Stafford Township, NJ Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Section 211-16 governs the Rural Residential Zone (RA) in Stafford Township, and its permitted-use list opens the door to agriculture directly. Subsection A(2) permits all farm and agricultural activities. The condition is distance: no building or area enclosing farm animals and livestock is allowed within 100 feet of any property line. Subsection A(3) covers buildings used for private or commercial horticulture or agricultural use, and any greenhouse heating plant or building must stay 50 feet from any lot line. Subsection A(4) allows stables housing horses for private use on a minimum of one acre of lot area for each horse, with no building or enclosure within 100 feet of any lot line.

Other zones treat farming on their own terms. The Low-Density Rural Residential Zone (RA-4) lists commercial farms, farm markets and pick-your-own farms as permitted uses in § 211-17A(6). In the Pinelands Forest Area Zone (FA), § 211-10C lists agriculture as a permitted use, § 211-10D adds agricultural employee housing that is an element of and accessory to an active agricultural operation, and § 211-10J allows agricultural commercial establishments, excluding supermarkets, restaurants and convenience stores, as long as the principal goods for sale were produced in the Pinelands and the sales area does not exceed 5,000 square feet.

Inside the Pinelands Area, § 211-9G(6) requires all agricultural activities, including the preparation of land and the planting, nurturing and harvesting of crops, to follow recommended management practices established for the particular activity by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the Soil Conservation Service and the New Jersey Agricultural Experimental Station at Rutgers University. A zoning permit from the Zoning Officer is required under § 213-1A before any building or structure is constructed, erected or altered, so a new barn, greenhouse or stable goes through that office first.