FALMOUTH, Va. – A Falmouth woman is pushing back against a county order to shut down a small farm stand on her property, saying the structure is part of a broader effort to preserve the agricultural lifestyle that once defined Stafford County.
Stefanie Hughes, a fifth-generation Stafford County resident, erected a 4-by-8-foot shed on her five-acre property on Brooke Road over Memorial Day weekend to sell eggs, herbal tea, compost, sunflowers, seasonal produce, and baked goods like blueberry scones. The makeshift wayside stand, built from leftover lumber, was up for just over a week when a cease-and-desist letter arrived in the mail on May 30.
The letter from county zoning officials ordered Hughes to stop operating the stand, citing zoning regulations that prohibit such structures on land zoned A-2 (Rural Residential). “I was just trying to do something simple and good for the community,” said Hughes. “This isn’t a large operation. It’s a table in a shed with a few things we produce here on our land.”
Hughes said the idea started when her 8-year-old daughter wanted to sell some of their surplus eggs.
According to Stafford County spokeswoman Shannon Eubanks, the property has been zoned A-2 since at least 1965, based on records that predate the county’s current zoning ordinance. While wayside stands are allowed in A-1 agricultural zoning, they are not permitted in the A-2 district.
“The A-2 zoning district omits the ‘wayside’ use; therefore, it is prohibited,” said Eubanks. “Unless the Board of County Supervisors amends the A-2 zoning permitted uses, the wayside use is not permitted.”
Eubanks confirmed that the county issued the order following a complaint about a traffic issue at the intersection of Caroway Drive and Brooke Road, where there is no designated off-street parking. “We operate on a complaint basis only,” she added.
Hughes disputes that the stand posed a hazard and said she believes the complaint may have stemmed from a neighbor’s concern about the shed’s placement. “There’s been no danger or disruption. We’re just trying to live simply and teach our kids about responsibility and community,” she said.
The county does offer a possible path forward: Hughes has appealed the violation, and alternative compliance options may exist under the county’s home business regulations. A Home Business I would allow operations by appointment only, with off-street parking. A Home Business II, which allows limited customer visits, would require a Special Exception under A-2 zoning.
Hughes remains frustrated by what she sees as a lack of support for small-scale farming. “Over the past 30 years, the agricultural lifestyle has disappeared from Stafford,” she said. “I’m just trying to hold onto a piece of it.”
Eubanks said the zoning office “tries to find solutions to potential violations within the requirements of the zoning ordinance,” but no changes to permitted A-2 uses are currently on the table.
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