Spalding County, GA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Section 501 states the purpose of the AR-1 (Agricultural and Residential) district: it is intended to establish and preserve low-to-medium density areas where agriculture is the primary land use, with residences permitted as incidental to that use, and the district is meant to stay free of uses incompatible with low-to-medium density agricultural and residential activity. Section 503(A)(7) carries that purpose into the permitted-use list by naming 'Agriculture' outright as a principal use requiring no special exception or variance, alongside garden and crop growing in 503(A)(5) and government buildings and parks.

Section 503(C)(12) extends that protection to farm commerce: a roadside stand selling agricultural products grown on the same premises is a permitted accessory use, capped at 500 square feet of floor area, again without a special exception. Other AR-1 provisions reinforce the agricultural character of the district: 503(D) allows a Class B manufactured home as housing for farm employees when the property carries preferential agricultural tax assessment under O.C.G.A. 48-5-7.1 and the tract runs at least 100 acres, and 503(B)(17) treats riding academies and livestock exhibitions as special-exception uses rather than outright bans.

Boundaries of the AR-1 district are shown on the official zoning map referenced in Article 23, per Section 502. Because the district's stated purpose is to keep agriculture the dominant use, a rezoning application that would displace working farmland is measured against that purpose statement under the Section 414 amendment criteria, which weigh the existing use and character of the land.