The plaintiff sued Bob Schmidt, owner of Maple Lane Farms, claiming that the property was not zoned for any use other than agricultural and that commercial and tourist activities have brought increased traffic and noise to an area that is not zoned for commercial and tourist activities, according to the Blount County Daily Times.
Beginning in 1992, Schmidt started a pumpkin patch operation for neighbors and other visitors and in 1998, Schmidt started a corn maze. In 2007, he offered helicopter rides, which he now believes did not work out successfully and will not offer the rides in the future, as reported in Blount Today. The farm also holds a strawberry festival in the Spring.
Schmidt essentially argues that the farms activities constitute a temporary nuisance which "can be corrected by labor or money" according to Brent Johnson, attorney for Schmidt. He argues that the issue concerns an "abatement of a nuisance" as reported by the Blount County Daily Times.
The lawsuit was dismissed by the County Chancellor "midway through an expected two-day trial" because Shirley Schmidt, mother of Bob Schmidt, owns a portion of Maple Lane Farms and had not been named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The decision may be appealed.
For more information on Agritourism, click here.
To read the Blount County Daily Times stories, click here and here.
To read the Blount Today story, click here.
Posted: 07/08/2010
