Land Use Plan “Policies”

The Summit County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees have noticed an uptick in members
reaching out to the SCFB for support when dealing with their local municipalities and/or
township officials in their agricultural endeavors, particularly with small backyard
operations, i.e. chickens. This trend sparked much discussion at multiple board
meetings which resulted in the need for proposed local policies.

The Summit County Farm Bureau membership adopted two proposed local “policies” at
the past SCFB Annual Meeting in September:

1. We support municipalities and township officials holding public meetings as
   they create and update their zoning ordinances.
2. We support zoning ordinances that accommodate a diversity of agricultural
   operations.

We encourage our members to GET INVOLVED … attend public hearings, reach out to
your neighbors and ask them to attend as well, share your experience and concerns,
give constructive suggestion and offer to be of assistance to your local zoning officials.
That is exactly what many SCFB members did earlier this year when Copley Township
held a public hearing on chickens. The attendance was most certainly an eye opener
for the township trustees and zoning department.

Over the past few months, Copley Township has been re-evaluating and rewriting their
current land use plan with the assistance of serious input from their citizens. When it
came to the “farmland” chapter, they asked SCFB to get involved. We felt that there
was far more agriculture happening in Copley Township than what had been reported in
the past (CAUV was virtually all that was addressed in the previous land use plans) so
we began with a survey of the citizens. The survey asked all to respond to the category
of agriculture that they were best represented:

• A. Backyard Garden to help feed and care for myself/family and may or may not include chickens, rabbits, goats or other small animals.
• B. Working Farm/Homestead of less than 10 acres that includes crops and/or livestock.
• C. Working Farm of more than 10 acres.

Next came a Farm Focus Workshop where attendees broke into their appropriate
subcommittee A, B or C and began to rewrite the land use plan as it pertained to their
current AND FUTURE needs. All information was compiled and will be submitted to the
township trustees for approval into the 2025 Land Use Plan.

We can’t say it enough, get involved! Be sure to offer your assistance with an amicable
solution. We’re pretty sure it will be a win-win for all!