Mosinee, WI Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Chapter 42's R-5 Agricultural and Estate District, established under Section 42-266, permits agriculture and general farming, livestock raising, truck farming, forestry, and poultry raising as of-right uses, alongside single-family dwellings, parks, campgrounds, open spaces, golf courses and cemeteries. The only carve-outs from the general farming permission are farms feeding offal or garbage and mink farming, both of which the code instead treats as conditional uses requiring a public hearing and permit under Section 42-267. Roadside stands for the display and sale of agricultural products are listed as a permitted accessory use on zoning lots where the principal use is agriculture, letting a working farm sell produce on-site without a separate commercial zoning classification.

The R-5 district also carries the largest lot requirements in the city's residential scheme: agriculture, general farming, livestock raising and poultry raising require a minimum five-acre lot with 300 feet of width under Section 42-268, and a 50-foot front yard with no other yard requirements under Section 42-269, reflecting the district's estate-sized parcels rather than urban lot dimensions. Mosinee's off-street parking article separately exempts the R-5 district from its general parking and vehicle-storage rules altogether, recognizing that farm equipment and vehicle needs on agricultural parcels do not fit the standard zoning parking table.

The city's animal-keeping chapter is cross-referenced directly to this district, since livestock keeping outside R-5 is treated differently under Chapter 10. This is a zoning permission rather than a nuisance-suit shield: Mosinee's code does not contain a separate right-to-farm liability provision, so the R-5 district's permitted-use list is the operative local protection for agricultural operations within city limits.