Mesa, AZ Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Title 11, Chapter 4 of the Mesa City Code creates the Agricultural (AG) zoning district specifically to protect and preserve agricultural lands and related activities in their present character and to protect agricultural lands from incompatible land uses and urban encroachment (§ 11-4-1). Table 11-4-2's footnote 1 then lists the uses that don't need discretionary review: aviaries and apiaries, plant nurseries and greenhouses, poultry, bird, and egg farms, and commercial breeding, training, and grazing of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, ostriches, and other livestock. Only dairies and feedlots are pulled out of that by-right list and require a Special Use Permit reviewed by the Zoning Administrator acting as a Hearing Officer or by the Board of Adjustment.

Section 11-4-4(B) backs the by-right permission with fixed setback distances rather than banning or capping the uses. Apiary hives and buildings must sit at least 75 feet from any neighboring residence, and aviary pens at least 40 feet. Poultry, bird, and egg farm structures, anything other than open pasture, must stay at least 200 feet from any residential, commercial, or employment district. Livestock operations need a site of at least 10 acres, with pens and corrals kept 40 feet and barns or stables 75 feet from neighboring homes. A grandfather clause in § 11-4-4(B)(4) protects structures already sited within these buffers before later construction closed the gap: the first structure built doesn't have to relocate unless it's later expanded, enlarged, or moved.