Howell, NJ Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

Chapter 244 of the Howell Township Code opens with a sweeping finding. Section 244-1A ordains farming as a permitted use everywhere in the Township, subject only to the area and bulk requirements in Chapter 188, Land Use, and to Township, county and State ordinances on health, sanitation and environmental protection. The protected practices include irrigation pumps and equipment, aerial and ground seeding and spraying, tractors, farm laborers, chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides, composting and on-site disposal of organic waste. Horses, cows and other grazing livestock, fowl production and swine (under Board of Health regulations) are covered, along with farm stands and farm markets, fences and parking areas that conform to Township codes. Livestock fencing needs no permits and fees. Section 244-1B allows reasonable and necessary activities on holidays, Sundays and weekdays, at night and in the day.

Neighbors get notice rather than a veto. Under § 244-2A a developer or landowner building or selling a dwelling within 1,500 feet in any direction of an active farm must tell prospective purchasers, and a development next to active farm use must erect and maintain a buffer zone of at least 50 feet on its own property. The Planning Board requires a recorded notice and waiver in every contract and deed for adjacent subdivisions, and § 244-3 bars any structure, activity, storage of materials or parking of vehicles in the buffer. Section 244-4 allows barns, storage buildings and equipment buildings related to farming if built under Township Building Codes.

Article II, adopted 3-4-2025, covers on-farm direct marketing for a designated QFarm or a commercial farm recognized by the State Agriculture Development Committee or the County Agricultural Development Board. Activities run from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Chapter 208 Noise applies, the primary farm business sign tops out at 32 square feet, and crop mazes and bonfires need Howell Township Fire Bureau approval. Complaints go to the Farmer's Advisory Committee, which hears them within 30 days.