Sacramento County, CA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Protection kicks in after
- 3 years of operation
- Applies to
- commercial agricultural operations
- Adopted
- July 10, 1990
- Complaint office
- Agricultural Commissioner
Summary
Sacramento County shields established commercial farms from nuisance lawsuits once they've operated three years without complaint, under its 1990 Right-to-Farm Ordinance.
No agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, conducted or maintained for commercial purposes, and in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards, as established and followed by similar agricultural operations in the same locality, shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, due to any changed condition in or about the locality, after the same has been in operations for more than three years if it was not a nuisance at the time it began.
b. Subsection (a) shall not apply if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, or any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway.
c. This section shall not invalidate any provisions contained in the Health and Safety Code, Fish and Game Code, Food and Agricultural Code, or Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code, if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, constitute a nuisance, public or private, as specifically defined or described in any such provisions. (SCC 0802 § 2, 1990)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4941150; v18 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
County Code § 14.05.050 provides that a commercial agricultural operation run to accepted local standards cannot become a private or public nuisance due to changed conditions nearby, once it has operated more than three years without having been a nuisance when it began. The protection doesn't apply if the operation blocks public roads, waterways, or parks, or where state health, fish, game, or water-code nuisance provisions specifically apply.
Violations & Fines
This is a nuisance-liability shield for farmers, not a penalty provision; complaints about a neighboring farm go to the County Agricultural Commissioner under § 14.05.400 for review rather than code enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a neighbor sue an established farm for nuisance in unincorporated Sacramento County?
Is there a way to complain about a farm operation anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sacramento County
California rules heatmap·Compare Sacramento County to another location·View the California right to farm overview
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