Knox County, TN Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

The RP, Rural Preservation Zone exists "to help insure the continued production of agricultural commodities by encouraging preservation of productive agricultural lands," and Sec. " The same section carries the county's clearest right-to-farm language: a note explaining that "certain agricultural uses are permissible by Tennessee state law under the Right to Farm Act and other regulations," and that uses meeting that standard "are exempt from planning commission review" entirely, meaning a qualifying farm operation does not need a use-on-review hearing before the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission.

Uses permitted outright in the RP zone under Sec. 02 include agricultural production, one office incidental to the farm, roadside stands for produce grown on site, agritourism, employee housing tied to an active agricultural operation, and animal feed and sales yards. Uses permitted on review include rural retreats, utility facilities, churches, dog kennels and bed-and-breakfast lodging. The zone's own area regulations, separate from the right-to-farm exemption, set a 50-foot setback on all sides, a 250-foot minimum lot frontage, 15 acres of lot area per dwelling, a 10 percent maximum lot coverage, and a 35-foot height limit except for silos and other agricultural production and storage structures, under Secs. 05.