AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n
Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Another rural party venue is getting attention for the wrong reasons in Orange County, but this time, neighbors may have a way to fight back.<\/p>\n Read more Wake County students are getting fewer 5-day school weeks. Here\u2019s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n The nearly 40-acre horse farm at 4505 Scottland Drive, south of Mebane, was built over 20 years ago in the Scottland Equestrian Estates subdivision. It\u2019s a quiet cul-de-sac, just off the bustle of Mebane Oaks Road, near the Paws4Ever animal shelter.<\/p>\n But, in the last year, neighbors say the farm\u2019s new operator, F7 BlackStone Ranch, has brought noise, traffic and increasing risks to public safety with parties that draw thousands of people.<\/p>\n The clash over agritourism is playing out in rural communities across the state, but in this case, a protective covenant limits the owner to living on site or operating a \u201ccommercial horse breeding, riding, and a training facility.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tool many rural neighbors lack, Scottland Drive resident Jimmy Barbee told the Orange County commissioners on June 16.<\/p>\n \u201cOur neighborhoods shouldn\u2019t feel under siege. Our roads shouldn\u2019t be blocked, and our families shouldn\u2019t fear what happens after dark,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd our residents shouldn\u2019t be confused about whether these events have official support.\u201d<\/p>\n F7 BlackStone Ranch has leased the land since 2024 and offers horses, trail rides and farm-based experiences, owner James Montague told The News & Observer in an email. Last year, they added \u201clarger events to help support the farm financially.\u201d<\/p>\n Now Montague, a Raleigh community developer with an option to buy the farm, and Chapel Hill landowner Sunrise International Enterprise LLC are facing a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court.<\/p>\n Montague declined to talk about the specific allegations, but said the farm recently ended \u201clarge, college-style field parties.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe made that change because we want a model that supports the long\u2011term success of the farm and fits better with being part of the surrounding community,\u201d Montague said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the legal issues are being resolved, my commitment is to operate the ranch as responsibly as I can and to find a fair balance between keeping the farm viable and being a good neighbor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Agritourism, such as weddings, farmstands and special events, is allowed under state law as a way for \u201cbona fide\u201d farms to earn more money from their land. Orange County limits farms to 12 large events a year and requires a rural special events permit<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n But farms are exempt from local zoning, giving counties little control over what happens, and state law loosely defines a bona fide farm. That leaves a lot open to interpretation, creating event venues with little connection to agriculture.<\/p>\n Last year, 2,500 people attended a party at the Smokehouse Valley Farm venue in rural Cedar Grove<\/u><\/a>, blocking Orange County emergency responders and neighbors, including a woman with a high-risk pregnancy who started having contractions.<\/p>\n Cars filled the street and yards, 911 records showed, and intoxicated people, some of them underage, passed out on the ground and wandered in the road.<\/p>\n Charges filed against Smokehouse Valley Farm owner Dwight Poole were dismissed in April. The prosecutor was unable to prove Poole encouraged underage drinking or sold alcohol without a permit, court records state.<\/p>\n Read more North Carolina has rattlesnakes. See how to ID the one you\u2019d most likely spot<\/a><\/p>\n The same venue hosted a Halloween party in 2018 that drew over 300 people and ended with a fight. High school senior Rashiaya Melton was fatally shot<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n More injuries and a death were also reported this year at parties near Zebulon<\/u><\/a> and in Alamance County, where deputies shut down a \u201cFreaknik 26\u201d party in Green Level on June 6. Over 2,500 people showed up, resulting in 20 arrests, 72 charges and 11 seized guns, the Alamance County Sheriff\u2019s Office reported.<\/p>\n Scotland Drive neighbors have called 911 about noise and traffic blocking the road and cutting across their yards, they told the commissioners. It helps \u2014 for a little while \u2014 said Melissa DeRosier, who filed the lawsuit with her husband in April.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have really loud amplified music. They have bands, DJs, sound shows, food trucks, alcohol, and so just kind of imagine that in your neighborhood, what that would be like for us,\u201d DeRosier said.<\/p>\n County Commissioner Earl McKee saw it for himself earlier this year, recalling \u201ca queue of cars going in that was probably stacked up a quarter of a mile\u201d and clearly hearing \u201cconversations, people yelling, the music, motorcycles getting revved up or ATVs\u201d from inside a nearby home.<\/p>\n The Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office shut down two parties, including the StarTime FieldFest<\/u>, which blocked emergency access on Feb. 27, posing a risk to everyone, spokeswoman Alicia Stemper said. The other was an April 21 party that had about 2,000 people and was shut down after noise reports, she said.<\/p>\n The farm hired off-duty deputies for parties on April 8 and April 23, Stemper said. A neighbor reported a damaged mailbox on April 9, after the \u201cOil Spill\u201d party that attracted over 4,000 North Carolina A&T students<\/u><\/a>, according to Montague\u2019s online post.<\/p>\n Venues typically hire one deputy for every 100 attendees, and while they don\u2019t enforce party rules or check IDs, they can manage traffic and respond to offenses, Stemper said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to stay visible to be able to respond to the bigger concern, which is larger groups in general, larger groups in the dark, and with alcohol, there\u2019s a whole host of things that can go wrong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Montague doesn\u2019t live at the ranch, but spends \u201ca significant amount of time\u201d there and is \u201ccommitted to operating in a way that respects both the farm and the people who live around it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He contends larger events haven\u2019t \u201croutinely overwhelmed the area or encouraged trespassing.\u201d The events require invitations or tickets, there are clear parking rules and security, and they get an ABC permit or license when needed, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cF7 BlackStone Ranch is, at its core, a working equestrian farm trying to survive in a difficult environment,\u201d Montague said. \u201cWe have listened to concerns, ended the largest party\u2011style events, and are focusing on smaller, family\u2011oriented, farm\u2011based activities and agritourism.\u201d<\/p>\n Change has to come from the state, said McKee, who talked with state lawmakers about the problem but doesn\u2019t expect action.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the farms in Orange County probably would not be viable if it was not for agritourism, so it\u2019s going to be a very hard, tight rope to walk, but it\u2019s one we\u2019re going to have to do before we completely lose control of the situation,\u201d McKee said.<\/p>\n NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com<\/u><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n