Cumberland City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 7
Agricultural Operations
§ 7-1 Purpose.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
The purpose of this appendix article is to encourage farming and agricultural operations within the Town of Cumberland Rhode Island by permitting, in addition to the principal agricultural activities conducted upon such site, retail sales of certain farm and farm-related products.
§ 7-2 Definitions.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
Whenever used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless an alternate meaning is obviously intended:
Any commercial enterprise which has as its primary purpose horticulture, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, forestry, dairy farming, or aquaculture, or the raising of livestock, fur bearing animals, poultry or bees, or as such definition may be amended from time to time in Chapter 23 § 4 of the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island entitled "The Rhode Island Right to Farm Act."
Agricultural land of at least five acres, together with principal and accessory buildings and structures upon which agricultural operations are conducted and/or land previously utilized for such purposes before the enactment of this appendix upon which a legal pre-existing nonconforming use was operated.
For the purposes of this article, a farmer is an individual, partnership, corporation or other recognized legal entity which operates a farm and has filed a U.S. Internal Revenue Form 1040 (Schedule F) with the Internal Revenue Service, and/or has a State of Rhode Island farm tax number.
A rustic freestanding structure or vehicle located upon a farm, not exceeding 200 square feet in total floor area, the principal use of which is the sale of farm products at retail to the general public. Farm stands may be structures or motor vehicles, wagons or trailers, and are permitted only upon the premises of a farm owned or leased by the licensee thereof.
All agricultural, horticultural, vegetable, fruit, or other products of the soil, livestock products, poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts, mushrooms, honey and beeswax; provided however that this definition does not include finished forest products, such as lumber or building materials.
Products, other than farm products as defined above, which are capable of being built, constructed, crafted or manufactured on a farm by a farmer and/or his/her family members such as craft arts, books, clothing or quilts. This definition also includes lawn and garden supplies such as potting soil, peat moss or other soil amendments, seeds, pots, planters and the like. This definition specifically excludes products other than those described above, and which, by their very nature must be manufactured in a commercial or industrial location, including, but not limited to, automotive products, farm machinery, lawn mowers, chain saws, fabricated metal products, tools or hardware.
A building located upon a farm, not exceeding 1,000 square feet (by right) or 1,600 square feet (by special use permit) per farm, the principal use of which is the sale of farm or farm-related products at retail to the general public. Farm retail sales buildings are permitted only upon the premises of a farm owned or leased by the licensee thereof.
As used in this article, the term vegetative products shall mean any farm product of horticultural origin, including, but not necessarily limited to fruit, vegetables, live trees, Christmas trees, shrubs, firewood, sod, hay and flowers, but excluding products of animal origin such as livestock, poultry, eggs, milk, cheese, honey, seafood, bees, or the like. Also excluded from this definition are forest products including lumber, logs or similar building materials.
§ 7-3 Farm retail sales activities.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
(a)
Retail by right. Upon any farm, which is permitted by the character of the agricultural zone in which it is located, or which is a legally pre-existing nonconforming use, the retail sales activities listed herein below are permitted by right as well as educational, recreational and cultural services reasonably related thereto. These activities shall be permitted in addition to the retail sales of farm products normally associated with the operation of a farm, and raised or produced on the premises, which are presently currently permitted by this appendix.
(1)
Sales of vegetative products, defined above, not raised on the premises.
(2)
Sales of compost or manure produced on the premises only.
(3)
Sales of mulch composed of vegetative origin, such as bark mulch. No more than 150 cubic yards of mulch not produced on the property itself may be stockpiled on the premises at any one time. Sale of mulch composed of earth products such as stone, sand or loam shall be prohibited.
(4)
Retail sales of farm-related products defined in the ordinance above.
Retail sales of products on a farm as permitted by this appendix may take place (1) outdoors anywhere upon the lot constituting the premises of the farm, (2) within a farm retail sales building located on the premises of the farm, or (3) at a farm stand.
(b)
Sale of vegetative products not raised grown on the farm premises. Upon any farm as herein defined, the sale of vegetative farm products, as defined above, not raised grown on the premises shall be permitted in addition to sale of any farm products raised or produced upon the farm premises itself. The purpose of this provision is to permit vegetative farm products grown or produced or raised off premises to be sold upon any farm anywhere in the Town. Sale of such imported vegetative products, if conducted out of doors, shall not be limited in terms of area, location or extent. Such products may also be sold within a farm retail sales building or farm stand, as defined herein above.
(c)
Farm sales license required. All farm retail sales activities shall be required to obtain all necessary permits and licenses required by the regulations of the Town of Cumberland and the State of Rhode Island, which are appropriate. It shall be the responsibility of the operator of the farm retail sales building or farm stand to obtain such licenses through consultation with the Town Clerk.
No more than one license or series of licenses which constitute the requirements under law shall be issued annually for retail sales activities upon any single farm as defined herein; provided, however, that an individual farmer may be issued any number of annual permits for each separate farm he/she owns or leases.
§ 7-4 Farm retail sales buildings.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
(a)
Area by right. A "farm retail sales building" is defined as a single building or group of buildings located upon a farm, the principle use of which is the sale of farm or farm-related products at retail to the general public.
Retail sales may be conducted by a farmer upon a farm (1) within a principle dwelling; (2) within a barn, garage, storage shed or similar accessory farm building; or (3) within a single building devoted solely to retail sales provided that the total cumulative floor area of any and all such building(s) does not exceed 1,000 square feet per farm by right. A barn, garage, or a greenhouse shall not be considered to be a farm retail sales building if no retail sales are conducted anywhere within the building and if such building is not open to the general public.
Within any such farm retail sales building, storage areas not open to the public shall not be counted toward the 1,000 square foot maximum floor area allowed per farm, provided that all such areas shall be clearly identified and marked as such, and shall not be open to the general public at any time whatsoever. If any portion of a farm retail sales building shall be open to the general public, including, but not limited to, storage, growing or greenhouse areas, it shall be counted toward the 1,000 square foot maximum area.
(b)
Area by special use permit. Whenever the owner of a farm as defined herein can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Zoning Board of Review that an additional amount of square footage may be added to the maximum allowed square footage area of a farm retail sales building without being detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare, the Zoning Board of Review board may grant an additional amount of square footage to a farm retail sales building not to exceed 1,000 square feet for up to a total maximum square footage of 1,600 square feet. Such allowance shall be in the form of a special use permit as provided for in Article 18.
In the granting of a special use permit for such additional square footage, the Zoning Board of Review shall judge the application by the provisions of § 18-3 and may impose any conditions it deems necessary and reasonable under the provision of § 18-6. Under no circumstance may the Zoning Board of Review board grant relief under this provision beyond the maximum square footage of 1,600 square feet as stated herein.
(c)
Design review standards. All building plans involving farm retail sales activities, whether in whole or in part, shall be reviewed by the Planning Board, in accordance with the provisions of Article 12, with a view to maintaining the rural characteristics of the specific area, and the community in general, prior to the issuance of any building permit by the Building Official.
§ 7-5 Permitted indoor uses improvements sales.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
In addition to the sales listed in subsections 7-3(b) and 7-3(c) above, the following types of retail sales of food and farm-related products are permitted within a farm retail sales building, as indoor sales only:
(a)
Sale of food. Sale of food or food products within a farm retail sales building is permitted as follows:
(1)
Prepared food items such as baked goods, canned goods, preserves, herbs and the like may be sold, provided all food preparation and cooking is conducted upon the farm within a kitchen licensed by the state and the Town, as may be appropriate.
(2)
Fresh and frozen meats prepared or smoked, poultry or other perishable foods raised or produced on the farm may be sold, but the sale of freshly cooked meats or poultry is specifically prohibited. A slaughterhouse, as a principle use, is specifically prohibited under the provisions of this appendix.
(3)
All foods shall be prepared and packaged upon the farm premises.
(4)
No food sold to the public shall be consumed by the public on the premises.
(b)
Sale of farm-related products. All such products as defined in this appendix article may be sold indoors only within a farm retail sales building provided that the floor area devoted to such sales does not exceed 25% of the total area of the farm retail sales building(s).
§ 7-6 Farm stands.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
A farm stand is a rustic, freestanding structure or vehicle used only for the seasonal sale of farm products as permitted by this appendix. Farm stands may be structures or may be motor vehicles, wagons or trailers.
Farm stand structures, other than motor vehicles, shall not exceed 200 square feet in total floor area and be no greater than 12 feet in height.
There shall be no space available to patrons inside the farm stand. Farm stands may provide, however, a front counter security shutter that lifts to form a canopy roof when open for business, to shield patrons from the weather. Yard setbacks shall be regulated by the appropriate dimensional regulations for accessory structures as provided for in this appendix.
The floor area devoted to a farm stand shall not be considered to be in addition to any floor area permitted for a farm retail sales building as provided in § 7-4 above, but shall reduce such allowance accordingly.
No electrical service shall be provided to any farm stand structure. Motorized vehicles may be provided with batteries as required for normal operation of a motor vehicle, but such electric service shall not be used for signs, outdoor lighting or refrigeration.
Farm stands and farm retail sales buildings are permitted only upon the premises of a farm owned or leased by the licensee thereof.
§ 7-7 Signs.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
Only one freestanding or wall-mounted sign shall be permitted for any farm retail sales building and/or farm stand per farm in any zoning district to identify a farm retail sales building and/or a farm stand. The maximum area of each sign shall be 12 square feet, notwithstanding other provisions of the zoning ordinance.
§ 7-8 Off-street parking and loading.
[Ord. No. 08-31, 10-7-2009]
Off-street parking for farm retail sales buildings and farm stands shall be one space per 100 square feet of floor area devoted to retail sales, with a minimum of five spaces provided. All such parking areas shall be set back from the property line at least 10 feet and shall be physically restricted or channeled on the lot to define a readily recognizable driveway between the roadway and the parking to accommodate safe ingress and egress. There shall be no parking along the public right-of-way. Parking areas for farm retail sales buildings and farm stands shall not be paved, but shall be constructed of a natural material.
Adequate off-street loading areas shall be provided for retail sales in accordance with § 14-4 of this appendix. Said requirement may vary depending on the type of vehicles unloading at the site. No vehicle loading or unloading shall be permitted in a public right-of-way.