CU25-051 Staff Decision - Laserfiche WebLink

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All other commenting agencies stated no objection to the proposal. 7. In order to approve a commercial activity in conjunction with farm use the applicant must demonstrate compliance with the specific criteria listed in Chapter 17.136.060(D) of the Marion County Code (MCC). These include: (a) The commercial activity must be primarily a customer or supplier of farm uses. The applicant runs a farm labor contracting business that provides laborers for farming operations at the times where additional labor is required. This is a business that primarily supplies farm uses. Therefore, the criterion is met. (b) The commercial activity must enhance the farming enterprises of the local agricultural community to which the land hosting that commercial activity relates. Farming operations have requirements for manual labor that can be temporary and don’t require having full time employees on staff. Farm labor contractors provide farmers with an access to labor on a seasonal basis and help streamline the route for farmers to find labor. The primary customers of this business are farming operations in the local area, specifically to farms within driving distance of the subject parcel. Therefore, the business does in fact enhance the farming enterprises within the local community. The criterion is met. (c) The agricultural and commercial activities must occur together in the local community to satisfy the statute. The customers of the proposed business are farms within driving distance of the proposed location. As such, the farming operations and commercial activity occur in the local community together. The criterion is met. (d) The products and services provided must be essential to the practice of agriculture. Farming operations require labor to produce their crops, and sometimes they only require labor on a seasonal basis for pruning, harvesting, or planting. This makes it difficult and impractical for some farms to employ hire laborers full time since their services might only be required for 2-3 months in a year. The farm labor contractor business provides a source of available labor for these farms to hire for the season when they need extra help , an essential service to agriculture in the area. The criterion is met. 8. In addition to the specific criteria above, the proposal must also satisfy the conditional use criteria in MCC 17.136.060(A). Those requirements are: 1. The use will not force a significant change in, or significantly increase the cost of, accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm or forest use. Land devoted to farm or forest use does not include farm or forest use on lots or parcels upon which a non-farm or non-forest dwelling has been approved and established, in exception areas approved under ORS 197.732, or in an acknowledged urban growth boundary. For purposes of this section, a determination of forcing a significant change in accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm and forest use or a determination of whether the use will significantly increase the cost of accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm or forest use requires: a. Identification and description of the surrounding lands, the farm and forest operations on those lands, and the accepted farm practices on each farm operation and the accepted forest practices on each forest operation; b. An assessment of the individual impacts to each farm and forest practice, and whether the proposed use is likely to have an important influence or effect on any of those practices. This assessment applies practice by practice and farm by farm; and