PINE BUSH – The pros and cons of agriculture in a town full of residential neighborhoods were given a thorough workout at the Crawford town board meeting on May 19.

The pros, with some concerns, came from the town's efforts to speed up review and passage of a local law that would regulate, but allow, special events at farms and wineries. As supervisor Charles Carnes happily admitted before a public hearing on the matter, the town was doing this primarily to assist the new Christopher Jacobs Winery at Pennings Vineyards.

It was, in fact, the second public hearing for new laws at the meeting, the first being an "Opt-Out of Real Property Tax Law" designed to shield the town from property tax breaks on behalf of large solar arrays of 2 megawatts and up. The law will not affect rooftop solar arrays... and received no public comments.

The public hearing on the special events at farms and wineries law did bring on some conversation, and some objections.

Monica and Chris Pennings explained that they sought permission to hold six or so weddings and/or other events for up to 150 guests each year at the winery, which they were also petitioning the state to purchase agricultural developmental rights on so it will never be subdivided for further development. They also said that they have been approached by the Shawangunk Wine Trail to host a major event.

Carnes said that there had been no complaints about public tastings at the winery to date. However, Charles Bazydlo, town attorney for the Town Of Montgomery, then explained that he lives down the street from the vineyards and asked if the law would apply to any farm operation in the town while suggesting that the board slow down and not press ahead with the new law without a hearing before the planning board.

Carnes responded by saying that the Crawford town attorney Ben Gailey had signed off on the law and that a special use permit would be required for any farm or winery seeking to hold events.

"It's not a blanket approval," he said.

Monica Pennings said that she and her husband appreciate their neighbors and noted that they were working to protect agricultural land and the open spaces it provides.

"Consider the grander scheme of things," she said. "Which is the lesser of two evils: 35 homes, which could potentially be built on the property, or a few weddings a year."

Town councilman Mike Menendez chimed in, saying that the town had spent fifteen years promoting agricultural tourism and the board should do whatever it can do to help the Pennings Vineyard succeed. Carnes then added that the county had given approval, and the special use permit would be good for one year for a limited number of events to be defined by the planning board. The public hearing will remain open, and the town board will have a special meeting to accelerate the approval as soon as the planning board has met and considered the application.

Then came another face of agriculture: talk about how the Corny Cattle Farm has expanded and will be returning to the planning board this week to seek an amendment to its site plan for a new barn. The cattle farm is now said to cover almost 1,000 acres, in the heart of the Town of Crawford.

Neighbors of the farm were back to complain to the town board about the stench from the type of manure that is being used at Corny Cattle.

"It smells like something died," was a typical and oft-repeated comment.

Carnes commented that there was very little the town can do while noting that he'd personally smelled the stink the night before. Councilman Rob Sassie added that water samples had been taken and tests shared with the DEC, but so far nothing had produced high numbers of coliform bacteria that would trigger regulatory action.

The reason the town is relatively powerless in this situation is that agriculture is privileged in the state of the New York, with all such issues controlled by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Deputy supervisor Dan Flanick explained that the only thing the town can do is to pursue a civil lawsuit against the Corny Cattle Farm. The town is investigating that option, but of course it would be expensive and carries the risk of failure. Meanwhile, Carnes exhorted the neighbors and everyone in the town to contact Ag & Markets so they could hear from the people affected.

He further explained that the proprietor of the cattle farm, Zeke Alenick of Pop Corners snack foods fame, is not happy with the town nor with his neighbors. Carnes, who believes the manure being used is an eggshell product that comes from a mayonnaise factory in Sullivan County, said he'd suggested to Alenick that he switch to another kind of manure but had been rebuffed. It was further noted that with the recent extension of the farm towards Route 302 and the spreading of manure on those parcels, the stench is now being reported along Route 302.

Alenick has approvals now to build a house on one of the properties he has purchased. Once he becomes a resident, it is expected that his manuring practices might change, or at least be restricted to times when he and his family would be on vacation.