San Jacinto, CA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

San Jacinto adopts a right-to-farm policy in § 17.305.040 of its Development Code, tied to California Civil Code Section 3482.5. The City declares a policy to preserve, protect and encourage development of its agricultural land. Under the text the City prints, no agricultural activity, operation or facility conducted or maintained for commercial purposes, in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards followed by similar operations in the same locality, becomes a nuisance due to a changed condition in or about the locality after more than three years of operation, if it was not a nuisance when it began. The policy does not apply if the operation obstructs free passage or use of any public park, square, street or highway, and it does not invalidate nuisance provisions in the Health and Safety Code, Fish and Game Code, Food and Agricultural Code, or Division 7 of the Water Code.

The practical teeth sit in subsections B and C. If a subdivision is at any point located within 300 feet of land zoned or used for agricultural uses, approval of the tentative and final subdivision map or parcel map is conditional on recording a right to farm covenant with the County Recorder. The covenant states that the property is in or near agricultural zones or operations and that residents should be prepared to accept the inconveniences and discomfort associated with normal farm activities. It runs with the land and binds all future owners, heirs, successors and assigns.

Project applicants must also prepare a written disclosure statement before the sale, lease or rental of a dwelling unit located within 300 feet of land zoned or used for agricultural purposes. The statement says buyers and occupants will live in an area with active agricultural operations where noise, odors and outdoor activity levels can be more intrusive than in a typical suburban residential area, and each buyer or tenant signs it to acknowledge receipt.

Two related rules back this up. Section 17.300.070 declares noxious odorous emissions a public nuisance but carves out agricultural operations that comply with § 17.305.040. Section 17.305.110.F.1 requires a developer of a residential project to install buffers between the project and adjacent agricultural uses such as dairy farms, crops and horse farms, subject to Director approval.