Okaloosa County, FL Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

The Agriculture (AA) district, described in Sections 2.01.00 through 2.01.06 of the Land Development Code, is the county's zoning classification for production of plants and animals useful to humans, covering aquaculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, silviculture, dairy, livestock, poultry, bees, and general farm production. Section 2.01.04(1) permits general agriculture as of right: cropland, pastureland, orchards, vineyards, nurseries, groves, tree farms, timberland, feedlots, farmhouses, barns, stables, silos, farm accessory buildings and sheds, and seasonal roadside produce stands, all without a special exception.

The district also allows residential use tied to the farm operation. Section 2.01.04(5) permits single-family detached homes, Category A and B manufactured homes, and customary accessory structures, and specifically allows more than one dwelling on the same parcel when the extra homes house members of the owner's immediate family, farm workers, or caretakers employed by the owner, so long as those units are not rented or sold separately. Table 2.1 sets the AA district's bulk standards: a 10-acre minimum lot (one acre under conditional criteria), no more than one dwelling per 10 acres (one per acre conditional), 40-foot front and 25-foot side and rear setbacks, and a 75-foot maximum building height.

Because the AA district's permitted-use list already authorizes ordinary farm buildings and activity, it works alongside, not instead of, the Section 1.05.00(3) exemption tying the Code to the state Right to Farm Act; AA zoning tells a farmer what can be built, while the exemption limits how far the county's own review reaches.