Stockton, CA Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)

040 declares that no commercial agricultural activity, operation, or facility conducted consistent with recognized minimum industry customs and standards can become a private or public nuisance because of changed conditions on nearby land, protecting farms from being sued out of existence as subdivisions grow up around them. Any tentative subdivision map or use permit that converts agricultural land to urban use must include a condition requiring a deed restriction, approved by the Stockton City Attorney, in which the new landowner waives any right to complain about the neighboring farming operation.

Approval of parcel maps, tentative maps, or vesting tentative maps adjacent to or near agricultural land also triggers a disclosure duty: the owner, developer, or successor must notify every lot purchaser of the nature and extent of nearby agricultural activity, and if a builder buys the first lot, the builder has to pass that notice on to the eventual homeowner. 5, which shields typical agricultural activity from nuisance claims except in limited circumstances. A conclusive legal presumption backs this up: anyone who buys or occupies land the City converted from agriculture to urban use is presumed to have known about existing or future farming nearby and to have waived any objection to it. The City also commits to working with the City of Lodi and other agencies to fund conservation easements between the two cities.