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

Section 1.3.6, Bona Fide Farms Exempt, states plainly that the provisions of the ordinance shall not apply to bona fide farms including start-up farms, except that a farm property used for non-farm purposes shall not be exempt from regulation, and carves out one exception: the floodplain management standards in Appendix G still apply to bona fide farms located in a special flood hazard area, because the county must enforce them countywide to remain in the National Flood Insurance Program. The section defines a bona fide farm using the state law test at G.S. § 160D-903, and requires a start-up farm seeking that status to document that it meets every element of the statute.

The exemption reaches specific agricultural uses elsewhere in the code. Section 2.4, the A-C Agricultural Conservation District, is written to allow for greater flexibility for agricultural related uses in rural farming areas and to encourage a viable farming community, while Section 2.5's R-A Residential Agricultural District exists to encourage the continuance of agricultural uses. The performance standards for agricultural tourism (R2) confirm that a farm tourism enterprise operated on a bona fide farm is not subject to zoning regulations, and the winery standard (R60) exempts production wineries that use crops grown on-site as a bona fide farming use. A bona fide farm building used to store farm materials or livestock is likewise defined in Chapter 16 as exempt from the zoning code, while a similar building not tied to a bona fide farm must meet the underlying district's setbacks.