Brentwood, CA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Municipal Code Chapter 8.01, Right to Farm
- Nuisance defense
- § 8.01.030 bars nuisance claims against proper farms
- Disclosure trigger
- Property within 2,000 feet of agricultural land
- Grievance body
- Contra Costa County agricultural commissioner's committee
- Adopted
- Ordinance 612, 1999
Summary
Brentwood's Right to Farm ordinance, Municipal Code Chapter 8.01, shields agricultural operations on the city's East County farmland from nuisance lawsuits and complaints filed by nonagricultural neighbors. Section 8.01.030 declares that a properly run farm operating under normal customs cannot become a public nuisance just because homes or businesses later locate nearby, and it specifically protects slow-moving farm vehicles on public roads.
No present or future agricultural operation conducted or maintained on agricultural lands, and in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards, shall be or become a public nuisance due to presence of a nonagricultural use near the agricultural operation if the agricultural operation has been established and was not a nuisance when it began. It shall be recognized that farm vehicles using public roadways oftentimes travel at slower speed than is customary for nonfarm vehicles. This shall not be considered a public nuisance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4604307; v5 updated 2025-12-09).
Full Breakdown
01 of the Municipal Code, protects agricultural operations in the city's East County farmland from being shut down or curtailed by nuisance complaints from newer, nonagricultural neighbors. 020, meaning compliance with applicable local, state and federal law consistent with other farms in the Brentwood region. 040. 050. The Community Development Department at 104 Oak Street administers the disclosure program. 090 lets either side take the dispute to the grievance committee created under Contra Costa County's own Right to Farm Ordinance, County Ordinance No. 97-38, reached through the county agricultural commissioner.
That committee must meet within thirty days of a written request and issue an advisory decision within twenty days of the meeting, and its ruling does not bind either party. 100 allows the parties to agree instead to binding arbitration under Code of Civil Procedure Title 9. 110, decided case by case by the Community Development Department.
Violations & Fines
There is no criminal penalty in Chapter 8.01 itself: the ordinance operates as a legal defense and disclosure requirement rather than a code the city enforces against farmers. Property owners near farmland who skip the mandatory Section 8.01.060 transfer disclosure, or developers who omit the Section 8.01.050 recorded condition on discretionary permits, can be compelled by the Community Development Department to correct the paperwork before an entitlement is deemed complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue my Brentwood neighbor's farm for noise or dust?
Do I have to disclose nearby farmland when I sell my house?
What can I do if a farm operation is genuinely a problem?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Brentwood
California rules heatmap·Compare Brentwood to another location·View the California right to farm overview
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