Gordon County, GA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Right-to-farm protection in unincorporated Gordon County sits inside Section 4.03.02(K) of the Unified Land Development Code, the standards for Dry Litter Poultry Operations. The purpose clause says the Board of Commissioners recognizes that farming is a large part of the history and heritage of Gordon County and that poultry farming is an important element of the county economy. It also records resident complaints about odor, dust and noise from newer, larger chicken houses built near existing neighborhoods, and it cites the Georgia Supreme Court's statement that a nuisance can be the right thing in the wrong place.

The operative shield is in subsection 6. No agricultural facility, agricultural operation or agricultural support facility becomes a nuisance, public or private, because conditions around it changed, once the facility or operation has been running one year or more. The protection ends when a nuisance results from negligent, improper or illegal operation. Existing poultry operations that predate the amendment and miss the new requirements stay as existing uses.

For new operations the trade-off is a conditional use permit issued by the Board of Commissioners or its designee, processed like a rezoning under Chapter 10. A dry litter operation means more than 1,000 birds on site at any time. The confinement area cannot sit within 200 feet of the parcel boundary, 500 feet of any residence, 1,500 feet of a school, hospital, church, public park, senior center, nursing home, restaurant or public community center, or 200 feet of a perennial stream. Under the complaint process the County Ordinance Officer documents a written complaint, visits the operation, notifies the integrator and decides whether to issue a citation. Fixing the problem is not a defense, but it can be weighed in mitigation of punishment.