Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 251, the Right to Farm Act, protects established agricultural operations from nuisance suits when neighbors arrive after farming began. Dallas County operations qualify under state law.
Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 251 bars nuisance lawsuits against agricultural operations that have been in operation for one year or more, provided they have not substantially changed practices. Protected activity includes crop production, livestock, dairy, poultry, equine, beekeeping, and routine farm noise, dust, odor, and chemical application. The 2023 amendments via HB 1750 strengthened protections by requiring plaintiffs to live within one half mile of the operation and capping damages. Dallas County has limited remaining farmland concentrated in southern and western unincorporated pockets and the Trinity River bottoms, but qualifying operations there receive the state shield. Dallas County does not layer a separate county right-to-farm ordinance on top. Disputes route through Dallas County district court.
A nuisance suit against a covered farm can be dismissed under Chapter 251. The 2023 amendments allow recovery of attorney fees by the prevailing farm and cap punitive damages, deterring frivolous suits.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Garland, TX
Amplified sound in Garland is regulated under Chapter 32; sound 'plainly audible' more than 50 feet from the source after 10 PM is a violation.
Garland, TX
Garland restricts construction noise to daytime hours, with most loud work prohibited overnight and limited on Sundays under Chapter 32 of the Code of Ordina...
Garland, TX
Garland permits leaf blower use under its general noise ordinance, restricting operation to daytime hours with no specific gas-powered ban.
Garland, TX
Garland regulates noise from industrial uses along the I-30 and IH-635 corridors through zoning performance standards and the Code of Ordinances Chapter 32 n...
Garland, TX
Garland generally allows overnight on-street parking in residential areas, but restricts vehicles parked continuously in the same spot for more than 48-72 ho...
Garland, TX
Garland follows Texas Transportation Code Chapter 683, defining vehicles as junked or abandoned if inoperable, unregistered, wrecked, or left on public prope...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Dallas County.
See how Garland's farm nuisance protection rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.