As the City of Levelland continues to piece together an ordinance that handles to the storage of agricultural commodities within the city limits from scratch, the recent approval of Texas Proposition 1 in the November Amendment Election may cause added hurdles.
Texas already has a right to farm statute in the law, along with every state, as there is some variation of the law nationwide. These laws are in the books as a way to protect agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits. The operations can be a typical farm or ranch, though the Texas statute includes viticulture, or grape growing, and growing trees, also known as silviculture.
With a quickly growing state, proponents of the amendment say it is needed as a way to update protections for farmers and ranchers. Texas voters had the final say on the item with its recent approval. The amendment mirrors the statute, and would raise the bar for local regulation over “generally accepted” farming and ranching practices. Following its approval, municipalities will be required to provide “clear and convincing evidence” that regulation is needed to protect the public from danger.
The amendment would not affect the authority of state agencies to step in when regulation is needed to protect the public health and safety from imminent danger and to prevent danger to animal health or crop production. State authorities would also retain the authority to preserve or conserve the natural resources of the state.
An example would be a city would be prevented from banning farming in an area for no specific reason, but it would allow for a government agency to require ranchers to properly maintain fences so livestock could not escape and cause an accident.
Several state representatives, including Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne, and Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, authored House Bill 1750, which limits the requirements a city government can place on an agricultural operation in the city boundaries. Again, this does not apply if there is clear evidence that certain requirements are needed to protect people who reside in the immediate vicinity of the operation.
The bill is closely related to the right to farm proposition. The legislature passed other agriculture-related bills too, not in connection with the proposition, such as House Bill 2308 which states no nuisance or other legal actions can be brought on to restrain an operation that has been lawfully running and “substantially unchanged” for a year.
During a recent town hall meeting Monday, Levelland City Manager James Fisher explained that the recent approval of Proposition 1 during the Texas Amendment Election could pose possible hurdles in the future when it comes to regulating and imposing guidelines for the storage of agricultural commodities in the city limits.
With no other ordinances having been created in surrounding areas, Fisher explained they are walking into unknown territory when it comes to creating said ordinance.
Fisher explained his goal is to put in place an ordinance that benefits the community and agricultural businesses within the area.