Jackson, NJ Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Section 244-61 of the Land Use and Development Regulations, added by Ordinance No. 35-10 on November 9, 2010, establishes the AR Agricultural Retention Zone recognizing the value in the retention and preservation of agricultural farmlands and providing for the continued preservation, conservation, and protection of existing farmlands across Jackson Township, New Jersey, a Pinelands community where farmland sits alongside fast-growing residential neighborhoods. The zone permits, as principal uses by right, all farm and agricultural uses including agricultural nurseries, stables, dairies, greenhouses, cranberry bogs and aquaculture farms, plus farms devoted to breeding and training horses, raising livestock, producing produce, flowers or livestock feed, and growing trees and shrubs; land simply preserved for farming purposes is also a permitted use.

Single-family homes are allowed in the AR Zone too, but only if they meet the bulk standards of the R-5 Residential Zone. A farmers' market is not permitted outright; § 244-61C sends it through the conditional-use process under § 244-119. The AR Zone carries substantial lot requirements: an interior lot needs a minimum of six acres, or 261,360 square feet, with a 300-foot minimum width and frontage and a 400-foot minimum depth, reflecting the Township's intent to keep large parcels intact for farming rather than subdivided.

Elsewhere in the zoning code, § 244-46 lists all farm and agriculture activities, horses, livestock and poultry raising as a permitted principal use in the R-2, R-3 and R-5 Residential Zones as well, and § 244-163 separately allows roadside stands selling farm-raised products, provided the stand sits at least 40 feet from any street line, and permits residents in any residential zone to raise vegetables and fruit for personal use.