CAMBRIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Local small farmers in the Town of Cambria raised concerns to the town board on Thursday night after they said a series of proposed zoning changes could affect their operations.
Over 20 residents spoke at the Cambria Volunteer Fire Hall, and over 100 showed up, with many claiming municipal leaders are trying to undermine their agricultural and tourism communities by packing 65 amendments into two new laws that they say “attack small farms.”
A concern for the residents in the proposed zoning changes is the increase of minimum acreage needed to be considered a farm — jumping from five acres to seven.
WIVB News 4 reached out to the town’s supervisor. We did not hear back, but last week the supervisor released a statement saying, “The proposed change is going to bring the town current with the standards of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law.”
However, residents say the state has no such recommendation.
“It’s about an agricultural tax exemption. It’s not about land use,” said Abraham Platt, a Town of Cambria attorney. “If you were to leave it at five acres, nothing would change. If you were to set it at a million acres, nothing would change because the exception that it’s referring to is set by state law.”
“Farms of any size can qualify under New York State law,” one resident said. “In fact, four other towns in Niagara County do not provide an acreage requirement in their definition, and another town has a definition of only three acres. New York State is not telling you to change the Town of Cambria’s definition.”
These laws, to the cheers of all in the audience, were unanimously tabled by the board Thursday night. Residents were asking for that delay, and they’re also asking for a board or committee to be made with local farmers and also lawmakers to hopefully put the best foot forward for the community.
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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
