Neighbors clash over Vernon Family Farm agritourism events in Newfields

NEWFIELDS — When Lynn Girard and her husband, Mark, moved to town five years ago, they attended the occasional events at the Vernon Family Farm.

However, Girard, whose property abuts the farm at 301 Piscassic Road, stated those events have increased significantly over the past year. With live music and the serving of food and alcohol, she said the events are causing a major disruption to the neighborhood.

“Not only is this affecting our quality of living at our home on the weekends when we have time as a family, but if these events continue, it is going to decrease our property value,” she wrote to the Newfields Select Board on April 11. “When one purchases land in a residential, agricultural area, one does not expect to have a neighbor conducting a commercial business in the area.”

She and other neighbors have asked the Newfields Select Board to intervene, accusing the farm of violating the town's noise ordinance and not complying with the town zoning.

The owners of the Vernon Family Farm have disputed accusations they are violating town bylaws. According to state law, farms are permitted to engage in agritourism, including attracting visitors for events, meals or overnight stays.

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Vernon Family Farm adds concerts and events

Located on 33 acres of conserved land, Jeremiah Vernon purchased the Vernon Family Farm in 2014, offering pastured livestock such as pigs and cows and organically grown produce such as garlic.

Over the years, the farm expanded to include Vernon Kitchen, a seasonal outdoor restaurant highlighting ingredients grown at the farm, and outdoor events featuring local bands throughout the summer and early fall. Currently, the event schedule at the farm shows several concerts on Fridays and Saturdays, running from 4 to 8 p.m., through the end of October.

Vernon said he is operating within the guidelines set by the town's Planning Board in 2022. While agritourism is allowed, a farm can be subject to site plan review to “prevent traffic and parking from adversely impacting adjacent property, streets and sidewalks, or public safety.”

“We have a site plan that allows us and permits us to do what we’re doing,” said Vernon. “And that’s my plan, to continue to operate within the site plan that we have been approved for.”

Vernon said two of the three neighbors who filed formal complaints moved into the neighborhood years after the Vernon Family Farm was established and involved in agritourism. He said they should have known where they were moving to.

“One of them came to us and said, ‘I moved to the country to enjoy the outdoors, not smell farms,’” recalled Vernon. “You should never move next to a farm and farm country if that’s your goal.”

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Neighbor Scott Wachsmuth, however, said the “activities and events (at the farm) have escalated significantly in both scope and frequency."

In an April 19 letter to the board, he said the farm was now operating an "illegally open-air restaurant and bar, as well as amplified musical events.”

Wachsmuth explained per town zoning, restaurants are not allowed in a residential/ agricultural district, where the farm is located. He also alleged the Vernons did not meet necessary requirements, such as a septic permit from NHDES, to operate a restaurant.

Ruth Patterson and Gerald Cox, through their attorney, also filed a complaint with the Select Board. They asserted the farm is not complying with the conditions of their site plan approval, particularly with the restaurant and the noise levels at certain events on the property.

However, the farm also has its supporters.

In 2022, the state’s Agriculture Commissioner Shawn Jasper appeared at a Planning Board meeting to advocate on behalf of the Vernon family, stating what they were doing at the farm “is exactly what I believe the Legislature intended to do as far as agrotourism.”

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Newfields Select Board work to address complaints at Vernon Farm

Select Board Chair Michael Sununu said the town has been trying to address concerns from neighbors for the last two years.

He said part of the problem is that agrotourism was “poorly defined” in the state law.

“This makes it very difficult for any town in this situation, and certainly this one, because the definition truly is in the eye of the beholder,” Sununu said.

At the May 28 Select Board meeting, Sununu noted at least 10 violations of the town noise ordinance last year on the property. The town did not take any action then, he said, but if required, the town will.

Sununu said the board is also “checking on the status” of operational guidelines provided by the Planning Board as part of the farm's site plan approval to ensure the Vernons are still in compliance. He said there are still “outstanding issues that need to be addressed.”

Select Board member Mark Kasper said he wants to "find common ground" between the neighbors and the Vernons and explore creative solutions that benefit the whole town.”

“I like the compromise approach,” said Kasper.

However, some supporters of the farm feel the Select Board is wrongfully singling out Vernon Farm. David Partikian, who lives a quarter mile from the farm, filed a “public integrity complaint” to the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office, accusing the Newfields Select Board of "harassing the Vernon Family."

“The Newfields Select Board has gone out of its way to deal with the Vernon Family businesses in a litigious and confrontational manner," he wrote in the complaint.

Partikian accused the board of bullying them "into scaling back operations to the point where running a small farm is unprofitable.”

However, Sununu said the Select Board is just doing its due diligence in responding to complaints from the community.

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Vernon said he wants to hold agritourism events to help support the farm operations, citing the expensive nature of the business.

Agritourism, he said, is a fundamental and necessary part of many successful farms in New England.

"This is why you see corn mazes, hay rides, sunflower mazes, petting zoos, farm dinners, farm stores, farm tours, and more offered at many of the farms in our community," he told the town's Planning Board in 2022. "Although many of us farmers would prefer to 'simply' grow and sell food, it is often financially unsustainable to do so."

In the last two years, Vernon said he estimates he spent more than $100,000 in legal fees addressing concerns from the Select Board and neighbors.

Vernon said what keeps him going is the support from the community, including a GoFundMe page created by a Newmarket resident in 2022, which raised nearly $30,000 to help the Vernons with legal fees.

“We live in a time where the voice of a single naysayer, or a small group of dissenters, has more clout than 100 yay-sayers and 100 supporters,” said Vernon. “I think somehow my three abutters have been able to successfully capture the momentum of two of our three Select Board members.”