Zoning FAQs

Honey Hollow Nature Center (HHNC, formerly Bucks County Audubon Society) is asking Solebury Township for a partial zoning use variance. Our request is to permit special events at our Visitors Center, in comportment with the Farm Ordinance which passed last year. The Farm Ordinance places a limit of eight events per year in excess of 100 guests, along with other restrictions (please refer to the text of the Solebury Farm Ordinance). Honey Hollow is further limited by county health regulations to 120 guests per event.

The wedding season would mainly be on weekends, in the weeks leading into and out of the summer (roughly, April-May, and September-October). There will be no weddings during the summer when our camp is in session.

The main purpose of the variance is to create a stable income. Our mission is to provide environmental education. This will not change. 

However, the income from programs such as summer camp and field trips has not been enough to sustain our presence. Therefore, we are seeking to enhance our income in a way that will make us sustainable and bring new visitors to enjoy the property.

We have used and will continue to use grants and other forms of funding as much as possible. However, there is generally no grant money for daily operating expenses. Grants are for targeted, limited projects. Grant funding is also highly unstable and not a renewable source. Depending primarily on grants or similar patronage is not viable in the long term, and has become more difficult in recent years.

Yes, with two exceptions. We had two periods with high community involvement, first in the early 1970s, and again in the early 1990s. In the first period, we led the battle to prevent a highway being built through Solebury Township. In the second, we fought to preserve the land and prevent the development of hundreds of houses in Honey Hollow.

These battles were both successful, but following the victories, we saw a great drop-off in participation. Many of our neighbors not only remember both of these victories but actively participated in them, and we hope they will understand the need for us to request this limited modification in order for us to keep going.

Yes. We previously hosted weddings but realized that our zoning did not allow it. We plan to follow best practices to do so going forward.

We found that the people who want to get married here generally match with our mission: earth-loving couples who prefer the beauty of nature to a loud ballroom aesthetic.

Our zoning request does not include any variance regarding noise. We will continue to follow the noise rules that apply to everyone in Solebury. That means a 10pm curfew and limited volume. In addition, amplified sound will happen only indoors, inside our visitor’s center.

All bartenders will have TIPS training and certification. According to our catering partner, though it does not happen often, bartenders are trained to cut people off, and to know when to do so. We and our catering partner will carry Liquor Liability Insurance. At each event, our renter will designate a specific person to deal with any problematic situations.

Our colleagues at Heritage Conservancy are aware of this initiative and support it.

If this request is denied, we will continue to fight on as best we can. We have struggled with funding for years (with sometimes more, sometimes less success).

The partial zoning use variance is the only option we have identified to create a new source of stable income.

In short, the best thing for the Honey Hollow property will be for us to be able to continue to care for it and keep it open to the public while providing environmental education. We will continue to be good neighbors and thank you for your support since 1969.