Chico, CA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Protects
- Existing & future ag operations
- Condition
- Not a nuisance when it began
- Exception
- Negligent or improper operation
- Standard required
- Proper, accepted farming customs
Summary
Chico shields existing and future commercial farm operations from nuisance claims by neighbors, as long as the farming was lawful and not already a nuisance when it started, under Chico Municipal Code Section 19.64.020.
No existing or future agricultural operation or any of its appurtenances, conducted or maintained for commercial purposes and in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards shall become a nuisance to adjacent land uses when the action was not a nuisance at the time it began. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply whenever a nuisance results from the negligent or improper action of any agricultural operation or its appurtenances.
B. This chapter is not to be construed as modifying existing law relative to nuisances, but is only to be utilized in the interpretation and enforcement of the provisions of these Regulations. (Ord. 2185.)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Supplement contains local legislation current through: Codified Resolution No. 53-26, adopted 7-14-26 and Ordinance No. 2622, adopted 6-2-26).
Full Breakdown
Chico Municipal Code Section 19.64.020 protects agricultural operations near the city from being shut down through nuisance complaints once new residential neighbors move in. An operation conducted for commercial purposes, using proper and accepted farming customs and standards, cannot become a nuisance to adjacent land uses if it wasn't already a nuisance when it began: codifying a 'coming to the nuisance' defense for farmers. The protection has a limit: it doesn't apply where the nuisance actually results from an operation's own negligent or improper conduct, and the chapter doesn't rewrite general nuisance law, only how it's interpreted and enforced under these development regulations.
Violations & Fines
This section is a legal defense for farmers, not a duty with its own penalty: a neighbor's nuisance suit against a qualifying operation can be defeated by invoking Section 19.64.020, unless the operation acted negligently or improperly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a new subdivision force a nearby farm to shut down as a nuisance?
Is the protection absolute?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chico
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