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

Rutherford County does not operate a conventional agricultural zoning district; unincorporated land is governed by the Voluntary Agricultural District ordinance, Appendix A, Article VIII, adopted January 9, 2017 under authority of G.S. 106-735 through 106-744 and Chapter 153A. Section 6 sets the enrollment threshold: a district must contain a minimum of 50 contiguous acres of qualified farmland, or two or more qualifying farms that together total at least 50 acres and sit within a mile of each other, and a district can later grow by adding more qualifying farms.

To become certified qualifying farmland under Section 7, a farm must be engaged in agriculture as defined by G.S. 106-581.1, follow federal erosion-control practices on any highly erodible land, sit in the unincorporated county or under an interlocal agreement with a municipality, and be the subject of a conservation agreement between the landowner and the county that bars non-farm use or development of the land for at least 10 years, with an exception allowing creation of up to three lots that meet the county's own zoning and subdivision rules.

A seven-member Agricultural Advisory Board, appointed by the board of commissioners with at least five members actively farming, reviews applications within 60 days, and a denial can be appealed first to the board for reconsideration and then to the board of commissioners under Section 8. Enrolled land is marked on maps kept at the register of deeds, planning department, tax office, and soil and water conservation district, and enrolled landowners are not required to connect to county water or sewer systems, with any assessment held in abeyance under Section 10 until the property does connect.