The Bingham Township Planning Commission last week held a public forum to discuss ideas that may enhance "agricultural tourism" in the township.

Staff planner Rochelle Rollenhagen reported that more than a dozen members of the public attended the forum and engaged with planning commissioners in a lively three-hour discussion of the topic.

“The ideas we’re exploring involve expanding the types of activities that might be allowed on agricultural land,” Rollenhagen explained. “Agritourism involves some land uses that can be pretty commercial in nature; and a broader range of uses could become allowable in the township’s agriculture district if we follow through with some of these ideas,” she said.

The point behind expanding opportunities for agritourism in the township would be to allow farmers and the owners of agricultural properties to stay in business and on their farms, Rollenhagen said. Such opportunities might help prevent residential sprawl.

A centerpiece of the discussion was model zoning ordinance language provided by the State of Michigan.

“The very preliminary draft we had provoked a lot of comment and some good input,” Rollenhagen said.

She noted that the co-owner of a major “agritourism destination” in Bingham Township, Don Coe of Black Star Farms, attended the Dec. 6 meeting and provided considerable input. Black Star Farms combines a winery and a cheesemaking operation with retail sales, a bed and breakfast inn, a petting zoo, horse boarding stables and more.

“During the course of the three-hour discussion, there was a lot for members of the planning commission to take in,” Rollenhagen said.

She said that a committee will now take a closer look at preliminary drafts of zoning ordinance language, assimilate public input from last week’s meeting, and return to the full commission with recommendations at an upcoming meeting.

Rollenhagen reported that the special forum on agritourism was the only major item of business on the Bingham Township Planning Commission’s agenda this month.