity, bringing residents to farms and providing much needed capital to advance their businesses. Sounds great, right? But the details remain. And for farmers and communities, those details matter. Farmers need clarity and consistency on what their rights and responsibilities are. Historic rural communities seek protection from farmland turning to intense event/tourism use without necessary safeguards for sound, traffic etc.  So...

​The ASAC will:

...examine various aspects of agritourism, including events held on farms, wineries, breweries, produce stands and farm-to-table offerings, to understand the land use regulations associated with these activities. It will look at applicable sections of the county’s zoning ordinance and its subdivision regulations to determine if modifications in policy are needed to provide clarity and direction for property owners.
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More on the study.

MCA believes that, with proper standards, agritourism will be of benefit to farmers, rural communities and County residents. The key will be ensuring proper proportion of the elements that will be affected, broadly labeled as:

​-Economic
-Socio-cultural
-Physical/Environmental

​Maintaining balance, ensuring appropriate flexibility, and ensuring that the accessory agritourism uses support and not unduly conflict with the conduct of diverse agriculture, existing rural communities, infrastructure capability, environmental resource protection goals is a worthy collaborative objective.

Even more bills are being considered on Agritourism in Annapolis

Stay tuned...