Rock Hill, SC Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Appendix 3-E of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Rock Hill sets the standards for the Rural Residential (RR) and Rural Commercial (RC) zoning districts, and states that unless the appendix says otherwise, all standard Zoning Ordinance rules still apply on top of it. Section A, Right to Farm, added effective June 22, 2026, requires that any new residence built within one mile of an existing farm, measured from the residence to the farm's property line, must grant the farm owner a right-to-farm easement allowing generally acceptable agricultural management practices to generate noise, odors, dust, light, and similar impacts on adjacent parcels.

The same appendix reinforces the districts' rural character elsewhere: Section B exempts RR/RC parcels of five acres or more from connecting to City water or sewer unless service is available immediately adjacent to the property and connection costs are within 10% of installing a well or septic system instead, though owners may still request connection at any time. Section C lets a property owner build more than one residence per lot in RR or RC if the owner lives on the property, the additional units house relatives by blood, marriage, or adoption, density stays at or under one unit per two acres with a maximum of seven units, the land is not conveyed to an unrelated party within five years, and it is not subdivided within fifteen years of approval.

Together these provisions are what give the RR/RC districts their agricultural character and explain why the right-to-farm easement was layered on top as new rural-residential growth approaches existing farmland.