Alachua County, FL Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Exemption cutoff
- ULDC rules adopted after 7/1/2003
- State basis
- F.S. § 823.14(6) Right to Farm Act
- A district density
- 1 unit per 5 acres
- A district min lot
- 3 acres (1 acre for first split)
- A/A-RB setbacks
- 40 ft front/rear/street side, 20 ft interior side
- Ag building setback
- 100 ft from any lot line
Summary
Alachua County Code § 400.04(d) exempts ongoing agriculture and silviculture operations from any Unified Land Development Code provision adopted after July 1, 2003, so long as the operation isn't part of a development application and meets Florida's Right to Farm Act, F.S. § 823.14(6), or the Agricultural Lands and Practices Act, F.S. § 163.3162.
(d)Ongoing agriculture and silviculture farming operations that are not part of a development application and that meet the provisions and criteria pursuant to F.S. § 163.3162, the Agricultural Lands and Practices Act, or F.S. § 823.14(6), the Right to Farm Act, shall be exempt from any provisions of this ULDC that were not in existence as of July 1, 2003.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
The county's right-to-farm protection sits inside the Unified Land Development Code's general applicability section rather than a standalone ordinance. 3162 (the Agricultural Lands and Practices Act). The same style of exemption is repeated for environmental and vegetation permitting elsewhere in the Code, so a working farm generally doesn't need a separate county sign-off for routine operations covered by state best-management practices. 04. The A district allows one dwelling unit per five acres, a three-acre minimum parcel (one acre for a first split off a parent parcel with zoning-administrator approval), a 250-foot minimum lot width, 20-percent maximum building coverage, and unlimited building height except for residential structures, which are capped at thirty-five feet.
Setbacks in the A and A-RB districts are 40 feet front, rear, and street side, 20 feet on interior side lines, and 25 feet for accessory buildings on a rear lot line; agricultural processing or packaging buildings must sit at least 100 feet from any lot line unless a Chapter 404 use table provides otherwise.
Violations & Fines
There's no local penalty for simply farming under this exemption: it removes county-code liability rather than creating it. An operation that isn't a bona fide agricultural activity under F.S. § 823.14, or that pursues an actual development application, loses the exemption and must comply with the ULDC like any other landowner, including the A/A-RB district's density, setback, and coverage standards; violating those triggers Code § 10.08 penalties (up to a $500 fine or 60 days in jail) or a civil action under § 10.09.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the right-to-farm exemption cover everything on a farm?
What's the minimum lot size to farm in the Agricultural district?
How tall can a farm building be?
Does this protection apply to a farm inside Gainesville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida right to farm overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.