The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a hearing Tuesday on the application of Stone Acres Farm LLC to develop the farm's 63-plus acres on North Main Street into a multi-use property with event space, workspace for food artisans, a restaurant and a seasonal market, while continuing to farm vegetable gardens, orchards and hay fields.

The idea makes perfect sense as a creative use that can help sustain the farm for future enjoyment. If that's not enough of a reason, look around at neighboring states that are actively developing their cultural, historic, tourism and hospitality assets. This plan encompasses all of those, besides being easy on the environment and keeping the decisions in local hands.

Tuesday's hearing is neither the first nor last regarding the proposal. In December the commission approved creation of an Agricultural Heritage District applicable to farms of 35 acres or more that have continuously operated for at least 25 years. Stone Acres LLC is applying for approval of its proposed campus under the heritage district provision, which the owners also proposed. A site plan hearing would still be needed if the plan moves forward after Tuesday.

The Agricultural Heritage District is an example of master plan zoning, a system in use for development at the former Mystic Color Lab and the Lattizori property on Coogan Boulevard. In essence, it involves creation of a district that would allow certain specified uses and then an application that meets those precise specifications.

The members of the limited liability corporation include several family members and neighbors of the last individual owner, who died nine years ago. Stone Acres was on the market with no sale through most of the recession. Development in eastern Connecticut ground to a halt during that time; if times had been more conducive for subdividing land into McMansion parcels, that surely could have happened.

As it is, no one bought the property, leaving those who love it as it is to find a smart way to develop and preserve it. Jane Simmons Meiser and her husband, Mystic restaurateur Dan Meiser, are principals in the effort. Stone Acres is the farm of the family of her mother, Heidi Paffard Simmons. Her father, Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons, has taken a hands-off stance as the proposal works its way through planning and zoning.

Under the Agricultural Heritage District, a floating zone that could apply to 20-30 properties in town, the restrictions seem adequate to ensure the Planning and Zoning Commission would have the control it would need if a subsequent owner wanted to use a former farm property for wider commercial purposes. Not allowed are gas stations, theme parks and retail sales not associated with the farm.

Allowable uses are scaled for the size of the eligible properties: bed and breakfast inns up to 12 rooms; crafts and artisan shops; wineries and breweries; passive recreation; and up to five residential units, among them. Any farm property that applied would have to go through hearings for its master plan and its site plan.

All Stonington residents have a stake in the history of Stone Acres. It grew provisions for railroad and steamship passengers and crews passing through the town in the 19th century, served as a makeshift hospital during the Battle of Stonington in the War of 1812, and sheltered borough residents fleeing the 1938 Hurricane. The proposal would increase access to the property for the public and would take outreach programs into local schools.

What's wrong with this picture? Not a thing. The Planning and Zoning Commission, in its due diligence, may find some aspects to question or curb, but it's unlikely a better, more apt proposal would ever come along. The public gets its chance to weigh in at Tuesday's hearing, 7 p.m. at Mystic Middle School. But from this perspective, the proposal looks like a winner for the applicants and Stonington.