CAMBRIA, N.Y. (WKBW) — There's a town meeting in Cambria that's set to vote on the town's definition of a farm. The town says it's to clear confusion, but neighbors worry.
Tyler Booth and Charlotte Patterson are proud, generational farmers in Cambria, carrying on the legacy of the Forsythe-Warren Tavern and farm.
"We're one of the oldest, if not the oldest, farms in Niagara County," Booth said. "After Thursday, potentially Thursday night, we won't be a farm anymore."
What they're referring to is a proposed change to the law that would increase the minimum acreage to be considered a farm from five acres up to seven.
"We are just over 5 acres," Booth said.
"If they chose to use the five acres as a hard definition, we lose all of the privileges of a farm," Patterson said.
Q: "What are those privileges that come with that title?"
Patterson: "We may at some point need to put a roof on one of our buildings, and if I go to the building department, or any other board, to ask for a permit to fix that building, they may identify it as a nonconforming use, because then we aren't a farm, and they may deny that permit."
I asked Cambria Town Supervisor Jon MacSwan why make that change? MacSwan tells me they're matching the laws of the state and their neighboring towns.
"Our local law doesn't coincide with the state law, so what we decided to do was to go with the Agricultural and Markets State Law on classification of farms," MacSwan said.
Six towns in Niagara County define farms as areas with a 7 or 10-acre minimum. Only Wheatfield has a listed minimum at or below Cambria’s current law. Wheatfield’s minimum acreage is three.
WATCH: 'We won't be a farm anymore': Neighbors concerned about potential redefinition of 'farms' in Cambria
Q: "Are any people who currently own farms going to be grandfathered into this?"
MacSwan: "All people are grandfathered in… It doesn't change anything. If you have a farm that’s under the acreage, we don't care; we're not going around measuring acres. We're not checking anything. It just has to do with classification."
Booth: "That sounds great, but they’d have to write that into law to grandfather us in."
Patterson: "They can say ‘grandfather’ all they want. There's no clause that says ‘grandfather.’ But someday, if I wanted to give this farm to my children, the laws might protect us right now; these new laws [wouldn't protect them]."
The town law change will be voted on at Thursday's Cambria board meeting. Tyler and Charlotte are encouraging all to attend.
"If it's about getting in compliance with New York State laws, let's talk about how we can get there without hurting our residents," Patterson said.
The town tells me they welcome residents to call them if they have questions.
