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Richmond farmland public hearing set for Monday

Another full house expected at city hall for controversial house size decision
ALR
Members of the Richmond Farmers Institute makes its plea ro city council’s planning committee.

Richmond’s city council chambers is expected to be packed to the rafters once more on Monday evening, May 15, when a public hearing takes place into the city’s move to restrict house sizes on farmland.

Two recent city hall meetings — and some last year — drew large crowds of local residents and farmers, the former largely unhappy with city council veering away from a staff recommendation to curtail square footage of such homes to 5,382-square-feet, while the latter were, in part, content when city council agreed to double the limit to 10,764-square-feet.

Contentions were also expressed about the setbacks from the road, the size of secondary buildings on the land and the fact landowners may be able to apply for an exemption from the proposed limit for cultural and operational reasons.

City council, which placed a moratorium on farmland house applications until the current matter is resolved, was compelled to bring in tighter restrictions after a plethora of recent requests to build so-called “mega homes” on such land, with potential farmland loss and misuse among the common fears.