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41-1-7. Treatment of agricultural facilities and operations and
forest land as nuisances
(a) It is the declared policy of the state to conserve,
protect, and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural and forest
land and facilities for the production or distribution of food and other
agricultural products, including without limitation forest products. When
nonagricultural land uses extend into agricultural or agriculture-supporting
industrial or commercial areas or forest land or when there are changed
conditions in or around the locality of an agricultural facility or
agricultural support facility, such operations often become the subject of
nuisance actions. As a result, such facilities are sometimes forced to cease
operations. Many others are discouraged from making investments in agricultural
support facilities or farm improvements or adopting new related technology or
methods. It is the purpose of this Code section to reduce losses of the state's
agricultural and forest land resources by limiting the circumstances under
which agricultural facilities and operations or agricultural support facilities
may be deemed to be a nuisance.
(b) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) "Agricultural area" means any land which
is, or may be, legally used for an agricultural operation under applicable
zoning laws, rules, and regulations at the time of commencement of the
agricultural operation of the agricultural facility at issue and throughout the
first year of operation of such agricultural facility. Any land which is not
subject to zoning laws, rules, and regulations at the time of commencement of
an agricultural operation of an agricultural facility and throughout the first
year of operation of such agricultural facility shall be deemed an
"agricultural area" for purposes of this Code section.
(2) "Agricultural facility" includes, but is
not limited to, any land, building, structure, pond, impoundment, appurtenance,
machinery, or equipment which is used for the commercial production or
processing of crops, livestock, animals, poultry, honeybees, honeybee products,
livestock products, poultry products, timber, forest products, or products
which are used in commercial aquaculture. Such term shall also include any farm
labor camp or facilities for migrant farm workers.
(3) "Agricultural operation" means:
(A) The plowing, tilling, or
preparation of soil at an agricultural facility;
(B) The planting, growing,
fertilizing, harvesting, or otherwise maintaining of crops as defined in Code
Section 1-3-3 and also timber and trees that are grown for purposes other than
for harvest and for sale;
(C) The application of pesticides,
herbicides, or other chemicals, compounds, or substances to crops, weeds, or
soil in connection with the production of crops, timber, livestock, animals, or
poultry;
(D) The breeding, hatching, raising,
producing, feeding, keeping, slaughtering, or processing of livestock, hogs,
equines, chickens, turkeys, poultry or other fowl normally raised for food,
mules, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, rabbits, or similar farm animals for
commercial purposes;
(E) The production and keeping of
honeybees, the production of honeybee products, and honeybee processing
facilities;
(F) The production, processing, or
packaging of eggs or egg products;
(G) The manufacturing of feed for
poultry or livestock;
(H) The rotation of crops, including
without limitation timber production;
(I) Commercial aquaculture;
(J) The application of existing,
changed, or new technology, practices, processes, or procedures to any
agricultural operation; and
(K) The operation of any roadside
market.
(3.1) "Agricultural support facility" means
any food processing plant or forest products processing plant together with all
related or ancillary activities, including trucking; provided, however, that
this term expressly excludes any rendering plant facility or operation.
(4) "Changed conditions" means any one or more
of the following:
(A) Any change in the use of land in
an agricultural area or in an industrial or commercial area affecting an
agricultural support facility;
(B) An increase in the magnitude of an
existing use of land in or around the locality of an agricultural facility or
agricultural support facility and includes, but is not limited to, urban sprawl
into an agricultural area or into an industrial or commercial area in or around
the locality of such facility, or an increase in the number of persons making
any such use, or an increase in the frequency of such use; or
(C) The construction or location of
improvements on land in or around the locality of an agricultural facility or
agricultural support facility closer to such facility than those improvements
located on such land at the time of commencement of the agricultural or
agricultural support operation or the agricultural facility or agricultural
support facility at issue and throughout the first year of operation of said facility.
(4.1) "Food processing plant" means a
commercial operation that manufactures, packages, labels, distributes, or
stores food for human consumption and does not provide food directly to a
consumer.
(4.2) "Forest products processing plant" means
a commercial operation that manufactures, packages, labels, distributes, or
stores any forest product or that manufactures, packages, labels, distributes,
or stores any building material made from gypsum rock.
(4.3) "Rendering plant" has the meaning
provided by Code Section
(5) "Urban sprawl" means either of the
following or both:
(A) With regard to an agricultural
area or agricultural operation:
(i) The conversion
of agricultural areas from traditional agricultural use to residential use; or
(ii) An increase in
the number of residences in an agricultural area which increase is unrelated to
the use of the agricultural area for traditional agricultural purposes.
(B) With regard to an agricultural
support facility:
(i) The conversion
of industrial or commercial areas to residential use; or
(ii) An increase in
the number of residences in an industrial or commercial area which increase is
unrelated to the use of the industrial or commercial area for traditional
industrial or commercial purposes.
(c) No agricultural facility, agricultural operation, any agricultural
operation at an agricultural facility, agricultural support facility, or any
operation at an agricultural support facility shall be or shall become a
nuisance, either public or private, as a result of changed conditions in or
around the locality of such facility or operation if the facility or operation
has been in operation for one year or more. The provisions of this subsection shall
not apply when a nuisance results from the negligent, improper, or illegal
operation of any such facility or operation.
(d) For purposes of this Code section, the established date of operation
is the date on which an agricultural operation or agricultural support facility
commenced operation. If the physical facilities of the agricultural operation
or the agricultural support facility are subsequently expanded or new
technology adopted, the established date of operation for each change is not a
separately and independently established date of operation and the commencement
of the expanded operation does not divest the agricultural operation or
agricultural support facility of a previously established date of operation.
HISTORY: