San Luis Obispo County, CA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

020 states the county's findings and policy: it is the county's declared policy to enhance and encourage agricultural operations, including processing, and to notify residents of the county's support for the right to farm. The chapter explains that when nonagricultural uses move near agricultural areas, farms often draw nuisance complaints from people unfamiliar with normal farm conditions, which can force operators to curtail investment; the chapter's purpose is to reduce that loss to the county's agricultural resources by clarifying when farming can be treated as a nuisance.

The chapter does not modify or abridge state nuisance law found in the Civil Code, Health and Safety Code, Fish and Game Code, or Division 7 of the Water Code; it applies only to interpreting and enforcing county code and regulations. A further stated purpose is a good-neighbor policy: advising buyers of residential property near farmland, through mandatory disclosures, about the noise, odors, dust, chemicals, smoke and operating hours that can accompany agricultural operations, so new owners are prepared before they buy.