Franklin Township, PA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Added by Ordinance 2016-02, § 27-1720, Design Standards for Normal Agricultural Operations, opens by stating that notwithstanding any contrary provision in the zoning chapter, the design standards that apply to a normal agricultural operation for setbacks, lot coverage and other area and bulk requirements, for natural resource protection, and for environmental impacts are governed exclusively by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Solid Waste Management Act, the Clean Streams Law, and the State Conservation Commission's Nutrient and Odor Management Act and their regulations and best-practice manuals, as those may be amended.

That is a right-to-farm-style provision: it keeps the Township's own setback and lot-coverage tables in Parts 4 through 15 from binding a working farm's barns, manure storage or production buildings, leaving that ground to the state's agricultural regulatory schemes instead. The section then layers a short list of local standards on top of the state framework. A normal agricultural operation must still provide one parking space per employee for its primary use and at least two spaces for a secondary use serving customers. Outdoor lighting cannot exceed two footcandles of incident light or glare at the property line of adjacent residential uses, per § 27-1607.

No loading dock may sit closer than 100 feet to a contiguous residential use unless the adjacent owner waives the setback. Overall lot coverage for a normal agricultural operation is capped at 50% of the gross tract area, and the operation must still comply with §§ 27-1504 (roadway visibility), 27-1509 (access) and 27-1613 (driveways) of the zoning chapter.