Our Village Code states a Home Occupation may be allowed if the general public is, “…unaware of its existence.” | March 23, 2023 Little Ducky Flower Farm Facebook photo seen above
Our Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will hold a special public hearing on a relatively new resident’s request to add “Agritourism“ to the list of allowed uses in the R-1 Residential District this evening. We’d like to share what we’ve learned about the resident, and “Agritourism.“
Background
The applicant is a newcomer to Illinois it seems. He closed on his property at 315 Dundee Road on December 30, 2021. A month later, on January 27, 2022, he filed with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office to register a Limited Liability Company (LLC) under the name of, “YAMAMOTO FAMILY FARMS LLC.”
Weeks later (when presumably the ground was still frozen), Yamamoto registered a Facebook account: “Little Ducky Flower Farm.” On May 3, Little Ducky Flower Farm launched an Instagram page.
With his plans progressing so quickly, one might wonder if he happened to check to see if Village Code allowed for his commercial his plans? Apparently not.
Little Ducky Flower Farm website
According to Little Ducky Flower Farm website, they sell bulbs, t-shirts, wool products, ducks and sheep and, of course, flowers. Marketing of Little Ducky Flower Farm has included television coverage on WGN9, CBS2 Chicago and NBC5.
Country Magazine featured Little Ducky Flower Farm in a piece and there was a “Lunch and Learn” seminar at Barrington’s White House conducted on September 28th of last year.
Things progressed quickly with marketing and sales based at 315 Dundee Road, however the Village issued a stop to it with a cease and desist order in May of this year. Tonight our Zoning Board of Appeals has been asked to consider “Agritourism“ businesses to be allowed in our R-1 Residential community.
So, what is agritourism?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library defines it as follows:
“Agritourism is a form of commercial enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism to attract visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for the purposes of entertaining or educating the visitors while generating income for the farm, ranch, or business owner.”
The National Agricultural Law Center cites some examples of agritourism, including:
- pumpkin picking patches;
- corn mazes;
- U-Pick operations;
- petting and feeding zoos;
- hay rides;
- cut-your-own Christmas tree farms;
- dude ranches;
- demonstration farms;
- agricultural museums;
- living history farms;
- on-farm farmers’ markets;
- winery tours and wine tasting;
- rural bed & breakfasts; and
- garden tours.
In the “Agritourism” filing submitted to our ZBA (seen here), the applicant has proposed a plan for parking for cars and presumably other “vehicles” seen below:
He has also posted a “Roadmap” for his zoning approval plans for the business on his website:
Our thoughts
It’s unclear how or when this homeowner communicated his plans with the Village or when the Village became aware of what was occurring at 315 Dundee Road. The answer to both it appears is too late, and that is unfortunate. Now it is clear that the property owner is asking the ZBA to forgive the violation(s) and allow him to reopen his “Boutique Flower Farm,” business.
Our Comprehensive Plan states, “Barrington Hills is a unique single-family residential community….” Little Ducky Flower Farm’s commercial operations did not and will not fit that description. And, if our ZBA approves the applicant’s requests, we fear homeowners in the Village might become sitting ducks to commercialization of neighboring properties.
We implore the members of our Zoning Board to deny this application, thus protecting our residential community.
– The Observer
Related: “Special Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled Tuesday,” “Special Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing August 20th”
Why the snarky tone in this “article”? What difference does it make if he is new to Illinois?
You really think a FLOWER FARM might subject homeowners in the Village to commercialization of neighboring properties? Special use permits are special, not a rubber stamp.
First and foremost, the fact that the Observer didn’t know about our farm until recently underscores just how low-impact our operations truly are. Despite the digital marketing and media coverage we’ve received, our activities have been carefully managed to blend seamlessly into the community, without causing disruptions or drawing unwanted attention. Our farm operates on an appointment-only basis with limited numbers per slot, ensuring that we maintain the peace and tranquility that Barrington Hills residents value.
It’s important to address the suggestion that we didn’t consider local zoning before launching our farm. When we first began our operations, we had multiple communications with the village to learn about local regulations. At no point were we informed that our activities were not permitted. We’ve always operated with transparency and a genuine belief that our farm was a good fit for Barrington Hills. When it became clear that there were concerns, we immediately sought to address them through the appropriate channels, which led to our current proposal for a text amendment.
The comprehensive plan does indeed emphasize Barrington Hills as a single-family residential community, but it also highlights the importance of preserving the village’s agricultural roots. Our farm is not a large commercial enterprise; it’s a passion project that prioritizes biodiversity and environmental stewardship, using sustainable practices. Our activities are designed to enhance the rural character of Barrington Hills, not detract from it.
Regarding the comparisons to large-scale agritourism operations like those mentioned in the USDA definition, it’s important to note that local municipalities have the authority to regulate the scope and scale of agritourism activities. Our proposal is for small-scale, low-impact activities such as U-pick flowers, educational workshops, and photography. These activities are far removed from the large commercial operations the op-ed references.
We also want to reiterate that our proposal includes strict limitations to ensure that any agritourism activities remain in harmony with the village’s values. The idea that approving our text amendment would lead to widespread commercialization of neighboring properties is not supported by the facts.
It’s crucial to emphasize that since this is a special permit route, any future proposals for agritourism will be subject to the same rigorous review process. This means that others would also need to demonstrate that their activities align with the village’s values and meet strict criteria to ensure minimal impact on the community. The special use process gives the village control over each proposal, preventing any unintended consequences or commercialization that could alter the character of Barrington Hills.
We welcome respectful and constructive comments from the community, and we’re committed to ensuring that our farm continues to be a positive addition to Barrington Hills. For those interested in learning more about our proposal and the values behind it, we invite you to visit our blog, where we’ve shared detailed posts addressing many of these concerns.
We believe that small, sustainable farms like ours can coexist with the residential character of Barrington Hills, enriching the community and preserving the rural charm that we all cherish.
The BHO was made aware of the farm’s activities shortly after they began pimping out the property with FLOWERS FOR SALE signs on Dundee Rd. I know because I sent pictures and included a link to the business’ sales page. Was told they didn’t want to become known as code enforcement cops.
I am a life long resident of Barrington and Barrington Hills- what I think is important is that we remove any aspect of Little Ducky from the conversation when talking about text amendments. We are a small Residential community. If we start to allow businesses- will we be required to hire more personnel to oversee these businesses? Will that increase our already crippling taxes? While I am not a next door neighbor to Little ducky’s operation – I don’t think I would want 16+/- cars entering and leaving my neighbor’s driveway on a day to day basis, let alone every few hour while my children play on their bikes.
We have had and will continue to have our neighbors look for ways to make some sort of money or exchange on their land – it wasn’t long ago that there was a fight in our village about boarding horses. It is our responsibility as neighbors to look out for each other and speak up even if it isn’t directly affecting our day to day lives – especially when it comes to permanently changing rules.
I have only heard wonderful things about Little Ducky – it is clear they are a gem and work very hard at what they do. They should be very proud! I don’t know where they get the energy to have two full time jobs and a running a successful side business.
My question is – after asking more questions and listening to Farmer Yam and Sarah – do we shut down back yard horse back riding lessons, farm CSAs, home baking pick ups, or instrument lessons?
They are willing to work with the community on limits and timing – they are looking to us to give input…I would much prefer this route than creating text amendments where new rules will be in place.
Chris & Sarah began violating our codes in 2022 when they moved to BH and started a business. Now they want our village boards to consider changing codes for the entire village just to suit their desires. There are two words for that: SELFISH and IMMATURE!
Just NO! to agritourism in Barrington Hills!!!