Macon-Bibb County, GA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Chapter 6 of the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution, the county's zoning code, establishes the A-Agricultural District. 01, the district's stated Intent, says the regulations are designed to permit only those land uses which are compatible with existing and future agricultural uses, and adds that because increasing residential development is occurring in agricultural areas, the regulations are designed to ensure that such residential development is compatible with the predominantly agricultural and open space character of the district. That intent is backed by real dimensional standards, not just a policy statement.

04 sets a minimum lot area of 43,560 square feet, one full acre, regardless of whether the lot uses a septic tank and well, septic tank alone, or public sewer, with a minimum lot width of 150 feet at the building line and a maximum lot coverage of 25 percent. 05 sets building setbacks of 60 feet on all sides (front, rear, and side) from arterial and collector street rights-of-way, 50 feet from minor street rights-of-way, and, for interior lot lines, 60 feet front, 50 feet rear, and 20 feet side.

03 provides otherwise. Together these large-lot, low-coverage, generous-setback standards operate as the county's agricultural-zoning protection: they keep the district's minimum development footprint large enough that farming and open-space uses remain the dominant, compatible use even as residential building continues nearby. Neither the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution nor the general county code contains a separate right-to-farm nuisance-immunity statute; the protection Macon-Bibb County provides for agriculture runs through this zoning framework.