Kootenai County, ID Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

To qualify, land must be at least five contiguous acres, actively devoted to agriculture or forest production, assessed as agriculture or forest land, and located in a zone allowing agricultural or forest use, with three consecutive years of active production consistent with Idaho Code 63-604 or 63-1701. Applicants file with the Department: a signed application form, board-set fees, a scaled site plan, proof of ownership, a legal description, a narrative on acreage and production history, and any soil surveys or water-rights documentation. The APA Commission reviews the application and issues a recommendation within 60 days, and the Director must issue a written approval or denial within 60 days after that.

Approved designations get recorded with the County Recorder within 10 days and folded into the Comprehensive Plan's future land use map. 409 prohibits large confined animal feeding operations unless the Board approves them, and bars residential, commercial, manufacturing, industrial, solar, or wind structures unless the use itself contributes to agricultural production; those non-agricultural uses also remain subject to Title 7, Chapter 1. A designation runs 20 years and auto-renews unless the landowner gives written notice to end it; ending it earlier requires a public hearing before the Board and clear and convincing proof of hardship. An aggrieved applicant can appeal the Director's decision to the Board within 30 days.