A Bucks County Republican is proposing to limit local governments’ ability to impose restrictions on farms for certain new activities on farmland.

Rep. Todd Polinchock, R-Bucks, has introduced House Bill 216; it has not yet been assigned to a committee for discussion. Polinchock’s legislation would restrict local governments from prohibiting the use of farmland for agritourism activities, agricultural purposes, constructing buildings or structures related to the use of land for agricultural purposes, limited seasonal events, activities that require a limited license under the Liquor Code, retail food facilities, weddings and certain musical entertainment.

A local government would be able to address the size of structures and parking areas, egress and ingress and building setbacks on land used for the listed activities.

“Many families owning smaller farms are finding it difficult economically to continue their farms in their current state,” Polinchock wrote in his legislative memorandum. “To sustain their farms in the future, more farm families are considering changes to their on-farm operations to increase efficiency of farm production and provide families with additional income from the farm. However, local zoning, land development and construction regulation, and the bureaucracy and cost in obtaining local governmental approval of proposed projects stifle farm families’ ability to make these needed changes. At the same time, reasonable standards for land development and building structures must be established and met by farm families who use land and engage in enterprises to improve the economic viability of the farm.”

This isn’t the first time Polinchock has proposed the legislation.

A similar bill was proposed in 2019 and was inspired by the Tabora Farm in Hilltown, the center of a zoning dispute between the farm’s owners and the township.

Township officials said the zoning citations against the business after neighbors complained about traffic and noise.