Zoning Questions Answered

My curiosity was stirred up and I wanted to follow up on the zoning issues I mentioned last time. I finally located (with some help) the zoning laws for Ventura County, where all our properties thus far are located. They’re full of legal double speak, which was fun to wade through. Often articles will define a law as being defined by another law that has not been mentioned yet. But I found some of the pertinent zones and the rules of pet ownership and animal husbandry.

There are three critical areas for horse owners: Open Space (O-S); Agricultural Exclusive (A-E); and Rural Agricultural (R-A). Some properties within the city may also fall under Single-Family Estate (R-O). O-S is a minimum lot of 10 acres. A-E is 40 acres. R-A is just one acre. And R-O is 20,000 sq. ft. (0.46 acres) (pg. 31). The first three are all subject to the same rules for calculating how many animals are permitted, but R-O is slightly different. The first one looks like this: sq. ft. of lot ÷ 10,000 sq. ft. = total animal units allowed. I will explain about “animal units” in a moment. On lots over 10 acres, the animals are unlimited. For R-O, the equation is more complicated: [(SQ. FT. OF LOT - 30,000 sq. ft.) ÷ 30,000 sq. ft.] + 4 = total animal units allowed. This equation only applies to animals that are 1.0 units or more (pg. 96). For smaller animals, the same equation for O-S etc. applies. Whew. Once I explain animal units, I’ll give some examples so this makes more sense.

Animal units are a rather whimsical way of quantifying the space requirements of various types of animals. The initial examples given for pets led me to believe that three animals are allowed in a residential unit (another clever term). Not even close. One animal unit equals: 4 cats; 4 dogs; 4 pygmy goats; 10 chickens (no roosters though, as they are only allowed in animal husbandry zones); 50 guinea pigs; or 20 snakes. You may also keep as many insects or spiders as desire or tolerance allows. They list a whole assortment of other animals, but the point is that you are allowed to keep a great many animals before maxing out your allotted animal units, even for residences, which allow 3.0 units. Now, for animals classified under animal husbandry: small equines (under 36 inches at the withers) are 0.30 units; medium (over 36-58 inches) are 0.50 units; and large (over 58 inches; donkeys and burros included) are 1.00 unit (pg. 95). Cows, emus, llamas, rabbits, sheep, and others are also listed.

Let me give you examples, because this is some pretty abstract stuff. A one acre property zoned O-S, A-E, or R-A is allotted 4.36 animal units. That would be four horses, a dog, and a duck. Many other combinations of animals would be possible, but let us, for the sake of consistency, always use the maximum number of horses possible to start. Curiously, the same property, when zoned R-O would have 4.46 units. This zone wins out on smaller lots, but it would only be allowed 17.5 units on a 10 acre lot, while the other zones would then be unlimited. 4.46 give you four horses, a dog, and a goat or four horses plus a small pony and a turkey (if it made it past Thanksgiving this weekend).

If you are buying a large parcel of land, these issues may not ever apply to you. But for anyone buying less than ten acres, it’s critical to know the zone. Of course, no one would want to cramp too many horses into a small space, but if you expect to have five horses, plus your dog and cat, certain areas and certain lot sizes will be unusable for you. Plus, property may be for sale by the current owner, without the involvement of a real estate agent. If neither buyer nor seller is aware of these issues, some very upsetting problems could arise. If you would like to know more about Ventura County zoning laws, the PDF file I have taken this information from is available here. Both coastal and non-coastal (which I used) zone ordinances are there. I ran our showcased properties through these formulas; the results can be found here.