Also: Byrne drops lawsuit against Legislature
A livestock farmer is suing Putnam County over the Legislature’s decision to reject a recommendation to add his farm in Patterson and operations in Philipstown and other towns to the Agricultural District.
In a lawsuit filed Dec. 16 in state court, Daniel Honovich, who owns Ridge Ranch, alleges that the Legislature relied on a “blatantly incorrect” interpretation of state agricultural law when it voted 5-3 in August to reject his application and requests from other farms.
The county Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board, by a 9-2 vote, had recommended that the Legislature add Ridge Ranch to the district, whose benefits include protecting farms from “unreasonable” local restrictions under a 1971 state law designed to preserve agriculture.
George Whipple’s application to add Castle Rock and three other Philipstown properties also fell victim to the vote, as did three operations approved by the board: Big Red Barn Farm in Putnam Valley and Kascade Enterprises in Carmel, which board horses; and Lobster Hill Farm in Southeast, which breeds livestock.
Despite the board support, one of its members, Neal Tomann, who lives in Philipstown, told the Legislature’s Physical Services Committee in July that the applicants failed to meet at least one of eight factors that the county determined in 2007 “shall be considered” for inclusion.
Those factors include an on-site assessment by the board; the absence of local, state or federal violations; and adherence to farming best practices. Tomann said that none of the properties met another factor, despite not growing crops: that they contain at least 50 percent of “prime farmland” and/or “important soils” in one of the first six of the state’s 10 classifications for soils.
Honovich, a veterinarian, runs Ridge Ranch with his wife, Arielle, who has a degree in animal science and teaches special education for the Mahopac school district. The couple raises and breeds Scottish Highland, Brahman Gyr and Zebu cows for sale, along with chickens, goats, mini donkeys and rabbits. They also host tours, birthday parties, goat yoga and other activities.
“Making soil type a standalone disqualifying factor may have some merit when applied to a farm raising food crops, however, it is completely irrational when applied to a livestock farm,” Honovich said. He noted that many farms in the Agricultural District fail to meet the soil-type requirement.
Honovich filed his lawsuit the same day the three legislators on the Physical Services Committee discussed a proposal to require more information from applicants, including site and stormwater protection plans, and a soil analysis.
Tomann said he also wanted to require applicants to submit a letter from code enforcement officers confirming that their operations have town approval and are free of violations, and that neighbors be notified. A separate resolution would have established the Legislature as the lead agency for the environmental reviews of applicants.
The three votes in August to accept the Agricultural Board’s recommendations came from Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley; William Gouldman of Putnam Valley and Erin Crowley of the Town of Carmel.
During the Dec. 16 Physical Services meeting, Montgomery said it was “unfortunate” that the Legislature had decided to dismiss the views of the Agriculture Board, which includes farmers. “They know a heck of a lot more about farming than you or I or anybody on this committee,” she said.
Although approved by the Physical Services Committee on Dec. 16, the proposal was not part of the Legislature’s agenda for its year-end meeting on Dec. 19.
Byrne lawsuit
While the Honovich lawsuit was beginning, a legal action filed by County Executive Kevin Byrne was ending. He notified the state court on Dec. 18 that he was dropping a lawsuit against the Legislature that he filed three weeks earlier.
Byrne had asked acting Supreme Court Judge Joseph Spofford to void a local law amending the county charter that allows lawmakers to fire a county attorney at will, along with a resolution allowing them to hire an attorney without Law Department approval. The lawsuit followed a vote by legislators on Nov. 25 to override Byrne’s vetoes of both measures.
On Tuesday (Dec. 24), Byrne said he had decided, “after careful consideration and given the projected cost of this legal battle, to withdraw without prejudice this office’s legal action,” meaning that the lawsuit can be revived. His decision, Byrne said, “is informed by the fact” that the charter amendment does not take effect until 2027.
“It is my sincere hope that next year, current and incoming members of the Legislature will consider collaborating with this administration to address the serious issues this county faces,” he said.
The Putnam County Legislature’s anti-farming position is, as a fellow Philipstown farmer put it to me, “a real shame for those of us trying to preserve farming in Putnam County.”
In August, five of the eight county legislators present voted against adding five viable farming operations to the Agricultural District, reinterpreting a resolution adopted in 2007. I have never seen fellow members of the Agriculture Board or legislators find such arbitrary and capricious reasons to exclude farm parcels.
I have served as a volunteer farmer on the county’s Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board since 2019 and as its chair from 2022 through Dec. 30, when Legislative Chair Paul Jonke sent a memo to the interim Soil & Water District manager, removing me from the board, effective immediately.
Since I became chair, the Legislature denied the Ag Board the ability to educate the public and elected officials about the Agricultural District. This lack of public education has manifested in ill-willed, uninformed and shameful actions by most of our legislators and the interim S&W District manager.
I encourage residents of Putnam County to email in support of their farming neighbors and the Ag District to the Legislature at [email protected]. I also encourage the hardworking farmers in our county to attend public meetings to keep an eye on legislative actions that hurt farmers and even polish up those farming boots to take steps to challenge anti-farming elected county officials.
Apicello is the co-owner of Longhaul Farm.
Wondering how many properties in Philipstown hold Ag exemptions and aren’t farming. Maybe just cutting tall grass and “selling” to cover the $10,000 minimum for a property over 10 acres.