Raleigh, NC Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Raleigh created the Agriculture Productive (AP) special district specifically "to conserve agricultural land and undeveloped natural amenities while preventing the encroachment of incompatible land uses on farm land and other undeveloped areas," per UDO Sec. " The dimensional standards implementing that intent, set in Sec. 1 (Detached House) and Sec. 2 (General Building), keep density low and lots large. 9 acres) and 350 feet of lot width, and density is capped at one dwelling unit per agriculture tract: there is no by-right subdivision into smaller residential lots.

Setbacks are steep on every side: 150 feet from the primary street, the side street, the side lot line, and the rear lot line alike, and overall height for all structures tops out at 40 feet or 3 stories, whichever is lower. A General Building in the AP district needs a slightly smaller 100,000-square-foot minimum lot with the same 350-foot width and 150-foot building setbacks, plus a separate 100-foot parking setback from every property line. Allowed building elements in the AP district are limited to porches, stoops and balconies for Detached Houses, and balconies, galleries and awnings for General Buildings, under Sec.

D and Sec. E. The practical effect of these numbers is that only large-acreage farm and estate tracts can be developed as of right in the AP district; anything smaller has to seek rezoning to a conventional residential district before it can be subdivided or built more densely.