The Town of Bethlehem’s Comprehensive Plan vision for the future identifies the Town as a community of attractive residential neighborhoods, vibrant hamlets, successful mixed-use commercial centers, modern industrial facilities, and productive rural lands. To encourage the continuance of the Town’s semi-rural setting, this Plan presents several goals and recommendations for the protection of agriculture and farmland. The term protection should be perceived as an opportunity to support agriculture as a business, and on a voluntary basis protect farmland as a land use in the community. The term is not used as a means of restricting a property owner’s rights to the use of their land.