City moves to stop weddings on small Massachusetts farm

Published 3:30 pm Thursday, August 27, 2015

SALISBURY, Mass. — It’s not every bride who wants to have wedding at a farm, but in one northern Massachusetts town, a small cow farm is finding it’s becoming a popular place to say “I do.”

That is until recently, when the town said, “You can’t.”

Town officials have taken issue with “agri-tourism” activities on a 40-year-old Red Ridge cattle farm owned by Mark and Stacey Warcewicz. In the past two years, the couple has been renting a small portion of their 50 acres as a wedding venue, during which time, they said, they’ve not received complaints from their neighbors. 

But town officials moved to stop them this year, claiming the use violates the town’s zoning and doesn’t comply with the health code. Town Manager Neil Harrington also said the town acted on “lots of complaints,” though he did not provide the names of the residents who complained.

The Warcewiczes have a petition signed by dozens of their neighbors in support of their activities. They also say they’ve been working to comply with the the town’s demands — they got a permit for their tent, and letters of approval from the fire and police chiefs. 

What is ‘agri-tourism’?

The bigger issue, the one that can shut them down, is Vandewalle’s ruling that weddings on the farm violate Salisbury’s zoning ordinances. And that is tied to another issue — the town’s “right to farm” bylaw, and its implications for “agri-tourism.”

Considered an economic development option for family farms, agri-tourism is seen as a way to make small farms more profitable, preventing the need to sell off land to developers for subdivisions, according to the Warcewiczes’ attorney, Frank DiLuna.

“The Agri-tourism movement is very big in Massachusetts; has been for about 10 years or so,” said DiLuna.

Given the statute and local by-law, as well as the move toward agri-tourism throughout New England, officials should reconsider its position, says DiLuna. He will represent the couple during their appeal.

DiLuna, who is also legal counsel for the Massachusetts Farm Bureau, offers this definition in the ZBA application, provided by the small farm program at the University of California: “Agritourism is a commercial enterprise at a working farm, ranch or agricultural plant conducted for the enjoyment or education of visitors, and that generates supplemental income for the owner. (It) can include farm stands or shops, u-pick, farm stays, on-farm classes, fairs, festivals, pumpkin patches, Christmas tree farms, winery weddings, orchard dinners, youth camps, barn dances, hunting or fishing, guest ranches and more.”

I do

This wedding idea started back in 2012, Stacie Warcewicz said, when their daughter wanted to get married on the family farm. Then a friend asked to use the farm for her wedding.

“It’s not for every bride,” she said. “It’s the outdoorsy bride who likes it. They all want their pictures taken with the cattle.”

According to Harrington, the town received complaints from neighbors about wedding guest knocking on their doors looking for Red Ridge Farm.

“I wish that person had come to us and told us about it,” said Stacie Warcewicz. “I would have done something right away.”

The annoying door-knocking was due to a GPS glitch, she believes. She’s contacted GPS to fix the problem. And they’ve added explicit directions on the website that should prevent that from happening again.