Summary of a Recent
Judicial Development in
Agriculture and Urbanization

Farming Operations May Not Be Prohibited
in Agricultural District

Ross H. Pifer
National AgLaw Center Graduate Assistant

In Inter-Lakes Health, Inc., v. Town of Ticonderoga Town Board, 786 N.Y.S.2d 643 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004), Bruce and Karen Crammond owned several hundred acres located within a designated agricultural district in Essex County, New York. A small portion of their land was located in a zoning area which prohibited farming and farming-related activities. See id. at 644. To remedy a conflict between the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law and the zoning ordinance, the Town of Ticonderoga amended the zoning ordinance to permit farm operations within the agricultural district. See id. at 645. Neighbors of the Crammonds then filed suit, challenging the amendment of the zoning ordinance and claiming that the Agriculture and Markets Law did not preempt the ordinance. See id. The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, quoted the language of the statute, which stated that "[l]ocal governments . . . shall not unreasonably restrict or regulate farm operations within agricultural districts in contravention of the purposes of this article unless it can be shown that the public health or safety is threatened." Id. The court concluded that the statute directed municipalities to administer their "zoning provisions in a manner that [did] not unreasonably restrict or regulate farming operations within agricultural districts." Id. Accordingly, the court held that the Town's amendment of its zoning ordinance was proper. See id. at 646.

The case was decided on December 16, 2004; this summary was posted June 10, 2005.