Broomfield, CO Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

The A-1 Agricultural District under section 17-08-010 applies to land that still holds agricultural value and is not yet ready for urban development. Section 17-08-020 lists uses permitted by right: one-family dwellings, cultivation and sale of crops and nursery stock grown on the premises, cemeteries, home occupations under section 17-32-020, utility distribution lines that primarily serve the city, municipal buildings, and water and wastewater facilities. Grazing of cattle, sheep, goats, or horses is allowed by right, but only where it is not tied to a dairy, feed yard, or livestock sales yard, and stocking is capped at one animal per 15,000 square feet of lot area unless a denser herd is approved under section 17-08-030.

A private poultry house is capped at 400 square feet of ground floor area. Anyone wanting to run a commercial livestock operation, a school, an airport, an oil or gas well, or a wireless tower on A-1 land must go through special review under section 17-08-030, which also bars oil and gas wells on land shown as public or private open lands or parkland. Dimensional standards under section 17-08-040 require a 5-acre minimum lot, 300-foot lot width, a 30-foot front yard, a 25-foot rear yard for the principal building (5 feet for accessory buildings), and a side yard of 10 feet plus 1 foot for every 2 feet of building height. Section 17-08-050 caps buildings at two stories and 30 feet.