Jonesboro, AR Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Chapter 117's residential district framework lists AG - Agricultural district first among the city's 14 residential districts, describing its purpose as helping to preserve existing agricultural resources and guide the conversion of rural land to suburban use only when appropriate, with development standards built to implement long-range goals by preserving prime agricultural soils and protecting areas from premature development until they are well served by public facilities, Sec. 117-138(a)(1). Sec. 117-6(a) reinforces this by making the AG district (along with every other base district) the least intensive, most restrictive tier in the city's zoning hierarchy, meaning uses allowed there skew toward farming and low-density rural activity rather than urban development.

The AG district carries the largest lot standards in the city, a minimum lot width of 240 feet and a minimum lot area of five acres, with a 30-foot front setback and 30-foot rear setback, under the bulk dimensional table accompanying Sec. 117-138(d). The permitted-use table in that same section allows 'Agriculture, animal' (raising livestock) and 'Agriculture, crop' (growing plants, crops, trees and forestry products) by right in the AG district, along with agricultural product sales of goods grown on site, all defined at Sec.

117-2. Accessory dwelling units to house immediate family members or on-site employees are also allowed by right in the AG district under Sec. 117-226(1). This zoning-based approach means agricultural uses in AG-zoned land are a permitted, protected use rather than something a farmer must fight for through a conditional use permit, though the code does not include a separate nuisance-suit immunity statute for working farms.