Allowed Uses

Before buying your country home, be sure that you will be allowed to do with it what you want. Sonoma County has a well thought out land use policy and every parcel of land is governed by land use regulations. There are two primary regulations to consider.

First is the Sonoma County General Plan. It addresses a number of issues not related to land use, but it does have a lengthy section that covers how specific areas of the County are to be utilized. The Plan is in the process of being updated so it would be a good idea to check the current Plan and the proposed General Plan Update.

Next are the Sonoma County Zoning Regulations. They are more specific. Each and every piece of land has a zoning designation which controls how the property can be used. Zoning will control such things as the number of residences, whether a "granny unit" may be added, occupations or businesses that may be operated on the parcel, animals, etc. Here is part of the zoning code for a "Rural Residential" property that relates to animals:

Raising, feeding, maintaining and breeding of not more than one (1) of the following per twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of area. If the subject parcel is at least five (5) acres, additional animals may be approved by use permit pursuant to Section 26-18-020:

(1) Five (5) hogs or pigs,

(2) One (1) horse, mule, cow or steer,

(3) Five (5) goats, sheep, or similar animals,

(4) Fifty (50) chickens or similar fowl,

(5) Fifty (50) ducks or geese or one hundred (100) rabbits or similar animals.

(6) 4-H and FFA animal husbandry projects are permitted without limitation of parcel

So, you can see that the rules are very specific. It pays to know what you can and cannot do with your property before you buy. It may be possible to obtain a use permit to allow a use of the property not included in the zoning but there are no guarantees and there is a cost in time and money. The staff at the Sonoma County Permit and Resources Department will help you understand what is and is not allowed.