Durham, NC Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Sec. 1, Agricultural Use Standards, governs where and how farming activity can operate inside the City of Durham (the same section extends into unincorporated Durham County unless a use is exempted from zoning by state statute, since Durham City-County Planning administers one joint UDO). Within the City, the RS-20 District allows the full range of agricultural uses. Every other RS residential district is narrower: only apiculture (beekeeping), commercial crop production, and forestry are permitted outright. Accessory on-site sales tied to an approved agricultural use do not require dedicated parking as long as no permanent sales structure is built, but a permanent retail building triggers normal parking rules.

Aquaponics and aquaculture systems are prohibited everywhere except the RR and RS-20 Districts, so a homeowner in a standard RS district cannot install a commercial fish-and-plant system without a rezoning. Every agricultural site, regardless of district, must be designed and maintained so fertilizer, compost, soils, and other materials do not spill or drain onto adjacent property, streams, or public or private stormwater collection systems -- a runoff-control duty enforceable independent of any specific use. The sale of compost, whether produced on-site or brought in, is banned outright under this section.

' That plan requirement is a state-referenced water-quality standard, not a discretionary city preference, so a forestry operator inside city limits needs a plan on file that tracks the DEQ guidelines as they are amended.