Since the spring, a dispute over live music, open-mic nights and food trucks at Red Clover Farms on South Benham Road has pushed Seymour to rethink what a farm may do. On Thursday, Oct.1st, new agritourism regulations take effect townwide. The court case that started the debate is still pending.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 on Sep. 10th to add agritourism to the town’s land-use regulations, according to the Valley Independent Sentinel. The rules are meant to give farms a process for seeking permission for activities such as music, craft fairs, farmers’ markets, farm-to-table dinners and educational workshops.

The regulations apply townwide. They grew out of the fight over Red Clover, but the language will govern other qualifying farm properties, too.

Two Cases, Two Questions

Red Clover’s owner, Kim Dulka Warner, went to court after the Zoning Board of Appeals upheld a cease-and-desist order against activities at the farm, including live music.

At a hearing on Sep. 21st, the town’s attorney, John Marini, argued that the appeal was moot because the farm could now seek permission under the new rules. Judge Thomas Welch of Superior Court neither dismissed the case nor ruled on its merits. He continued it to 11 a.m. on Oct. 19th in Derby.

The new rules and the appeal overlap, but they ask different questions. The regulations look forward to what a farm may do next. The appeal looks back to whether the town acted lawfully when it ordered the farm to stop the activities and when the appeals board upheld that order.

Red Clover still has no permit. The farm may have to apply under the new standards, and town officials may review the scale, schedule, and effects of what it proposes. The new regulations do not erase the cease-and-desist order or decide whether it was valid.

For other farms, the change makes agritourism a recognized land use. Whether a market, workshop or event is allowed will depend on the adopted text, the property and the permit process.

Dulka Warner told the Sentinel she hoped to “have everything resolved so that we can move forward.” The next date on the court calendar is Oct. 19th.