Lincoln Agriculture Commission
Draft MINUTES
Wednesday, May 21, 2009, 7:00 pm
Lincoln Town Offices
Commissioners Present: Lynn Bower, Ellen Raja, James Harrison, Ari Kurtz, Christy Foote-Smith, Beth Taylor, Nancy Bergen, Peg Marsh
Minutes from 4/16 Meeting accepted
Agenda:
Guest Speaker: Angela Kearney- Presenting Con Com Agriculture Map created for open space plan.
Maps built by GIS
- Scanned in old maps
- Laid Mass GIS Info on top
- Checked with aerial photos
- Iterative process- orthophotos, ground observation
Commissioners commented that there are omissions in current Ag. Map- ex. Nursery land, maple, etc.
Conservation Commission (and Angela specifically) willing to add any information the Commission can collect, but not data mine or collect additional data herself.
Easiest way to gather info- people drawing on maps
Outreach idea- neighborhood meetings, door to door with questionnaires?
Start with open space plan- does the agriculture section of the 2008 Open Space Plan still meet our needs- what categories do we want to have data on?
Discussion of what the definition of agriculture:
Should Sara Mattes be invited to come speak to us about the scope of the inventory? Commercial, homesteaders, backyard gardeners?
Possible categories:
Commercial farms
Commercial nurseries
Commercial greenhouses
People with farm animals- commercial and hobbiests
Managed forest
Maples
Pasture
Hay
Bees
Viticulture
Fallow land
Tilled- commercial on not
Gardens- by size- small, medium, large
Community gardens
Orchards
Barns
Aquaculture
Are horses farm animals?- discussion followed several Commissioners holding strong preference for including horse operations in definition.
Are there pieces of private land that are contiguous that could be farmed if organized?
Should constituency of farmers/ farms be self-selecting: “Do you consider yourself a farmer?”
How do barns fit into the inventory?- there is a GIS layer for building foot prints, but it does not distinguish between houses and outbuildings/ barns. Historic commission primarily interested in modern building
Should we consider 61B properties and other woodlots as agricultural land?
Are there private individuals who have land they would like to have farmed?
Community meetings- contact Sue Clem and Gwen Lowry (LLCT)- they have been doing an excellent job of gathering trail map information
Kick off event for ag commission- what are we doing?
Why does Ag. Commission exist?- To advocate for agriculture and organize agricultural interests
Subcommittee on Agriculture Inventory- Ari, J. and Christy
Animal- acreage Bylaw Committee- Lynn, Nancy, Peg, and Ellen
Will start with meeting from Sara.
Specifically refers to Zoning-by-laws: Section 6
Les Boardman- Animal Inventory
Bee inspector
“Are you here” map?
Ag. Com. Business
- Ag. Com Website under construction
Commissioners to 1, 2 and 3 year terms
Next Meeting 7:00 pm on 6/18 at Town Hall
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