Peoria County, IL Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- District
- A-1 Agricultural Preservation District
- Preferred land use
- Agriculture
- Core goal
- Severely restrict non-farm development
- Protects farms from
- Encroachment by incompatible non-farm uses
- Dimensional standards
- Set by UDO Article 6
Summary
Peoria County's A-1 Agricultural Preservation District exists specifically to keep farmland in farming: it severely restricts non-farm development, shields working farms from encroachment by incompatible uses, and makes agriculture the preferred land use across the district.
The A-1 Agricultural District is established to conserve farmland and to encourage continued agricultural activities, thereby helping to ensure that sustainable agriculture will continue as a long term land use and a viable economic activity within the County. The preferred land use in the A-1 District is agriculture. More specifically, the District is established to severely restrict non-farm development in predominantly agricultural areas in order to:1.Preserve productive agricultural land for continued food and fiber production;2.Protect productive farms from encroachment by incompatible non-farm uses;3.Maintain the County's existing agricultural base to support agricultural processing and related service industries; and4.Preserve the maximum freedom of operation for those legitimate agricultural purposes permitted in this District.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).
Full Breakdown
UDO Sec. 1 sets out the purpose of the A-1 Agricultural Preservation District: to conserve farmland and encourage continued agricultural activities so sustainable agriculture remains a long-term, viable economic use in the county, while also preserving natural features and the rural landscape and allowing only low-density residential development that minimizes impact on farming operations. The code names agriculture as the preferred land use in the district and states the intent to permanently protect from development the tracts of land remaining after any permitted residential development occurs.
To carry that out, the district is designed to severely restrict non-farm development in predominantly agricultural areas for four stated reasons: preserving productive agricultural land for continued food and fiber production, protecting productive farms from encroachment by incompatible non-farm uses, maintaining the county's agricultural base to support related processing and service industries, and preserving the maximum freedom of operation for legitimate agricultural purposes permitted in the district. Under Sec. 2, the specific uses allowed in the A-1 District are governed by the district's use-regulation section, and under Sec.
3 all development in A-1 is additionally subject to the density and dimensional standards set out in Article 6, Bulk Regulations, Density, and Dimensional Standards, which caps building height, sets minimum lot area, and limits lot coverage county-wide.
Violations & Fines
Developing or subdividing land in the A-1 District in a way that does not conform to the permitted-use list or Article 6 dimensional standards is a zoning violation enforceable under the county code's general penalty section, Sec. 1-10, which allows a fine of up to $1,000.00 per offense, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense; the Zoning Administrator can also deny or revoke a building permit for noncompliant construction in the district.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of Peoria County's A-1 zoning district?
Can I build a non-farm business on A-1 land?
Does A-1 zoning protect existing farms from nearby development?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Peoria County
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