A Vernon Family Farm agritourism concert in September. (Photo by Olivia Richardson, NH Public Radio)
After roughly 10 years of allegations, complaints and town meetings, a farm in Newfields is being sued by neighbors over the legality of the public events they host on their land.
Three families living next to and across from Vernon Family Farm say they feel the concerts and other events the farm hosts are too loud, breaking the town’s noise ordinance.
They also believe the food and bar services the Vernons own and use to cater their concerts are illegal and were not properly vetted through the town’s zoning board.
“This situation has been very challenging for us as neighbors,” the three families wrote in a letter to NHPR. “While we have chosen the legal route to resolve our issues with the Vernon Family Farm, the Vernons have chosen to promote their business using generalized statements creating a false narrative through social media and on media platforms.”
The neighbors are also suing the Newfields selectboard for failing to enforce town zoning rules that they say the Vernons have not followed.
Jeremiah Vernon — co-owner of Vernon Family Farms, which he runs with his wife Nicole Vernon — said he’s frustrated with the on-going battle between him and his neighbors.
“The irony that the town, who we were legally fighting for so many years, is now at least on the same side of us with this lawsuit that our neighbors have filed is stranger than fiction,” Vernon said.
The Vernons have been summoned to appear in court on November 6.
Vernon said they recently paid lawyers for legal fees that have incurred through years of disputes over their operations and whether they are in compliance with town rules and regulations.
“Every winter for the last four years, we enter winter with some massive bombshell that explodes or something, and it feels like it’s still happening,” Vernon said. “That’s so overwhelming.”
Vernon said he and his wife are launching a fundraiser to pay for legal fees for this new lawsuit.
This article is being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
