Kendall County, IL Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Section 36-279 sets out the purpose of Kendall County's A-1 Agricultural District: retaining land well suited to producing food and fiber, preserving fertile tillable soils, maintaining the economic base agriculture provides the County and region, preserving woodlands and wetlands associated with farms, and preventing scattered, indiscriminate urban development in agricultural areas. It caps residential density in areas identified as agricultural in the County's Land Resource Management Plan at one dwelling unit per 40 acres. Section 36-280 turns that purpose into County policy, directing that only uses clearly and primarily suited for agriculture be allowed in A-1, and that mixtures of urban and rural land use that create conflicts, impose unbalanced tax loads on agriculture, or force in urban services that hasten agriculture's elimination be prevented.

The section adds an explicit right-to-farm-style notice: property zoned A-1 or A-1 special use supports an agricultural industry the County has a long, rich tradition in, and anyone building a residence or facility near that zoning should be aware that normal agricultural practices may result in occasional smells, dust, sights, noise, and unique hours of operation not typical in other zoning areas. Section 36-281 backs this with a long list of permitted A-1 uses, including crop and tree farming, dairy and livestock farming, farm animals, grazing, horse breeding, and roadside stands selling only what is grown on the premises, so a farm operating any of these listed uses is not treated as a nonconforming or incompatible use next to newer residential construction.