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

Granville County Code § 32-61 establishes the AR-80 district to promote a compatible mixture of agricultural, forestry, conservation and very-low-density residential uses in areas with few public services, with an added purpose of protecting prime farmland and water quality within the WSW-II critical area of the county's water supply watersheds. Section 32-62 sets up the parallel AR-40 district with the same core mixture of agricultural, forestry, conservation and low-density residential uses, but frames its purpose around protecting the environment, preserving prime farmland and continuing rural lifestyles rather than a specific watershed designation.

Both districts appear in the county's zoning district table at § 32-42, and under § 32-45 any land not shown or labeled on the official zoning map defaults to AR-40, meaning agricultural use is the county's fallback zoning classification rather than an exception carved out of a residential base. Chapter 32's Article II purpose statements have carried these agricultural priorities since the Land Development Code's 1999 adoption, and both districts cross-reference the county's animal regulations in Chapter 11, tying zoning purpose directly to livestock and farm-animal keeping in these areas.