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

The AG District, defined in LDO Sec. 1, exists to preserve agricultural, forest and open-space land until urban services extend to an area and to prevent premature conversion of farmland by discouraging out-of-place agricultural commercial and industrial uses. Outside the AG District, agriculture is still regulated as its own use category under Sec. 6, Agricultural Uses. Any agricultural operation, crop production, an animal feeder or breeder operation, or livestock housing, must keep all structures, buildings, mechanical equipment and enclosed areas at least 100 feet from every property line, and machinery generating more than 70 decibels must stay at least 100 feet from the nearest neighboring residence.

Unpaved storage areas require dust control, and any outdoor area storing farm chemicals or fertilizer needs 6-foot security fencing. Smaller-scale farming carries its own permits: a Community Garden under one acre needs only a city Use Registration Permit, one exceeding an acre requires a Special Use Permit under Sec. 30-4-10, and accessory storage structures on a community garden in a residential district are capped at 12 feet by 12 feet. Electricity and on-site produce sales are prohibited at community gardens absent a Special Use Permit.

Urban Farms carry a different threshold: a minimum 30,000-square-foot lot, no permitted single-family dwelling on the parcel besides an allowed caretaker dwelling, and mandatory compliance with the animal-keeping standards of Sec. 3. Any Guilford County Health Department violation tied to a feeder/breeder operation is treated as a zoning violation in its own right under Sec. 6(B)(2).