NORWICH — The Norwich Farmers’ Market is making progress on plans to establish a permanent home across Route 5 from its longtime location.

The Farmers’ Market first came before the Planning Commission last August for a preliminary discussion.

Since then, the market has paid a $37,500 deposit — 5% of the total purchase price — for a 35-acre property on the corner of Route 5 and Hopson Road, according to the Upper Valley Agriculture Association.

The nonprofit was formed to manage some of the fundraising and grant writing for the project and estimates it will cost about $4.7 million.

The plan is to build a new year-round market building on the land, complete with more parking and space for an outdoor seasonal market similar to the current operation.

Having a permanent home would come with a myriad of benefits, Farmers’ Market Manager Nica Mieloch-Blinn said in an interview last week. Currently, the market leases property in the summer and is based out of Tracy Hall in the winter.

The Norwich Farmers’ Market owning its own property would provide “forever security,” to the market and by extension to the vendors, about 50 of whom sell at the market every week, Mieloch-Blinn said. “You’ve got this place that you know you can count on.”

Location stability is a concern for markets across Vermont, Vermont Public reported last week. Currently, Brattleboro Farmers’ Market is the only market in the state that owns the property where it takes place. Many are on public land.

The property across the street from the current farmers’ market is currently held in a trust care of Judith Currier of Leesburg, Va., and includes no buildings, according to the Vermont state parcel viewer. The lot’s size would allow the market to address ongoing issues with crowding and parking, and allow room for some growth with space to spare. 

Last August, the town indicated that it had been eyeing the property to build affordable housing, according to Valley News reporting at the time.

Mieloch-Blinn declined to say whether there were ongoing conversations about co-locating the market with affordable housing, but noted that it seems like the town has been working on ways to build more affordable housing everywhere, “not just for our parcel.”

“We don’t necessarily need all 35 acres so we’ll see what the future holds there,” Mieloch-Blinn said.

Given the trend of rainy Saturdays this spring, the day of the weekly market, it’s becoming “increasingly clear that we have to think of this (new market) as potentially year-round and not just for winter,” Mieloch-Blinn said.

The rainy weather has been “really tricky” for the market and its vendors to navigate. Though the market goes on rain or shine, customers aren’t always eager to shop in the foul weather.

There has still been “really great turnout considering” the weather, but sales are “down for us on a whole right now,” Mieloch-Blinn said last week.

The rain has made it harder for certain vendors to attend, such as craftspeople who work with materials that cannot get wet, and growers who have had a slow start to the season.

“I think we’re ready for a real slamming summer day,” Mieloch-Blinn said.

The rain also has brought to light longtime issues with the market’s dirt parking lot. In addition to being small for the weekly crowd, the parking lot has a tendency to get muddy and difficult to navigate.

“That’s just been really hard because we haven’t been able to dry out and recover week after week,” Mieloch-Blinn said.

The plans for the new market are not yet finalized and there could still be a long way to go. One of the biggest barriers will be securing the funds, which Mieloch-Blinn said will come from a mix of fundraising, grants and market revenue.

In addition, a bureaucratic barrier stands in the way.

In a meeting June 10, the Norwich Planning Commission recommended that a definition for open air markets be added to the town’s zoning code and that they be approved as a “conditional use” anywhere in town.

Though the current farmers market has existed for almost 50 years, there is no definition of “open air market” in the Norwich zoning code. Per town statute, this means they are technically not allowed in town and plans for a new market cannot be approved.

The commission’s recommendation was not directly related to the proposed project. The market provision was one of several zoning changes it recommended to support local farms, allow for more affordable housing and bring the zoning code in line with state law.

“The Planning Commission understood that we were not voicing support for a specific project, we were allowing the use as a possibility,” Planning Commission Chairman Jaan Laaspere said of the open-air market change in a recording of the meeting.

Now that the Planning Commission has recommended the changes, the Selectboard will take up the issue. The Selectboard will have to approve the changes before the market association can present its project plans to the Norwich Development Review Board.

Under state statute the Selectboard can choose to vote internally to change the zoning code or move to a town-wide vote. Residents could also petition to vote on the matter, though Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Steven True said “there’s no petition that I’m aware of” as of Monday.

Though plans for the new market were not on the table at the June 10 meeting, residents still took the opportunity to address the project. About 15 people voiced support for the open-air market zoning change, either in person or by submitting letters.

“I think the Norwich farmers market has a huge, outsize positive impact on our community,” Cody Williams told the Commission.

Susan Barrett, who is currently the community representative for the farmers’ market Board of Directors, emphasized the importance of the change.

“I’ve never worked with such amazing people as those farmers from the Norwich Farmers’ Market and I just want to support them in any way we can and I think that these changes do that, so thank you,” Barrett said.

One resident who lives on Hopson Road across the street from the proposed market site said he is “torn” about the idea of a new market.

“I love the market and I would love to encourage it, but I’m a little nervous about some of the knock-on effects that may come to bear on our neighborhood if the full plan goes forward,” William Maskiell said.

Maskiell said he is especially worried about increased traffic.

If the plan does move forward, there will be a public hearing “where all these topics would be reviewed in depth,” True said in response.

According to the Upper Valley Agriculture Association, the group’s 5% deposit will become “irrevocable” in July and closing is expected to take place “no later than December 2025.”

“I don’t see any big issues, I think the town has made it clear that they are predominantly supportive, which is wonderful, so I feel very positive,” Mieloch-Blinn said.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.