Collierville, TN Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Collierville Code of Ordinances § 151.048 creates the FAR Forest - Agricultural - Residential District. The purpose clause says the districts provide areas for very low density residential development in areas characterized primarily by agricultural, forestry, open space and undeveloped land. The intent is to limit development and maintain the rural character of these areas until adequate plans exist for the orderly expansion of urban development and the economical provision of urban services and community facilities. FAR Districts also regulate the location and timing of areas shown as future development on the Land Use Plan.

The section does not list uses itself. Principal and conditional uses come from the table in § 151.021, accessory uses from the table in § 151.025, and bulk regulations (minimum lot area, minimum lot width at the building line and maximum height) and yard setbacks from the table in § 151.027. Subsection (B)(4) closes the door on everything else: any use not allowed by right, by accessory or by conditional use is prohibited in the FAR district. General yard rules on visibility at intersections and permitted obstructions sit in § 151.006.

Farm buildings have their own track in § 151.025(D)(3). Accessory buildings or structures essential to general farming activities, including those that house livestock, protect farm equipment, or serve harvesting crops, require a minimum lot size of two acres. They are permitted in any required front, side or rear yard and can sit between a principal building and a street, but never within 30 feet of a property line at any point. A farm structure not exempted by § 151.005 can exceed the height limit in § 151.027 if the Development Director or designee finds it consistent with the overall character of existing development in the immediate vicinity.

The definition of AGRICULTURAL USE in § 151.003 turns on Shelby County and Tennessee records: an agricultural or greenbelt classification by the Shelby County Assessor of Property, a commercial agricultural enterprise defined in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 1-3-105 and 43-1-113(b)(1), sales tax exemption filings, or a Title 43 filing. Under § 151.025(D)(8)(b), agricultural uses are not home occupations and are regulated as principal uses per § 151.021.