- Agricultural Commissioner Wilton Simpson supports housing for farm workers.
- The farm is one of the largest employers in Jefferson County.
- Watch the video to find out where the new project will be built.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A local farm is one step closer to providing housing for seasonal workers. I’m Lentheus Chaney, your Monticello neighborhood reporter, speaking with city officials about a proposed rezoning ordinance and hearing from neighboring farmers on how multi-family projects like this can help the local farming industry.
City Planner Kurt Mackiewicz presented the re-zoning ordinance during Tuesday’s council meeting. The three-acre property is located on Nacoosa Road across from Simpson Nursery. According to the re-zoning application, the existing home will remain and another structure would be built to house additional employees close to the office.”
I spoke with Agricultural Commissioner Wilton Simpson. Simpson favors programs to assist farmers with building housing for their workers.
“If farmers are allowed to build the H2 housing they need, it would be affordable to their farms which again will drive down the cost of food,” Simpson said.
Local farmer Cetta Barnhart is the founder and CEO of Seed Time Harvest Farms. Her business provides produce from regional farmers directly to consumers. Barnhart also consults farms on best practices. She says both large- and small-scale farms, like hers, need help. Barnhart says providing housing on farmland is the right move.
“It is important that we house, clothe, and shelter those who come to help us. So I think that honestly, if there is a way that we can incorporate into our landscape housing that will assist with having people available for us to help do farming practices and we in turn give them something of value, I think it’s a benefit and a win-win both ways,” Barnhart said.
Councilman John Jones firmly supports the rezoning ordinance. He says the project would have a great impact on the local economy.
“The nursery is probably one of the largest employers in Monticello and Jefferson County. So anything to help those owners of the nursery, I’m for it,” Jones said.
The farm owner who applied for the re-zoning variance was not available for comment. Barnhart says that if this project helps them succeed, she and the surrounding businesses succeed as well. In Monticello, Lentheus Chaney. ABC27
