Madison County addresses loophole that allows special event venues to register as farms

MARSHALL- After updating its noise ordinance in April for the first time since 2003, Madison County continues to work through updates to the ordinance on the heels of the county's event venue moratorium after numerous residents complained of noise levels at local event venues.

In its July meeting, the Madison County Board of Commissioners tabled an amendment to the noise ordinance that would allow agritourism uses to be subjected to the noise ordinance.

"Right now, we have the ordinance set up so that bona fide farms are exempt, and agritourism is a part of bona fide farms, and this is essentially taking bona fide farms and splitting that up so that the agritourism uses would be subject to the noise ordinance," Development Services Director Brad Guth said.

According to Board of Commissioners Chair Matt Wechtel and Guth, the only aspect not subject to the noise ordinance regarding bona fide farm operations are legitimate farming operations.

"The intent here and purpose is that this would exempt agricultural uses as are defined under the agriculture statute in North Carolina, but would not include the agritourism activities, which can be included within the definition but are expressly excluded here. Examples of that can include special event facilities," the county's land use attorney John Noor said.

"It also, the amendment specifically states that special event facilities would be subject to the ordinance."

Guth said the amendment recommendations were "staff driven" and were not a recommendation born from the work of the noise ordinance/event venue moratorium work group.

According to county land use attorney John Noor, one of the main reasons for the recommendation from staff was that special events facilities owners were using the gap as a loophole.

"One of the reasons this got back to you is that a number of folks who were operating special events facilities starting applying or trying to apply for bona fide farm exemptions and then making the argument that, 'Well, we're now not subject to your zoning, we're not going to follow your noise ordinance,'" Noor said. "So, this is not hypothetical. This is in direct response to some folks who were trying to get out from having to meet either standard."

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Vice Chair Michael Garrison moved that the board table the discussion for further consideration, requesting that the board solicit input from any necessary boards or any individuals, and that the county add a category for special event facilities with an appropriate decibel level in its ordinances.

Garrison raised the issue of the facilities' zoning classifications, and the problems in coverage that may potentially arise from those qualifications.

"The only problem I see is in the coverage – they're covered under the classification as Residential, which is 55 decibels, and 50 at night," Garrison said.

Garrison wondered why the county would categorize such an operation as a special event facility, if "it's no longer a special event facility?"

"This definition and this amendment defines 'special event facility' to make it synonymous – it's the same definition that's in your zoning ordinance," Noor said. "We have a zoning ordinance that regulates special event facilities. We have a noise ordinance that regulates noise. So, if something is exempt under your zoning ordinance for a special event facility, that doesn't exempt it from the noise ordinance.

"So, this would subject special event facilities, as defined under the noise ordinance. So what this does, this ensures they work together, meaning if someone is to be exempt from your zoning ordinance and be a special events facility, they would be expressly covered by your noise ordinance to make sure that there is no gap in regulation."

According to Noor, the county could argue whether the operation should be covered under Residential or Commercial zoning, depending on the use.

"There is an argument to say that a special event facility is more consistent with a commercial use than it would be a residential use, but that would really come down to the specifics of a particular use on a particular property," Noor said. "The way your ordinance is written, though, you sort of have those three categories, with the broad decibel limits. As far as I can tell from the ordinance, there is no particular use that is otherwise called out in the ordinance.

"You can table this until your next meeting and direct us to include that language with whatever decibel limit you want for special event facilities, or you can adopt things as proposed tonight and direct staff to bring back another subsequent amendment to your noise ordinance that would specifically address special event facilities and the noise ordinance."

Garrison said his main hope in tabling the amendments were to provide clarity to residents who maintain both bona fide farm operations and special events facilities, as well as to those who will be enforcing the regulations.

"I am also concerned that at the same time it entices all these folks that have special event facilities to have them labeled as a bona fide farm, which is not that difficult to do, and then they would be exempt from the special event decibel, which is 45," Garrison said. "So, I would ask us to go back and revisit whatever process would be necessary to maintain that under the noise ordinance."

The vice chair, who was one of two then-commissioners who worked on the noise ordinance/event venue moratorium work group, also said he preferred the amendments be made comprehensively.

"I'd prefer it all be directed at one time, a comprehensive approach," Garrison said. "Plus, we can have whatever discussion needs to be had, if there are any other areas of concern or loopholes, or vagueness that needs to be addressed."

Garrison and other board members said the 45 decibel level would be an appropriate baseline for drafting amendments to the ordinances relating to special event facilities.

The Madison County Board of Commissioners' next meeting is Aug. 8 at the N.C. Cooperative Extension - Madison County Center, 258 Carolina Lane in Marshall.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Madison addresses noise loophole in which event venues pose as farms