Lawton, OK Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Lawton City Code § 15-1-101
- Exemption reach
- Preexisting agricultural activities citywide
- Weed definition excludes
- Tended crops on ag-zoned land
- Required buffer
- 150 feet from non-ag zoning
- Effect
- No weeds/trash nuisance citation issued
Summary
Lawton's nuisance and weeds ordinance carves out agriculture: Section 15-1-101 says its nuisance definitions don't reach preexisting agricultural activities, and the code's own definition of a regulated "weed" excludes tended crops grown on land zoned for agricultural use, as long as the crop sits more than 150 feet from any parcel zoned for something other than agriculture.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein. This section shall not apply to preexisting agricultural activities. ... "Weeds" includes all vegetation at any stage of maturity which:a.Exceeds twelve (12) inches in height, except healthy trees, shrubs or produce for human consumption or vegetation in a tended and cultivated garden unless such vegetation by its density or location constitutes a detriment to the health, benefit and welfare of the public and interferes with the mowing of said weeds ... The term "weed" does not include tended crops on land zoned for agricultural use which are planted more than one hundred fifty (150) feet from a parcel zoned for other than agricultural use.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 15, Article 15-1 of the Lawton City Code defines the public nuisances that code enforcement can cite, including the tall-weeds violation that drives most yard citations in the city under Section 15-2-201. " Together, the two clauses function as Lawton's right-to-farm protection: an operation that was already farming when a nuisance complaint arises, and any tended crop grown on agriculturally zoned ground set back at least 150 feet from non-agricultural zoning, falls outside the weed and nuisance provisions that Articles 15-1 and 15-2 use to cite ordinary residential lots.
A farm inside that buffer, or a crop abutting a residential or commercial parcel, loses the exemption and is measured against the same twelve-inch standard as any other lot in the city. The protection is narrow and definitional rather than a broad immunity from all city regulation: it shields the property from the weeds/trash nuisance chapter specifically, not from separate code requirements such as zoning, drainage, or animal-keeping rules found elsewhere in the Code of Ordinances.
Violations & Fines
Because the carve-out removes qualifying farmland from the nuisance definition entirely, there is no citation, fine, or abatement order to violate; the administrative officer has no authority to write a weeds/trash notice under Section 15-2-201 against a preexisting agricultural operation or a tended crop meeting the 150-foot buffer. Losing the exemption, because farming started after the nuisance existed or the buffer distance isn't met, exposes the parcel to the standard first-offense $300 weed citation that applies to any other lot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lawton's code protect all farmland from nuisance complaints?
What counts as a "weed" under Lawton's code?
Can a farm operation lose its right-to-farm exemption?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lawton
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