Austin, TX Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Permitted-use setbacks
- 100 feet front, side, and rear
- Conditional-use lot size
- 1 acre minimum, 1.5 acres maximum
- Conditional-use setbacks
- 40 front, 25 street side, 10 interior side, 20 rear (feet)
- Maximum height
- Lesser of three stories or 35 feet
- Building cover cap
- Lesser of 10,000 square feet or 20 percent of lot
- Impervious cover cap
- Lesser of 12,500 square feet or 25 percent of lot
- Conditional-use density
- One lot per 10 acres of site area; one dwelling per lot
Summary
In Austin's agricultural (AG) zoning district, every permitted use must sit 100 feet from the front, side, and rear lot lines. A conditional use, which means a single home on a carved-out lot, gets a lot of one to 1.5 acres, a 35-foot height cap, and far smaller setbacks of 40, 25, 10, and 20 feet. City Code Sec. 25-2-621 contains all of these numbers.
(A) This section applies in an agricultural (AG) district. (B) For a permitted use, the minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks are 100 feet. (C) This subsection applies to a conditional use. (1) The minimum lot area is one acre. (2) The maximum lot area is 1.5 acres. (3) The minimum lot width is 100 feet. (4) Not more than one dwelling unit is permitted on each lot. (5) One lot for each 10 acres of site area may be approved for a conditional use. (6) The maximum distance from a rear lot line to the centerline of the nearest public road is 400 feet. (7) The minimum distance between driveways that serve conditional uses on the same site and on the same side of the road is 100 feet. (8) The maximum height is the lesser of three stories or 35 feet. (9) The minimum front yard setback is 40 feet. (10) The minimum street side yard setback is 25 feet. (11) The minimum interior side yard setback is 10 feet. (12) The minimum rear yard setback is 20 feet. (13) The maximum building cover is the lesser of 10,000 square feet or 20 percent of the lot area. (14) The maximum impervious cover is the lesser of 12,500 square feet or 25 percent of the lot area.
Full Breakdown
Austin City Code Sec. 25-2-621 is the site development table for land zoned agricultural (AG). Sec. 25-2-141 explains why the district exists: the AG designation is for an agriculture use or an agriculture-related use, and its stated purpose is to preserve areas of prime agricultural soils, concentrate urban development in and around growth centers, promote compact urban development, and preserve the environment and open spaces. Sec. 25-2-7 lists the agricultural use classifications in the zoning chapter: animal production, aquaponic system, community garden, crop production, horticulture, support housing, urban farm, market garden, and indoor crop production.
Subsection (B) covers a permitted use. The minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks are all 100 feet, so a barn, packing shed, or greenhouse for a farm use sits a full 100 feet inside every boundary of the lot.
Subsection (C) covers a conditional use and is far more detailed. The lot must be at least one acre and no more than 1.5 acres, with a minimum width of 100 feet, and only one dwelling unit is permitted on each lot. Austin approves one such lot for each 10 acres of site area. The rear lot line can be no more than 400 feet from the centerline of the nearest public road, and driveways that serve conditional uses on the same site and the same side of the road must be at least 100 feet apart. Height tops out at the lesser of three stories or 35 feet.
The yard setbacks on a conditional-use lot are 40 feet in front, 25 feet on a street side, 10 feet on an interior side, and 20 feet in the rear. Two coverage caps use the same lesser-of method: building cover is the lesser of 10,000 square feet or 20 percent of the lot area, and impervious cover is the lesser of 12,500 square feet or 25 percent of the lot area. The printed source line traces the section to former Section 13-2-681 and Ordinances 990225-70 and 031211-11, with no later amendment shown.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 25-2-621 prints no penalty of its own. It supplies the measurements a site plan or lot split is judged against. A structure inside the 100-foot ring on a permitted-use lot, a conditional-use lot smaller than one acre or larger than 1.5 acres, a second dwelling unit on one lot, more than one conditional-use lot per 10 acres of site area, or building or impervious cover above the lesser-of caps fails the section. Any penalty comes from Austin's general enforcement provisions elsewhere in the code.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far from the property line must a farm building sit in Austin's AG district?
How big can a conditional-use lot be in Austin's agricultural district?
How many conditional-use lots can Austin approve on a large AG tract?
What are the building and impervious cover limits on a conditional-use lot?
How tall can a house be on a conditional-use lot in Austin's AG district?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Austin
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