Josephine County, OR Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Zones covered
- Exclusive Farm (EF) and Farm Resource (FR), plus adjacent zones
- Protected practices
- "Normal resource management practices"
- Interpretation rule
- Conflicts resolved in favor of resource practices
- State framework
- ORS Chapter 215, Statewide Planning Goal 3
- Named non-nuisances
- Noise, dust, or odor from farm practices
Summary
Section 19.64.010 of the Rural Land Development Code declares that normal farm and resource-management practices in the county's Exclusive Farm and Farm Resource zones are not a nuisance, even when they produce noise, dust or odor, and directs that any conflict between a farm zone resident and resource practices be resolved in favor of the resource practice.
The purposes of the exclusive farm and farm resource zones (hereinafter called "farm zones") are to preserve agricultural land most appropriate for farm use and to provide beneficial uses for lands not capable of farming without creating conflicts between suburban expansion and farm use. The uses established by this zone are the ones authorized by ORS Chapter 215, and which are acknowledged to be in compliance with the Statewide Planning Goal 3 for agricultural lands which are potentially productive for farm use. The farm zones are intended to guarantee the right to conduct normal farm practices and to facilitate and encourage resource management activities. Normal resource management practices shall not be considered a nuisance in the farm zones or adjacent zones. Nothing in this regulation is intended to interfere with normal resource management practices that might result in conditions such as noise, dust or odor. Residents of the farm zones should recognize that the intent of the farm zones is to protect resource activities, and in the event of a conflict between residential use and resource practices, this title will be interpreted in favor of resource practices.
Full Breakdown
010 does double duty: it establishes the zones as implementing the uses authorized by ORS Chapter 215 in compliance with Statewide Planning Goal 3, and it builds in an explicit right-to-farm protection. The provision states the farm zones are intended to guarantee the right to conduct normal farm practices and to facilitate and encourage resource management activities, and that normal resource management practices are not to be considered a nuisance in the farm zones or in zones adjacent to them, extending the shield beyond the farm zone's own boundary to neighboring land such as Rural Residential parcels.
The code goes further than a simple non-nuisance label: it says the regulation is not intended to interfere with practices that produce noise, dust or odor, naming the exact complaints a rural neighbor is most likely to raise. The closing sentence is an interpretive command to Planning and hearing bodies rather than a numeric standard: where residential use and resource practices conflict, Title 19 is to be interpreted in favor of the resource practice. 050, which set the confinement and structure-setback rules for farm animals on adjoining Rural Residential land.
Violations & Fines
This section is a declaration of purpose and interpretive rule rather than a numeric standard, so it is not independently violated by a landowner. Instead, a nuisance claim against a normal farm practice, or a Review Body decision that treats ordinary farm noise, dust or odor as a code violation, runs contrary to § 19.64.010's express direction to interpret Title 19 in favor of resource practices whenever a conflict arises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my neighbor sue over noise or dust from a farm in Josephine County's farm zones?
Does the right-to-farm protection apply outside the Exclusive Farm and Farm Resource zones?
How does the county resolve a conflict between a farm use and a nearby resident?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Josephine County
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