Name: Triangle conservation group sues farm, hoping to halt amphitheater plans
Uploaded: 2025-08-21T17:08:53+00:00
Duration: 1 min 46 s
Description: The conflict surrounding agritourism in North Carolina escalates as the Triangle Land Conservancy sues six Orange County properties, including Union Grove Farm, over alleged breaches of conservation agreements. Central to the dispute is Union Grove's plan to build a 2,500-seat amphitheater.

The conflict surrounding agritourism in North Carolina escalates as the Triangle Land Conservancy sues six Orange County properties, including Union Grove Farm, over alleged breaches of conservation agreements. Central to the dispute is Union Grove's plan to build a 2,500-seat amphitheater.

The battle over agritourism in North Carolina is now headed to court.

The Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC), a Durham-based nonprofit whose mission is to protect the wild and working lands, filed a lawsuit against six Orange County properties for violating the terms of an agreement to protect their land.

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Among the defendants, Union Grove Farm, which WRAL previously reported is in a dispute with some neighbors and county planners over the farm’s plan to build a 2,500-seat amphitheater. The county rejected the theater, citing that it was not agritourism. The farm is appealing that ruling.

However, Orange County already approved Union Grove Farm's proposal to build a three-acre culinary farm, a distillery and a Center for Regenerative Agriculture. It denied the farm's plan to build a 40-room inn and 10 cottages on the site, also saying that it was not agritourism. Union Grove Farm is not appealing that decision.

The TLC was tipped off about possible land misuse by a neighbor, according to the lawsuit. The group then conducted site surveys and found multiple roads had already been built on the properties. TLC sent multiple easement violation letters, but the lawsuit says the defendants initially denied the existence of the roads. The lawsuit adds the defendants have taken no action to fix the situation.

The lawsuit asks the courts to rule that the roads are a breach of the conservation easement on the properties. The TLC also wants the court to order the defendants to restore the Conversation Property and forbid them from any further development that violates the Conversation Easement, including the proposed amphitheater.

On Thursday, Union Grove Farm released a statement saying they are disappointed by the actions of TLC in filing its lawsuit, as well as their opposition to the agritourism plans the farm has in place.

Union Grove Farm is disappointed by the actions of Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) in filing its lawsuit alleging violations of the Conservation Easement on our property, as well as their opposition to agritourism plans that support the mission of our working regenerative farm. This is a dramatic change from TLC’s board of directors’ initial written approval in March 2024 allowing us to expand the Farm envelope to allow for agritourism plans. Despite their change in position, we have honored the terms of our easement agreement and are confident we will prevail as this case moves forward. Union Grove Farm

Union Grove Farm said they will continue to move forward with key projects that will help educate people on the role regenerative agriculture plays in restoring ecological balance.

WRAL Investigates has reported on the growing battle over the state’s agritourism law, which was designed to give farms the ability to generate more revenue. That includes large, late-night parties on farms that have led to complaints from neighbors.

Based on our previous reports, state lawmakers say they need to tweak the language in the agritourism law to better define what’s allowed and what’s not.