Lee's Summit, MO Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

The Unified Development Ordinance carves out the AG Agricultural District specifically to keep farmland usable while the city grows around it. UDO Sec. A states the district is meant to "provide areas for restricted agricultural uses, very-low-density residential development and to serve as a 'holding zone' to prevent the premature development of large land acreage," reducing the impact of urban development on rural areas outside the sanitary sewer service area and conserving rural character. Table 6-2 (UDO Sec. 030) sets the AG density at 2 units per 10 acres under common ownership with a 10-acre minimum lot for either one or two dwelling units, plus a 330-foot minimum lot width.

Table 6-3 (Sec. 030) sets AG/RDR building setbacks at 100 feet from the front lot line (or the line established by existing homes on the block) and 50 feet on side and rear lines. Table 6-4 (Sec. 050) caps AG structures at 40 feet. Beyond the district itself, Sec. 160 (Agriculture operation) fixes working-farm standards city-wide within the district: livestock operations need a 10-acre minimum parcel, livestock buildings and feeding areas must sit back at least 200 feet from any separately owned or residentially zoned property, and each animal (poultry excepted) requires 5,000 square feet of fenced lot area outside the principal structure.

Poultry houses must be spaced 100 feet apart and set back 200 feet from residential property. A private stable needs a lot over one acre, with the structure at least 100 feet from the front line and 30 feet from side or rear lines, limited to one horse, pony or mule per 40,000 square feet of lot area. A tenant dwelling for persons employed on the agricultural operation is allowed but may not be rented to anyone else. UDO Sec. 150 defines "agricultural operation" broadly to include crop and nursery production, dairy farming, grazing, beekeeping, fish farms and fur-bearing animal farms, and on-site processing and marketing of what is grown, while expressly excluding commercial feed lots, slaughterhouses, and marijuana facilities from that protected definition.