Chapter 7 — Shafter Zoning Code

AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT

	AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT
7.10	PURPOSE AND INTENT ........................................................................................... 7-1
7.20	AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT...................................................................................... 7-1
7.30	AGRICULTURAL USE REGULATIONS .................................................................... 7-1
7.40	AGRICULTURAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS ............................ 7-6
7.50	TEMPORARY FRUIT STANDS ................................................................................. 7-9
7.60	RIGHT TO FARM PROVISIONS ............................................................................... 7-9

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Agricultural District

CITY OF SHAFTER DEVELOPMENT CODE

CHAPTER 7

7.10 PURPOSE AND INTENT ¶

The General Plan outlines the goals, objectives and policies establishing the character and location of agricultural uses within the City. It is the purpose of this Chapter to provide regulations implementing those goals, objectives and policies to assure the preservation of existing agricultural uses as an important component of the local economy.
It is further the intent of this Chapter to:
- a. Protect and promote the continuation of farming in areas with prime soils and soils of statewide importance where farming is a viable component of the local economy, and promote the continuation of farming in areas where it is already established;
- b. Separate agricultural land use and activities from incompatible residential and commercial development, and public facilities; and
- c. Prevent the encroachment of incompatible uses into agricultural lands and the premature conversion of such lands to non-agricultural uses.

7.20 AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT ¶

The primary purpose of the Agricultural (A) zone district is to designate areas suitable for agricultural uses, to prevent the encroachment of incompatible uses into agricultural lands, and to prevent the premature conversion of such lands to non-agricultural uses.

7.30 AGRICULTURAL USE REGULATIONS ¶

Identified on Table 7.A of this Chapter are those land uses or activities that may be permitted within the Agricultural zone district, subject to the provisions of this Title and applicable General Plan policies. Table 7.A also indicates the development procedure and the approval type by which each listed land use or activity may be permitted in an Agricultural zone district.

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Agricultural District

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CITY OF SHAFTER DEVELOPMENT CODE

Table 7.A Uses Permitted Within the Agricultural District

Legend

Not Permitted in This District
P Permitted Subject to Consistency Assessment
C Permitted Subject to Approval of a Conditional Use Permit Application

	CONDITION OFUSE
A. AGRICULTURAL USES
1. Agricultural chemical storage and repackaging	C
2. Agricultural services, when incidental and secondary to the primary use of thepremises for agriculture	P
3. Agricultural truckingfacilities	C
4. Alcohol distillery	C
5. Animal products processing, including meat packing, canning, and shipping, when the livestock is produced or grown by the owner of the processing facility on the premises or on land leased, rented, or owned by the owner of the processing facility and within a reasonable distance of the facility	C
6. Bee keeping	P
7. Beef cattle or livestockgrazing	P
8. Berrycrops	P
9. Biomass energyconversion	C
10. Birds, includingshow or racing pigeons and other small fowl	P
11. Brewery	C
12. Row crops	P
13. Christmas trees	P
14. Cold storage facilityfor agriculturalproducts	P
15. Contract harvesting	P
16. Cottongin	C
17. Creamery	C
18. Dairy	
19. Dairystockgrazing	
20. Farm machineryand equipment repair	P
21. Fertilizer manufacture and storage for agricultural uses only	C
22. Field crops, dryland	P
23. Field crops,irrigated	P
24. Fish and frogs	P
25. Flowers and horticultural specialties, wholesale only	P
26. Flour mill	C
27. Fruit, vegetable, and plant products processing, including freezing, packing,preserving, and shipping	P
28. Glucoseprocessing	C

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Agricultural District

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	CONDITION OFUSE
29. Grain elevator or storage	C
30. Hogs, hogfarm, or ranch	C
31. Honeyextraction	P
32. Horses, donkeys, llamas, or mules	P
33. Livestock feed lot or stock auction or salesyard forhoofedanimals	
34. Oil or mineral extraction	C
35. Poultry,includinghatching, breeding, butchering, processing, or shipping of chickens, ostriches, emus, turkeys, or other fowl or poultry,including eggs	
36. Rabbits or fur-bearinganimals	P
37. Saw orplaningmill	C
38. Sheep,goat and hogfarms	
39. Tastingroom, when accessoryto an existingwinery orbrewery	C
40. Wineryor brewery	C
41. Woolpullingand scouring	
B. COMMERCIAL USES
1. Fireworks Stand, subject to the provisions of Section 11.160 of this Title	P
2. Fruit stand,permanent	P
3. Fruit stand,temporary,pursuant to this chapter	P
4. Veterinary, large animal	P
C. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND SCHOOLS
1. Preschool	C
2. Elementaryschool	C
3. Junior high school	C
4. Senior high school	C
5. College or university	C
D. INSTITUTIONAL USES
1. Cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, mortuary, or crematory	C
2. Charitable orpublic service organization	C
3. Church	C
4. Fire orpolice station	P
5. Government office or building	P
6. Public agencyorpublic utilitybuildings and facilities	P
7. Rehabilitation facilities, when operated in conjunction with a permitted use	C
8. Water treatment plant unless project otherwise entails a public hearing; then Permitted	C
9. Zoo	C
E. MISCELLANEOUS USES
1. Accessory buildings, including cargo containers, if incidental and access to apermitted use	C

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	CONDITION OFUSE
2. Accessory structures and uses located on the same site as a conditionally permitted use	C
3. Day-care home, large family,pursuant to this title	C
4. Day-care home, small family	P
5. Drainage sump	C
6. Drainage sump, if proposed and approved as part of a tentative subdivision or tentativeparcel map	P
7. Flood control facilities	P
8. Huntingor Fishingclub, not involvingstructures	C
9. Marijuana uses, as defined under Section 1.190 and subject to the provisions of Section 11.300 are regulated in the agricultural district.
10. Medical Cannabis Uses, as defined under Section 1.190 and subject to the provisions of Section 11.290, are prohibited in the agricultural district.
11. Water storage orgroundwater recharge facilities	P
12. Wild animal keeping	C
13. Wildlife or nature reserve	P
F. RECREATION ENTERTAINMENT AND TOURIST FACILITIES
1. Equestrian establishment	C
2. Golf course/drivingrange	C
3. Guest ranch, when accessoryto a commercial ranchingoperation	C
4. Lakes,private, for recreational skiingor boating	C
5. Park or playground unless project otherwise entails a public hearing; then Permitted	C
6. Racetrack or test track, automobile, bicycle, horse, or motorcycle	C
7. Recreational vehiclepark	C
8. Shooting range or gun club, simulated war games, or similar activities, outdoor only	C
9. Trade fairs and exhibitions, temporary (14 day maximum), excluding flea markets and swap meets (subject to provision of 2.120. of this Title)	P
G. RESIDENTIAL USES
1. Farm labor housing for on-site employees (per California H&S Section 17021.6)subject to Sections 2.80(3)and 2.140)	P
2. Farm labor housing for contract labor (per California H&S Section 17021.6)subject to Sections2.80(3)and 2.140)	P
3. Residential accessorystructures	P
4. Residential facility,servingsix or fewerpersons	P
5. Single-family dwelling, occupied by the owner or full-time on-site employee	P
H. RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT USES
1. Coal-fired cogeneration facility or steam generators, primarily intended forproduction of oil orgas	C

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Agricultural District

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	CONDITION OFUSE
2. Cogeneration facility or steam generators, primarily intended for steam production used for production of oil or gas, excluding coal fired	C
3. Concrete or asphalt batchplant, temporary	C
4. Electricalpowergenerating plant	C
5. Explosives storage,temporary	C
6. Explosives storage,permanent	C
7. Mineral exploration	C
8. Miningand mineral extractionpursuant toprovisions of this Title	C
9. Oil or gas exploration and production pursuant to provisions of this Title	P
10. Rock, gravel, sand, or soils, crushing, processing, or distribution, when accessoryto an approved miningoperation	C
11. Solar energy electrical generators with a rated capacity of no greater than five kilowatts for on-site consumption of the electricity	P
12. Solar energy electrical generators, commercial or domestic, exceedingfive kilowatts capacity	C
13. Wind-driven electricalgenerators for on-site consumption of electricity	C
I. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
1. Airport,private(If not within an approved airportplan)	C
2. Airport,public(If not within an approved airportplan)	C
3. Heliport(If not within an approved airportplan)	C
4. Rail, Rail Freight Classification or SwitchingYard, and Rail Spurs	P
J. UTILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
1. Radio, television or commercial communications transmitter, receiver, ortranslator,except as specified in this Title.	P
2. Transmission lines and supporting towers, poles, microwave towers, and underground facilities for gas, water, electricity, telephone, or telegraph service owned and operated by a public utility company or other company under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commissionpursuant to this Title.	C
3. Utilitysubstation	P
K. WASTE FACILITIES
1. Hazardous waste disposalfacilityunless project otherwise entails a public hearing;thenPermitted	C
2. Nonhazardous oil production and/or oily waste disposal facility unless project otherwise entails apublic hearing; then Permitted	C
3. Sanitary landfillunlessproject otherwise entails a public hearing; then Permitted	C
4. Septage disposal site unless project otherwiseentailsa public hearing; then Permitted	C
5. Sewage sludge composting unless project otherwise entails a public hearing; then Permitted	C
6. Sewage treatment plant unless project otherwise entails a public hearing; then Permitted	C

Agricultural District

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CITY OF SHAFTER DEVELOPMENT CODE

	CONDITION OFUSE
7. Transfer station, large and small volume unless project otherwise entails apublic hearing; then Permitted	C
8. Waste to energy facility unless project otherwise entails a public hearing; then Permitted	C
L. Other uses similar to, and no more objectionable than the uses identified above, shall be reviewed per the process required by the similar use,asdetermined bythePlanning Commission.

L. Other uses similar to, and no more objectionable than the uses identified above, shall be reviewed per the process required by the similar use, as determined by the Planning Commission.

7.40 AGRICULTURAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS ¶

Lot Area Requirements
- a. Except when conducted as an accessory to a residential use of a nonfarm parcel, agricultural uses shall require a minimum area of 20 acres, and no farm parcel shall be subdivided from a parent tract unless it shall meet the minimum area requirement for agricultural uses.
- b. Farm-parcels under Williamson Act Contract and designated as Agricultural on the Shafter General Plan shall be a minimum of eighty (80) acres in size.
- c. Parcels that are conveyed to or from a governmental agency, public entity, community or mutual water company, or public utility for public purposes shall be exempt from the minimum lot area requirements of this Chapter.
- d. Minimum lot area requirements for uses established as an accessory use to a primary agricultural use in compliance with conditions of approval of a conditional use permit shall be exempt from minimum lot area requirements.
Site Development Minimum Standards
- a. In addition to the minimum standards established in Table 7.B. of this Chapter, development within the Agricultural zone district shall also comply with the special requirements contained in this Chapter, Chapter 12 (Performance Standards), other applicable City standards, regulations, or ordinances., and the City General Plan.

Table 7.B Agricultural Site Development Minimum Standards

REQUIREMENT	Parcel Size
1. Minimum site area	20 acres
2. Minimum site width, in feet	100
3. Minimum site depth, in feet	200
4. Front buildingsetback, in feet	50
5. Side street buildingsetback area, street sides, in feet	50

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Agricultural District

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REQUIREMENT	Parcel Size
6. Rearyard setback, in feet	50
7. Maximum Floor Area Ratio	0.10
8. Maximum Buildingheight, in feet	45

1 Structures such as silos, windmills, and communication antennas and towers may exceed height limit subject to approval by the Project Assistance Team.

2 The maximum building height required for the Agricultural District in Figure 7.A is 150 feet.

b. No new slaughter area, area for the storage or processing of manure, garbage, or spent mushroom compost, structures for the cultivation of mushrooms, or the raising of livestock shall be permitted within two hundred (200) feet of any existing residence located on an adjacent property.
c. There shall be a minimum of ten (10) feet between a residential building and a nonresidential structure, except that animals, pens, coops, stables, barns, corrals, other structures for housing livestock and buildings for processing, packing, or storing agricultural produce shall be at least one hundred (100) feet away from any residential building.
d. There shall be a minimum of twenty (20) feet between an on-site residential building and an aviary

Agricultural District

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Agricultural District

CITY OF SHAFTER DEVELOPMENT CODE

CHAPTER 7

7.50 TEMPORARY FRUIT STANDS

Temporary fruit stands for the sale of agricultural, horticultural, or farming products permitted pursuant to this Title shall comply with the following standards:
- a. The floor area of the fruit stand shall not exceed four hundred (400) square feet.
- b. The fruit stand shall not be located closer than fifty-five (55) feet from the centerline of any public road, street, or highway right-of-way.
The stand shall be erected in such a manner that it can be readily removed by means of skids or other device.
- a. The owner shall remove the stand at his/her own expense when the stand is not in use for a period of thirty (30) days.
- b. Customer parking areas shall be treated with a dust binder in a manner to continuously prevent fugitive dust.

7.60 RIGHT TO FARM PROVISIONS ¶

All uses within the Agricultural zone district shall be required to conform to the provisions of Section 10.270 of this Title regarding the protection of farming practices from a nuisance.

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Agricultural District