FAUQUIER FARMERS FIGHT BACK!
Below is a press release from the newly formed group “Fauquier County Citizens for Family Farms (FCCFF)”.
This group has formed in response to recent transgressions by the County Zoning Administrator in dealing with local farmers who are attempting to make a living farming and selling the products they produce. FCCFF also takes issue with a number of provisions in the new Fauquier County Winery Ordinance recently passed by the Board of Supervisors.
FCCFF is asking family farmers and concerned citizens to show their support on 2 Aug at 2 pm at the Warren Green building in Warrenton.
FCCFF press release:
At an August 2 hearing before the Fauquier County Board of Zoning Appeals, farmers, their supporters and patrons will appear with symbolic ‘pitchforks’ to protest the County’s recent attacks on family farms and local wineries, and after the hearing FCCFF will hold a press conference to express its grievances.
In the matter before the Board of Zoning Appeals on August 2, Fauquier Zoning Administrator Kimberley Johnson violated Virginia law in citing a Paris, Virginia farm for selling farm products grown and produced at the farm. Virginia law protects the rights of farmers to sell what they grow and agricultural value-added products such as hand-made soap, bees wax candles, jelly/jam, peach pie or even alpaca gloves or yarn.
“Fauquier County has crossed several lines by violating sensitive private property rights and individual liberty. The County is breaking the law, and is trespassing on the rights of farmers, wineries, and their patrons from and visiting the Commonwealth of Virginia. Perhaps even more egregious are the County’s Orwellian allegations that a pumpkin carving and a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls transgressed the County’s zoning ordinance, and constitute grounds to cite and fine farmers.”
Ms. Johnson further compounded the situation in a self-serving ‘CYA’ memorandum dated July 18 to the Board in which she blamed those who identified her violations of law as providing “misinformation” to the public. Her memo also misrepresented to the Board of Supervisors the nature of her citation against the Paris farmer, which is an unscrupulous attempt to muddy her legal charges against the farmer and mollify the Board, which must now fire her.
“Given the recent winery ordinance passed by the County forcing vintners to close their doors at 6 p.m., requiring special permits at the discretion of the County to serve food, and giving Zoning Administrator Johnson more authority to snoop into the affairs of wineries and their patrons. County farmers and citizens are rising up to reclaim their liberty, and will stop this lawbreaking and these trespasses by the County by whatever lawful means necessary.”
5 Responses to “FAUQUIER FARMERS FIGHT BACK!”
This county is run by enviro-nazis (PEC) that are taking away property rights and strangling small family farms. We must fight and stop the tyrany or it will spread across the nation and deprive Americans of liberty. This is an outrage and violates our freedoms. We must fight for these farmers!
When groups like FCCFF form, their goal should not be limited to the getting govenrment to back off. It should be to destroy the career of the government stooges who encroached upon their liberty. Make an example of them. If you are going to try to trod over our rights and freedom with your silly little regulations we will make your life miserable via lawsuits, FOIA requests, protests, media exposure, etc. Let it be a lesson to all the other would be petty tyrants out there.
Manny,
We are doing just that. We have called for the removal of Kimberley Johnson, the Zoning Administrator and made it quite clear through a formal letter that we are prepared to publicize the issue, gather information through FOIA, and prepare law suits directed at the County.
We have offered the County the option of dismissing Ms. Johnson, and therefore avoiding the law suit which will waste a large amount of taxpayer money on a position that the County cannot possibly win.
Ms. Johnson has place the County in a position that they cannot possibly defend.
[...] of interventions by country zoning officials on farmers’ free use of their property. This case in Virginia is but one. All we can say is then Oregon-of-the-Left and Rural-Virginia-of-the-Right (see also [...]
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