Bill > HB349

This bill proposes a local constitutional amendment for Etowah County, Alabama, to establish the Whorton Bend Agricultural Protection Act, which aims to preserve the agricultural, environmental, and rural residential character of the Whorton Bend Community. The Act defines specific boundaries for this protected area, encompassing a peninsula along the Coosa River, and prohibits governmental entities from approving land-use actions that would substantially interfere with agricultural operations, water-dependent farming, or farm-related commercial activities, while expressly permitting commercial structures directly supporting farming. It also restricts inland development that would degrade wetlands, riparian buffers, or floodways, and generally prohibits new commercial or industrial development, with exceptions for pre-existing businesses and those supporting agriculture or forestry. The bill further restricts certain types of residential development, such as multi-family structures and high-density single-family developments inconsistent with the community's character, and requires new single-family homes to be on at least one-acre lots, unless lawfully platted otherwise. The Act will be enforced by local governments and affected landowners, and it clarifies that it does not limit existing lawful agricultural or timber operations.

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