5.3. AGRICULTURAL, AGRICULTURAL-RESIDENTIAL, AND RECREATIONAL ZONING DISTRICTS — Sacramento County Zoning Code

[AMENDED 05-11-2018][AMENDED 07-16-2020]

This Section provides:

Standards for lots in the Agricultural, Agricultural-Residential, and Recreational zoning districts, Development standards for general agricultural structures in all zoning districts, where permitted, and
Development standards for incidental agricultural accessory structures in Agricultural and Agricultural-Residential zoning districts.

Alternatives to these standards may be approved with a Special Development Permit if the intent and purpose of the standards and guidelines are met. Refer to Section 3.4. for applicable special use

regulations.

5.3.1. Development Standards for Agricultural Uses ¶

5.3.1.A. Lot Standards Summary

Table 5.4 Agricultural, Agricultural-Residential, and Recreational Zoning Districts

Minimum	AG-	AG-	AG-	AG-	UR	IR	RR	O	AR-	AR-
Standard	160	80	40	20					10	5
Lot Area	160	80	40	20	20	20	20	3	10	5
(gross							(net)	(net)
acres,
unless
otherwise
specified)
Lot Width	1,000	1,000	500	500	500	250	300	200	300	250
(feet)
Street	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	300	250
Frontage
(feet)
[2]

[1] Subdivision projects shall be required to have public water.

[2] Up to four lots may be served by a private drive without meeting the street frontage requirement.

5.3.1.B. Lot Size Reductions – Agricultural Zoning Districts

Parcels may be created smaller than the lot area specified for the following uses: agricultural processing; agricultural organizations; agricultural sales; agricultural warehousing; agricultural specialty services; animal feed lot/sales; agricultural equipment repairs, maintenance; kill floors; hospitals; cemetery; commercial riding stables, boarding stables and riding academies; private social center; lodge, fraternal hall; animal hospital and veterinarian office; kennel/cattery; places of worship; public or private school, college, or university; child day care center; residential care home for more than six children or adults; public and government buildings or uses; airport; public utilities and public service facilities; outdoor recreation uses; fraternity/sorority house and similar and like uses subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit and Design Review. These uses shall also be subject to the following standards:
- a. Lot area and width shall be the minimum required for the operation of the proposed use and its necessary infrastructure and still comply with all applicable setback requirements of this Section. Final determination of the minimum area and width necessary for any proposed use above shall rest with the administrative hearing body empowered to grant such requests. For any parcel encumbered by the Williamson Act Contract, said lot area shall also comply with the provisions of CA GOV §66474.4.
- b. As a condition of approval of the reduction in lot area for any of the proposed uses above, the owner or owners of the property shall convey to the County the right to develop or construct principal residences on the lot created and on the remainder of the property in order to guarantee that the reduction in the lot area will not result in an increase in the density of residential uses than otherwise permitted in the zoning district in which the property is located.
All other alternatives to lot size standards may be approved with a Special Development Permit if the intent and purpose of the standards and guidelines are met.

5.3.2. ¶

Agricultural Structures in Agricultural and Agricultural-Residential Zoning Districts

5.3.2.A. Applicability

For General Agricultural Structures, such as paddocks, barns, and commercial stables used for General Agricultural Uses as defined, use the Development Standards in Table 5.5.
For Incidental Agricultural Accessory Structures related to incidental keeping of animals, or incidental agricultural uses in the Agricultural or Agricultural-Residential zoning districts use the Development Standards in Table 5.6. See Section 5.4.5., Table 5.10 for development standards in Residential zoning districts.

5.3.2.B. Development Standards for General Agricultural Structures

The following development standards in Table 5.5 apply to General Agricultural structures and commercial stables in all zones where permitted.

Table 5.5 Development Standards for General Agricultural Structures

Development Standard	Requirement
Minimum Front Yard Setback	50 ft (Without PUPF) / 55 ft (with PUPF)
Minimum Interior Yard Setback	50 ft [1]
Minimum Rear Yard Setback	50 ft (Without PUPF) / 55 ft (with PUPF) [1]
Maximum Height to Peak	50 ft
(Height Limit) [2]

PUPF = Public Utilities, Public Facilities easement (per Section 5.2.1)

[1] Deviations from setbacks are permitted with a Minor Use Permit.

[2] Water tanks, silos, granaries, barns, antennas, and similar accessory or necessary mechanical structures may exceed a height of 50 feet provided they do not exceed any other height restrictions imposed on the specific location of the structure.

5.3.2.C. Development Standards for Incidental Agricultural Accessory Structures in Agricultural and Agricultural-Residential Zoning Districts

The following development standards in Table 5.6 apply to Incidental Agricultural Accessory Structures in the Agricultural and Agricultural-Residential zoning districts, constructed, enlarged, or otherwise modified.

Table 5.6 Development Standards for Incidental Agricultural Accessory Structures in Agricultural and Agricultural-Residential Zoning Districts

[AMENDED 12-01-2017][AMENDED 05-11-2018]

Required	Maximum of 50% of	Maximum of 100% of	Maximum of 200% of
Development	the Habitable Floor	the Habitable Floor	the Habitable Floor
Standard	Area of the Primary	Area of the Primary	Area of the Primary
	Dwelling [1][2][3]	Dwelling [1][2]	Dwelling [1][2]
Net Lot Area	Less than 1 Acre	1-2 Acres	Over 2 Acres
Minimum Front Yard	25 ft (Without PUPF) /	20 ft (Without PUPF) /	20 ft (Without PUPF) /
Setback	30 ft (With PUPF)	25 ft (With PUPF)	25 ft (With PUPF)
Minimum Interior	10 ft	10 ft	10 ft
Side Yard Setback
Minimum Rear Yard	10 ft	20 ft	20 ft
Setback
Minimum Side Street	12.5 ft (With PUPF) /	12.5 ft (With PUPF) /	12.5 ft (With PUPF) /
Yard Setback	18 ft (Without PUPF)	18 ft (Without PUPF)	18 ft (Without PUPF)
Maximum Height of	24 ft	Same as permitted for	Same as permitted for
Structure to the Peak		primary dwelling	primary dwelling
of the Roof

PUPF = Public Utilities, Public Facilities easement (per Section 5.2.1)

[1] The total floor area for all Incidental Agricultural Accessory Structures and general Accessory Structures combined in Agricultural and Agricultural-Residential zoning districts shall not exceed 5,000 square feet. Exceptions to these area requirements may be permitted with a Minor Use Permit.

[2] Exceptions to these area requirements may be permitted with a Minor Use Permit.

[3] The size of accessory structures on legal nonconforming parcels less than one acre in size may be increased to greater than 50 percent with a Minor Use Permit.

5.3.3. Development Standards for Accessory Dwellings for Agricultural Employees ¶

The following standards shall be met:

5.3.3.A.

Income requirements as listed in Section 3.9.3.C.

5.3.3.B.

For each lot, a minimum gross area of five acres per agricultural accessory dwelling unit is permitted.

5.3.3.C.

The agricultural accessory dwelling setbacks and height shall meet the setbacks and height required for the primary dwelling.

5.3.3.D.

For accessory dwelling units not related to agricultural employees, refer to Section 5.4.5.F.

5.3.3.E.

For farmworker housing, see Section 3.5.2.B.