The California Right to Farm Act under Civil Code 3482.5 protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits brought by neighbors who moved in after farming began. The law applies statewide and limits both private and local government nuisance actions.
Civil Code 3482.5 provides that no agricultural activity, operation, or facility conducted on agricultural land for commercial purposes shall be considered a nuisance, private or public, after it has been in operation for more than three years if the operation was not a nuisance at its inception. The protection extends against changed surrounding conditions, including new residential development encroaching on farm areas. The statute applies statewide and binds counties, cities, and private parties. Local nuisance ordinances cannot override the state's three-year farming protection. Operations conducted negligently or in violation of state or federal law lose protection.
Plaintiffs filing barred nuisance actions may face dismissal and statutory attorney fees under Civil Code 3482.5(b) when the agricultural defendant prevails.
Tulare County, CA
Tulare County Ordinance Code Part 4, Chapter 7 (Control of Animals) defines an Animal Nuisance to include a chronic, continuous excessively loud or disturbin...
Tulare County, CA
Unincorporated Tulare County has no stand-alone quiet-hours ordinance with set decibel limits or numeric night-time cutoffs. Noise is regulated through the C...
Tulare County, CA
Unincorporated Tulare County regulates parking on public roads under Part 7, Chapter 19 (Regulations Concerning Streets and Highways) and California Vehicle ...
Tulare County, CA
Tulare County is one of California's leading agricultural counties, and the Tulare County Zoning Ordinance broadly permits chickens, roosters, cattle, sheep,...
Tulare County, CA
Tulare County Ordinance Code Part 4, Chapter 7 (Control of Animals) requires dogs in unincorporated Tulare County to be under the immediate physical control ...
Tulare County, CA
Tulare County Ordinance Code Part 4, Chapter 11 (Fire Hazardous Weeds and Rubbish) requires property owners to maintain weeds and grass at no more than 3 inc...
See how Tulare's farm nuisance protection rules stack up against other locations.
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