Orem, UT Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Protected conditions
- occasional light, noise, dust, smoke
- Must be
- occasional, not continuous
- Plat notice radius
- 300 ft of overlay zone
- Governing section
- Orem City Code 22-12-6
- Owner can still
- stop farming or rezone anytime
Summary
Orem's Agriculture Overlay Zone comes with a built-in right-to-farm shield: City Code 22-12-6 says occasional excess light, noise, dust, or smoke from permitted farming is not a nuisance under city ordinances, so long as it is intermittent, tied to normal agricultural practice, and not a threat to public health or safety. New subdivisions nearby must disclose the risk on the plat.
Nuisance Protection. The City recognizes that the practice of the agricultural uses permitted herein may result in occasional excess light, noise, dust or smoke. Such occasional excess light, noise, dust or smoke shall not be considered a nuisance under the ordinances of the City of Orem provided that such conditions are occasional and not continuous, are the result of normal and accepted agricultural practices, and do not pose a threat to the public health, safety or welfare. ... Notice on Plat. The owner(s) of any new subdivision located within three hundred feet (300') of an agriculture overlay zone shall provide the following notice on any plat submitted to the City: "This property is located in the vicinity of an agriculture overlay zone in which certain agricultural uses are permitted. There may be certain negative effects associated with the agricultural practices...such as excess light, noise, dust, smoke etc."
Full Breakdown
The protection only covers uses the overlay itself makes lawful, meaning forestry, orchards, gardening, and plant nurseries operating under the -AG designation, and only shields conditions the code calls 'occasional' rather than continuous. A grower who runs equipment or generates dust, smoke, noise, or light around the clock, or in a way unrelated to normal and accepted agricultural practice, loses the shield and can still be cited as a nuisance like any other property owner. The City Council paired the immunity with a disclosure duty: any new subdivision plat submitted within three hundred feet of an agriculture overlay zone must carry a notice warning buyers that the property sits near land where agricultural uses, and their occasional light, noise, dust, or smoke, are permitted, and that living there is conditioned on accepting that annoyance.
The same section also commits the City Council to a broader policy: it will not adopt any ordinance, resolution, or policy that unreasonably restricts agricultural structures or practices in the overlay unless the restriction is necessary for public health, safety, or welfare, and it affirms the City's intent not to force an owner out of farming, though an owner remains free to stop farming and petition for a zone change at any time.
Violations & Fines
Because the nuisance shield is a defense rather than a standalone duty, the City does not fine landowners for invoking it. But a use that falls outside the shield, one that is continuous rather than occasional or unrelated to normal farming, can still be prosecuted as a nuisance or Class C misdemeanor zoning violation under City Code 22-1-6, carrying up to a $500 fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Orem's right-to-farm rule protect a farm operating 24/7?
Do new homes near an agriculture overlay get any warning?
Can Orem force an agriculture overlay owner to keep farming?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orem
Compare Orem to another location·View the Utah right to farm overview
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Farm Nuisance Protection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Utah County handle farm nuisance protection.