Blue Hill, NE Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

8 of the City of Blue Hill Zoning Ordinance establishes the Agricultural (AG) District as land set aside for agricultural operations and natural resource industries, composed mainly of unsubdivided land that is either vacant or already in agricultural use, with only some dwellings and accessory uses mixed in. The ordinance spells out what AG zoning is meant to do: it protects and preserves valuable agricultural areas, implements agricultural and natural resource protection, establishes performance standards for rural businesses, preserves rural areas, preserves pasture land and agriculture, and identifies areas appropriate for agricultural preservation.

The section adds that the AG District can serve as a buffer of low-intensity uses along streams, floodplains, and other environmentally sensitive areas, and that it fits large tracts of open space, agricultural land, woodlands, and fields, but is not suited to areas served by central water and sewer or higher-order streets. The district's own bulk standards back up that protective purpose with a one-acre minimum lot size, a maximum density of one dwelling unit per gross acre, a 35-foot height limit, thirty-five-foot street-side and fifteen-foot interior side setbacks, and a ten-foot rear setback, all of which keep residential intensity low and land available for farming rather than subdivision into smaller residential lots.