Hemet Municipal Code Art. VII Hemet Right-to-Farm Ordinance

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Provisions enacted by Ord. No. 1542, adopted May 14, 1996, have been included herein at the discretion of the editor as Art. VII, §§ 58-201—58-207.

Cross reference— Environment, ch. 30; zoning, ch. 90.

This article [Ordinance No. 1542] may be cited as the City of Hemet Right-to-Farm Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 1542, § 1, 5-14-96)

The Hemet City Council finds that where non-agricultural land uses extend into agricultural areas or exist side-by-side, agricultural operations often become the subject of nuisance complaints. As a result, some agricultural operations are forced to cease or curtail operations, others are discouraged from making investments in farm improvements, and efficient agricultural production is generally discouraged due to burdensome litigation against farmers.

(Ord. No. 1542, § 2, 5-14-96)

It is the intent of the City of Hemet to conserve, protect, and encourage the development, improvement, and continued viability of its agricultural land and industries for the long-term production of food and other agricultural products, and for the economic well-being of the city's residents. It is also the intent of the city to balance the rights of farmers to produce food and other agricultural products with the rights of non-farmers who own, occupy, or use land within or adjacent to agricultural areas. It is the intent of this article to reduce the loss of agricultural resources by limiting the circumstances under which agricultural operations may be deemed to constitute a nuisance. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the right of any owner of real property to request that the city consider a change in the zoning classification of his property in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Hemet Municipal Code, Chapter 90, Zoning.

(Ord. No. 1542, § 3, 5-14-96)

For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed as having the following meanings:

(a) Agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof. The phrase "agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof" shall include, but not be limited to, the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural commodity, including timber, viticulture, apiculture, or horticulture, the raising of livestock, fur bearing animals, fish, or poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market, or to carriers for transportation to market.

(b) Land zoned for primarily agricultural purposes. The phrase "land zoned for primarily agricultural purposes" means any land lying within any one of the following zone classifications established by the City of Hemet, through the use of its Zoning Ordinance:

(1) A Zone (Agriculture)

(2) A-1-C Zone (Light Agriculture)

(3) A-2-C Zone (Heavy Agriculture)

(4) O-S Zone (Open Space)

(5) W-2 Zone (Controlled Development Area)

(Ord. No. 1542, § 4, 5-14-96)

(a) No agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, conducted or maintained for commercial purposes in any zone, and in a manner consistent with 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 operation for more [than] three years if it was not a nuisance at the time it began.

(b) This section shall not invalidate any provision 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 of the State of California, if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, constitutes a nuisance, public or private, as specifically defined or described in any such provision.

(c) This section is not to be construed so as to modify or abridge the state law set out in the California Civil Code relative to nuisances, but rather it is only to be utilized in the interpretation and enforcement of the provisions of city ordinances and regulations.

(Ord. No. 1542, § 5, 5-14-96)

The city engineer shall cause the following notice to be included on the title sheet for any tentative land division proposed that lies partly or wholly within, or within 300 feet of any land zoned for primarily agricultural purposes:

Lot(s) No. ________ as shown on this map, is (are) located partly or wholly within, or within 300 feet of any land zoned for primarily agricultural purposes by the City of Hemet. It is the declared policy of the City of Hemet that no agricultural activity, operation, or facility or appurtenances thereof, conducted or maintained for commercial purposes in the City of Hemet, 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 operation for more than three (3) years, if it was not a nuisance at the time it began. The term "agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof" includes, but is not limited to, the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural commodity, including timber, viticulture, apiculture, or horticulture, the raising of livestock, fur bearing animals, fish, or poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market, or to carriers for transportation to market.

(Ord. No. 1542, § 6, 5-14-96)

If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provision or applications of the provisions of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision of application, and to this end, the provisions of this article are declared severable.

(Ord. No. 1542, § 7, 5-14-96)