Steve Forster has been hosting weddings on his Christmas tree farm. This practice is traditional for the area. Steve has plenty of land to accommodate the amount of people expected at these events, and to park their cars.
The planning board in Henniker is trying to block Steve from continuing this practice. A judge ruled in agreement with the use of his land for agritourism, but said the legislature could decide.
Forster submitted a petition article at this year’s Town Meeting to define agritourism broadly as part of agriculture in the town zoning ordinance. While not recommended by the planning board, the article passed, 368 to 283.
There are two bills in play to help Steve; SB 345 and HB 1141 which have both passed and are being crossed over to the other body for review, possible modification, and merging. This is supposed to happen by the 24th of March
Farmers should contact their reps and senators and tell them that farmers need to use their land without costly and overwhelming land use restrictions.