Exploring the Agritourism Knowledgebase

Agritourism has been a popular topic on Rural Resurrection. Posts like “What is Agritourism?“, “Planning and Zoning for Agritourism“, and “RAGBRAI 22: Agritourism Shines on Day One” have drawn notable attention over the past few years. As they should, this sector of the tourism economy has become an effective way to draw in interest and dollars from outside your community.

But there is so much to learn about how to invigorate this form of tourism while controlling the negative impacts. Thankfully the American Planning Association (APA) has compiled an Agritourism Knowledgebase for those seeking more information on the subject. It currently sits outside of the members-only area, so those of you without an APA membership can utilize these resources free of charge.

The Agritourism Knowledgebase is a treasure trove of information on the subject. The categories illuminated in this resource include; clearinghouses, reports, briefing papers, articles, guides, models, comprehensive plans, functional plans, staff reports, regulations, and pertinent webpages.

RAGBRAI 2022 – Old Town Vinyard; Patio Area

Let’s dig a little deeper into a few of these categories:

Planning

St. Charles County sits on the outer edge of the St. Louis Metro Area, just across the Mississippi River from Grafton, Illinois. This county sits in the ideal location to benefit from agritourism. Sitting on the outer cusp of over 2.8 million residents, they can draw weekend tourists with ease with agritourism. That is, if they take advantage of this position in a planned, controlled manner.

The St. Charles County, MO, Agri-Tourism Land Use Plan is a masterplan amendment that specifically addresses agritourism development in the southwestern portion of the county. It provides the direction for an exclusive agricultural zoning district that is aimed to support and preserve agricultural uses.

The plan delves into a number of different tools to encourage tourism development while protecting rural character. It takes a look into tools like setbacks from area roadways, hillside preservation areas, and clustered development patterns. All effective ways to help nurture this form of tourism, while protecting the surrounding area.

Staff Reports

Sometimes, it is just good to view how other communities have proceeded through the processes needed to allow for agritourism. In the Agritourism Knowledgebase, you can peruse through the various staff reports and meeting minutes of Acme, Michigan as they’ve worked their own way through the process.

The actions of this Michigan township are detailed in these documents as they allow for special events at a barn on a property within their agricultural zoning district. The amendments provided a wide range of uses permitted by right or through a special use permit within the district. These staff reports can help form a baseline for your own staff reports when implementing zoning ordinance changes on the topic.

Zoning

The State of Michigan created the Michigan Agricultural Tourism Advisory Commission in 2005. Its purpose was to study the impact of local zoning on agricultural tourism businesses. The result of their studies created the Michigan Agricultural Tourism Local Zoning Guidebook and Model Zoning Ordinance Provisions.

The guidebook explains the importance of proper zoning regulations that allow for agricultural tourism. The guidebook breaks down the benefits of agritourism and describes a number of different agricultural tourism business types. The book also provides some model zoning ordinance provisions that local governments can review and utilize in their own regulations if they so choose.

Keep Looking for more Learning Opportunities

Unfortunately, the Agritourism Knowledgebase is not a never-ending supply of information on the topic. But there is plenty more information out there on the subject, you just have to search a little more. The more you know about the subject, the more effective your community can be at creating at nurturing this sector of your tourism economy in a way that protects your current residents.