The Nevada County Board of Supervisors have directed the Planning Department, with consultation with and direction from the Nevada County Agricultural Advisory Commission (AAC), to prepare revisions to the Nevada County Land Use and Development Code Section L-II 3.3: Agricultural Uses to allow for increased opportunities for direct marketing of agricultural products and activities on a working farm or ranch. Subsequently, the AAC has prepared a definition of "Agritourism" to be added to the County's Zoning Code. The proposed uses allowed would be subject to the same standards as other similar agricultural marketing activities and are intended to the ancillary and supportive of the active farming or ranching operations occurring in Nevada County. In addition, the definition clearly outlines uses that would be prohibited or that would require additional permitting such as concerts, weddings and other non-agricultural commercial activities. These amendments are a continuation of the agricultural ordinance amendments prepared in 2016 and adopted in early 2017 as shown under related items below. A copy of the draft definition and proposed ordinance standards may be downloaded here.
The proposed ordinance will be reviewed by the Planning Commission on December 14, 2017.