Mount Pleasant, SC Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Overlay district
- Ten Mile Community Overlay (10M-O)
- Min. lot, apiculture/horticulture
- 5 highland acres
- Buffer under 5 acres
- 25-ft buffer or 75-ft setback
- Buffer 5+ acres
- 50-ft buffer or 150-ft setback
- Roadside/sweetgrass stand cap
- 500 sq ft, no zoning permit
- General penalty
- up to $500 fine or 30 days
Summary
In the Town of Mount Pleasant, agricultural uses are zoned narrowly: only the Ten Mile Community Overlay District (10M-O) lists apiculture, horticultural production and animal aquaculture as conditional uses at all. Town Council's § 156.262(A) conditions require a five-acre minimum lot and vegetated buffers or setbacks before Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods will approve a beekeeping or horticulture operation there.
(A) Apiculture (bee keeping) and horticultural production. Shall be subject to the following standards: (1) Such uses must be located on a lot with a minimum area of five highland acres. On lots with an area of less than five highland acres, such uses are allowed only if reviewed and approved in accordance with the special exception procedures of this chapter. (2) If the subject lot is less than five acres in size, a 25-foot vegetated buffer is required to adjoining parcels. In lieu of a planted 25-foot vegetated buffer, a 75-foot setback to the operation, from the side and rear property boundaries shall be provided.
Full Breakdown
262(A). Those standards set a five-highland-acre minimum lot for apiculture and horticultural production; smaller lots may proceed only through the chapter's special exception procedure. A lot under five acres must provide a 25-foot vegetated buffer to adjoining parcels, or, in lieu of planting, a 75-foot setback from the side and rear property boundaries; a lot of five acres or more needs a 50-foot buffer or a 150-foot setback. Mariculture operations must also meet the chapter's commercial dock requirements, and onsite sales of what is grown or raised are permitted only as an accessory use.
C. 262(C). A roadside or sweetgrass basket stand needs no zoning permit but is capped at 500 square feet of covered area, must sit at least five feet off the right-of-way, provide room for two parked cars clear of travel lanes, and may sit off the growing farm's own lot only if it stays within one mile of that farm under common ownership. Outside the 10M-O boundary, which Town Council extends over annexed Ten Mile Community land upon annexation, Mount Pleasant's zoning code carries no comparable agricultural-use category; the town's business districts are 'Areawide Business' (AB-1, AB-2), not agricultural.
Violations & Fines
Establishing an apiculture, horticultural or aquaculture use in the 10M-O without meeting the five-acre, buffer or setback standards of § 156.262(A), or without the special exception approval required on smaller lots, is a zoning violation the Zoning Administrator can act on. Absent a more specific penalty, the Town Code's general penalty, § 10.99, allows a fine of up to $500 or up to 30 days imprisonment, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep bees in the Town of Mount Pleasant?
Is there a right-to-farm ordinance in Mount Pleasant?
Can I sell produce or sweetgrass baskets from a roadside stand?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Pleasant
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Agricultural Zoning Protection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Charleston County handle agricultural zoning protection.