4500 Damascus Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20882

Agricultural Reserve Zone

The intent of the AR zone is to promote agriculture as the primary land use in areas of the County designated for agricultural preservation in the general plan, the Functional Master Plan for Preservation of Agriculture and Rural Open Space, and other current or future master plans. The AR zone accomplishes this intent by providing large areas of generally contiguous properties suitable for agricultural and related uses and permitting the transfer of development rights from properties in this zone to properties in designated receiving areas; Agriculture is the preferred use in the AR zone. All agricultural operations are permitted at any time, including the operation of farm machinery. An agricultural use cannot be restricted on the grounds that it interferes with other uses permitted in the zone but uses that are not exclusively agricultural in nature must satisfy additional use standards or the conditional use approval process; The intent of the child lot option in the AR zone is to facilitate the continuation of the family farming unit and to otherwise meet the purposes of the AR zone.