Butte County, CA Ordinances (2026)

Butte County exempts garage sales held in residential zones from the Administrative Permit required for every other temporary use under Zoning Code Section 24-174. The code sets no cap…

Running a card room anywhere in Butte County requires a sheriff-issued license under Sec. 15-72, with fingerprinting, a background check and a good-moral-character finding. Sec. 15-76…

Sitting, lying or sleeping on any public highway, alley, sidewalk or crosswalk in unincorporated Butte County is unlawful under Sec. 15-14(b), unless the person is physically disabled…

Camping is flatly prohibited in Bidwell River Park, the county-controlled Sacramento River and Chico Creek parkland in the unincorporated area, and a house trailer may not be parked…

Butte County's Sec. 15-14 makes it unlawful to loiter or stand on a public highway, alley, sidewalk or crosswalk in a way that annoys pedestrians or blocks their free passage, to…

Along Butte Creek between the PG&E hydroelectric facility above Centerville Dam and the county's southern boundary, Section 7-9.2 bans drinking or carrying an open alcoholic container…

Butte County bans smoking tobacco or using an electronic smoking device outdoors within 20 feet of a main entrance, exit or operable window of any county-owned building under Sec…

Butte County's littering ordinance, Sec. 15-15(b)(1), makes it unlawful to leave merchandise, baggage or personal property on a public highway, alley, sidewalk or crosswalk, blocking…

Under Section 50-17 of the Butte County Code, whoever occupies real property in unincorporated Butte County with a paved sidewalk out front, the tenant if there is one, otherwise the…

Anyone who wants to excavate, place a structure, build an access road, or cut and fill land near a county highway right-of-way needs an encroachment permit from Butte County Public…

Butte County makes it unlawful to establish, operate, or participate in any needle exchange or syringe distribution program anywhere in the unincorporated area. The Board of…

Every retail food facility in unincorporated Butte County must post a color-coded placard, green for pass, yellow for conditional pass, red for closed, within five feet of the front…

Butte County has designated its own Building Division as the county's official housing department, with authority to enforce the state's human-habitability standards and declare a…

Butte County grants a graduated density bonus, up to 35 percent over the zone's maximum, to housing projects that set aside units for very low, low or moderate income households…

Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-67 requires all outdoor lighting in the county's residential zones to be located, adequately shielded, and directed so that no direct light…

Within the Butte Creek Canyon (-BCC) overlay zone, Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-34.1(D)(7)(b) goes beyond the countywide outdoor lighting article by requiring full…

Any outdoor gathering of 100 or more people lasting three hours or longer for a musical, theatrical or similar event in unincorporated Butte County needs an Outdoor Festival…

No one may hold a parade on a county road in unincorporated Butte County without a permit from the Sheriff under Code Chapter 14, Article X. Applications are due thirty to sixty days…

Butte County cannot charge an impact fee on an accessory dwelling unit or junior ADU under 750 square feet, and any fee on a larger ADU must scale proportionately to the primary…

One-story detached sheds under 120 sq ft do not require a Butte County building permit, but they must meet zoning setbacks; any electrical, plumbing, or gas utilities serving the shed…

Butte County permits accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior ADUs in unincorporated areas served by municipal water and sewer, with ministerial approval, 4-foot side/rear setbacks…

An accessory dwelling unit or junior ADU in unincorporated Butte County must be rented under the same rental term as the primary dwelling, closing off short-term or transient rental of…

Butte County allows conversion of an existing garage or accessory structure into an ADU with no required setback and no replacement parking, provided the parcel is within a water and…

Butte County bans self-service tobacco and e-cigarette displays at every unincorporated retailer: products must be sold vendor-assisted, with a store employee retrieving and handing…

Running a pawnshop in unincorporated Butte County requires a license from the county Tax Collector under Code Chapter 11. The Sheriff fingerprints and photographs every applicant…

Butte County prohibits adult businesses everywhere except the GI and HI industrial zones under Sec. 15-111 and 15-112, and even there requires them to sit at least 1,000 feet from any…

Secondhand dealers doing business in unincorporated Butte County need a license under Code Chapter 11 before buying or reselling previously-owned goods, including antiques. Every…

No mobile food preparation unit or food vehicle may operate in unincorporated Butte County without a valid public health permit from the county's Enforcement Agency. Operators must…

Butte County bars solid-waste collection vehicles from operating within 500 feet of residentially zoned land before 5:30 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m., and prohibits collection outright on…

Butte County bans operating a recreational off-road vehicle so its noise exceeds the county's interior or exterior noise-sensitive-area standards, and requires every off-road vehicle…

In Butte County's AIR special purpose zone near county airports, new buildings must block out aircraft noise instead of the county limiting flight operations. Butte County Code of…

Operating a sound truck with amplifying equipment in unincorporated Butte County means registering with the Sheriff first and then obeying strict limits: no more than fifteen watts of…

Butte County Code Section 41A-7 sets exterior noise limits by zone and time of day: an hourly average of 55 dBA in urban areas and 50 dBA in non-urban areas by day, dropping to 45 dBA…

Chapter 4, Article IA of the Butte County Code lets Animal Control issue civil citations for chronic barking. A dog qualifies as a nuisance once it barks, howls or cries for sixty…

Butte County bars construction, repair, remodeling, demolition, paving or grading noise within 1,000 feet of residential uses from sunset to sunrise on weekdays, after 6 p.m. Friday…

Along creeks and rivers in unincorporated Butte County, Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-79(B) prohibits cutting or otherwise altering natural vegetation that protects…

Butte County abates seasonal weeds, brush, and other flammable vegetation as a public nuisance under County Code Chapter 32A and the state weed-abatement scheme in California Health &…

Butte County has not adopted a stand-alone Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, so California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO, 23 CCR Div. 2 Ch. 2.7) applies by…

In Butte County's State Responsibility Area and any Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, California Public Resources Code section 4291 requires property owners to maintain 100 feet of…

Unincorporated Butte County sets minimum building setbacks by zone in Table 24-20-2 of the Zoning Ordinance. Front setbacks are 20 feet in most residential zones, dropping to 10 feet…

Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-20(C) and Table 24-20-2 cap primary structure height at thirty-five feet across every residential zone in the unincorporated area, from the…

For new development within the Butte Creek Canyon (-BCC) overlay zone, Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-34.1(D)(8)(b) caps impervious surface, meaning asphalt, concrete, and…

In the Unique Agriculture (-UA) overlay zone that supports Butte County's farm-tour and agritourism operations, Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-45(D)(5) bars tour buses and…

Grading more than fifty cubic yards anywhere in unincorporated Butte County requires a grading permit and an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan under Code Chapter 13. The plan must…

Butte County Code Section 38A-6 requires every parcel in the unincorporated area to maintain three defensible space zones around buildings: Zone 0 from 0 to 5 feet, Zone 1 from 5 to 30…

Chapter 50 of the Butte County Code bans any 'illicit discharge' of non-stormwater materials into the County storm drain system, natural surface waters, or watercourses in the…

In Butte County's mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zones AE and AH), new residential structures and substantial improvements to residential structures must set the lowest floor at…

Butte County's Chapter 26, Article IV (Flood Hazard Prevention) requires a development permit before building in mapped Zones A, AE, AH, and AO, and adds review for the county's…

Butte County requires a building permit for small residential rooftop solar systems but processes it through an expedited, streamlined track under Code § 26-103. The Building Official…

Butte County sorts solar installations into four Utility land-use tiers, from a by-right building permit for rooftop and small ground systems up to a Conditional Use Permit for major…

Un-hosted short-term rental stays in unincorporated Butte County are capped at ninety nights per calendar year under Section 24-172.1 I.7.b, unless the property sits on a…

Short-term rental hosts in unincorporated Butte County must file a Transient Occupancy Tax Questionnaire with the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Central Collections Division within ten days…

Short-term rental parking in unincorporated Butte County must be shown on the administrative permit's site plan, with on-site tandem parking allowed only when parallel parking cannot…

Butte County caps short-term rentals at five rented bedrooms, two guests per approved bedroom on septic, and a hard overnight ceiling of 10 guests on septic or 14 on public sewer…

Three verifiable citations, violations, or hearing-officer determinations against a Butte County short-term rental within any 24-month period trigger a cease-and-desist order and…

When a Butte County parcel hosts two short-term rentals, such as a primary residence plus an approved accessory dwelling unit, Section 24-172.1 G.2 requires at least one of them to…

Butte County STRs must observe quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays, with no outdoor amplified sound during quiet hours and full…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Butte County requires an Administrative Permit issued by the Department of Development Services under Butte County Code Section 24-172.1…

Butte County's short-term rental ordinance requires the rental to be the owner's primary residence, defined as the permanent home documented by two forms of identification, unless the…

Renting a roll-off or debris box in unincorporated Butte County means using a licensed hauler: Section 31-20 makes it unlawful to collect or dispose of solid waste using "roll-off…

Butte County Code section 31-50.1 bans setting a trash, recycling or organics cart where it blocks a street, sidewalk or driveway. Carts along a service road must sit within five feet…

If a licensed hauler misses your scheduled collection, Code section 31-35(C)(13)-(14) gives you a free special pickup within twenty-four hours of reporting it, but the hauler can bill…

Butte County Code section 31-35(A) makes every licensed hauler divert at least twenty-five percent of the solid waste it collects annually from landfill disposal, with the Board of…

Dumping solid waste anywhere in unincorporated Butte County without a licensed hauler is a misdemeanor under Code Section 49-2, punishable per Section 1-7(a). The County's Enforcement…

In unincorporated Butte County, licensed haulers must provide weekly trash and organics pickup and recycling collection at least every two weeks to every home and business inside a…

Butte County defines yard waste as green waste discarded from a landscape, and requires that anything a customer sets at the curb for pickup fit strict size limits: nothing longer than…

Under Code section 31-81, homes and businesses in Butte County's mandatory service area or a recycling zone are automatically enrolled in the licensed hauler's three-container system…

Every licensed hauler in unincorporated Butte County must run weekly solid waste and organic waste pickup, plus recyclables at least every other week, across the mandatory service area…

Butte County has formally adopted the Fire Hazard Severity Zone map for its Local Responsibility Area, and Section 26-120 goes further than the state's own default: it designates areas…

Effective May 1, the Butte County Fire Department (CAL FIRE Butte Unit) requires a CAL FIRE burn permit for all residential dooryard burning in the unincorporated county. Even with a…

Butte County Code Chapter 38 prohibits the possession, sale, use, or discharge of any fireworks in the unincorporated areas of the county, including state-classified 'safe and sane'…

Backyard ('dooryard') burning at a single- or two-family residence in unincorporated Butte County is permitted only with a CAL FIRE burn permit, on a Permissive Burn Day, during posted…

Every owner, tenant or occupant of unincorporated Butte County land must create firebreaks wherever a fire hazard exists, under County Code Section 38A-5. A parcel out of compliance is…

Butte County Code Section 38A-6(a)(5) requires every liquid propane gas storage tank in the unincorporated area to keep a ten-foot firebreak cleared to bare mineral soil, plus an…

Butte County's Right to Farm Ordinance, Chapter 35, shields properly conducted agricultural operations on agricultural land from nuisance claims once established, so long as they…

Butte County's AG zone protects farming by requiring 20 to 160 acre minimum parcels and limiting non-farm uses, while Code Sec. 35-6 separately shields conforming farm operations from…

Butte County requires automatic fire sprinklers in every Limited Density Owner-Built Rural Dwelling larger than 1,200 square feet, a distinct permit track for owner-built homes on…

Under Butte County Code Section 26-94, dwellings built through the county's Limited Density Owner-Built Rural Dwelling program must have carbon monoxide alarms installed to the current…

Butte County adopts Part 3 of Title 24, the California Electrical Code, by reference as its electrical code under Section 26-1. Electrical permits run on the same one-year expiration…

Butte County requires a Building Official inspection before most new buildings can be occupied. Section 26-3.1(a) amends the California Building Code's Section 111.1 to bar occupancy…

Butte County adopts Part 5 of Title 24, the California Plumbing Code, by reference as its plumbing code under Section 26-1. Plumbing permits follow the same administrative timeline as…

Chapter 32A lets Butte County's Director of Development Services declare a property a public nuisance if it's injurious to health or safety, or indecent and offensive enough to…

Unimproved urban parcels in unincorporated Butte County face a stricter firebreak standard under Code Section 38A-6(a)(10): a lot of 1.25 acres or less must be cleared across its…

Once Butte County's code enforcement identifies a violation, Section 41-2 gives the violator at least thirty days to comply after a courtesy notice, and if that lapses, a formal…

Butte County's code enforcement program, set out in Chapter 41, polices violations across eighteen separate chapters of county code, from zoning and building to sewage disposal, water…

Butte County's Zoning Ordinance classifies "large-scale bee keeping" as an Intensive Animal Operation. Table 24-19-1 marks that use "not allowed" in all eleven residential zones, from…

Butte County Zoning § 24-158 allows animal keeping on parcels of at least one acre, generally at one animal unit per acre on parcels 1 to 20 acres, with up to fifteen hens per 5,000…

Keeping any wild or exotic animal in unincorporated Butte County requires a permit from the public health director under Section 4-30 of the county code. Applicants describe the…

Butte County's Zoning Ordinance classifies veterinarian clinics under the "Animal Services" land use. In the General Commercial, Neighborhood Commercial, Community Commercial and Mixed…

Butte County does not impose any breed-specific ban or designation of dangerous or vicious dogs. California Food and Agricultural Code § 31683 expressly preempts breed-specific…

Butte County does not require microchips for ordinary pets, but Section 4-51 of the dangerous animal permit article makes chip implantation mandatory for any animal already declared…

Butte County does not set a numeric cap on the number of household pets, but once an owner keeps enough dogs to trigger the 'kennel' definition in zoning section 24-165, a Minor Use…

Butte County bans dogs from running loose under Section 4-1, and Section 4-1.5 adds a specific leash standard for the unincorporated areas near Biggs, Chico, Gridley, Oroville and…

In every county-owned park and playground in unincorporated Butte County, it is unlawful to discharge a firearm or to injure or kill any bird or animal. A companion rule for Bidwell…

Every domestic cat over four months old in Butte County must carry a current rabies vaccination under Section 4-20 of the county code, with immunity maintained through a vaccine good…

The Butte County Board of Supervisors designates loading, passenger-loading and bus-loading zones on county roads by resolution, and the Public Works Director marks them with…

The accumulation of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles on private or public property in unincorporated Butte County is declared a public nuisance under Butte…

Butte County does not impose comprehensive on-street parking time limits in unincorporated areas, but recreational vehicles and boats cannot be parked in any public or private…

Camping or sleeping overnight in a recreational vehicle, travel trailer, camper, or tent on unincorporated Butte County land outside a lawful campground or RV park is prohibited except…

Butte County requires a building permit for every electric vehicle charging station, but Article VIII of Chapter 26 forces that permit through an expedited, streamlined review created…

In Butte County's urban residential zones, recreational vehicles and boats cannot be stored in required front or street-side setbacks unless on a driveway/paved surface, parked…

Heavy equipment storage by individual contractors/drivers is permitted in industrial zones but requires a special standard (Section 24-173.1) in the Very Low Density Residential (VLDR)…

Butte County does not require a building permit for non-masonry fences up to 7 feet high, or masonry fences up to 6 feet high. Fences still must comply with zoning height limits in…

Butte County Zoning Code Section 24-60 limits residential fence materials to decorative masonry, ornamental steel or iron, or wood. Barbed wire, razor wire, and similar materials are…

Butte County's grading ordinance treats retaining walls as an engineering tool for meeting cut-and-fill setbacks, not as a routine fence. Section 13-11(d) sets a sliding setback from…

In unincorporated Butte County, residential fences and walls are capped at 42 inches within the front and street-side setback and at 6 feet in all other areas of the parcel…

Butte County caps window signage at a quarter of the glass. Zoning Ordinance Section 24-106(D) says window signs cannot cover more than 25 percent of any window, with multi-pane…

A Butte County resident can post one garage sale sign without any permit. Section 24-101(A)(10) allows "one (1) garage sale sign at the residence where the garage sale is taking place…

Butte County limits freeway signs to businesses serving the "freeway-motoring public." Section 24-106(A) requires the sign to sit on the same parcel as the business, within 800 feet of…

Political signs in unincorporated Butte County run on an election calendar. Section 24-108(C) allows them to go up no earlier than 90 days before an election and requires removal no…

Digital billboards are tightly regulated in unincorporated Butte County. Section 24-106(E) requires each still image to hold for at least eight seconds with no motion or flashing, an…

Butte County bars anyone under 18 from public places and business premises from 10 p.m. (11 p.m. during Daylight Saving Time) until 5 a.m. under Sec. 15-2.1. A parent or guardian who…

Butte County has no dedicated data-center ordinance. In the unincorporated county a server facility is an industrial use, allowed in the Light Industrial (LI), General Industrial (GI)…

Unlike many rural counties, Butte County has a codified Noise Control Ordinance. Section 41A-7 caps noise at sensitive receptors at 50 dBA Leq daytime and 40 nighttime in non-urban…

Anyone going door-to-door at private residences to sell goods, wares, merchandise, or services (insurance sales excepted) must first register with the Butte County Sheriff, providing…

Butte County Zoning Ordinance Section 24-162 allows a home occupation to display one single, non-illuminated, wall-mounted sign of not more than six (6) square feet. Free-standing…

Home occupations are permitted in residential zones of unincorporated Butte County under Section 24-162, but only as a use clearly incidental and subordinate to the dwelling. The…

In Butte County's urban zones, any landscaping installed under a building permit must be picked from a county-approved plant list that excludes invasive species. The Development…

Front yards in Butte County's urban residential zones must be planted, not paved. Section 24-115(A)(1) requires plants selected from a county-approved list of "native and non-native…

Butte County requires a construction permit, a Use Permit, CEQA review, and an approved management plan before anyone may build a recycled water (wastewater) pond in the unincorporated…

Residential pools and spas in unincorporated Butte County must comply with California Health and Safety Code section 115922 et seq., which requires installation of at least two of…

Any new or remodeled swimming pool or spa in unincorporated Butte County requires a building permit from the Butte County Department of Development Services Building Division; plans…

Butte County's Zoning Ordinance does not enforce homeowners association covenants, conditions and restrictions. Section 24-5(D) leaves CC&R enforcement to private parties, while the…

Butte County's Zoning Ordinance bans marijuana dispensaries outright. Section 24-166 states plainly that the use is prohibited, and the glossary entry for "Marijuana Dispensary" in…

Within the Butte Creek Canyon (-BCC) overlay zone, Butte County Code of Ordinances Section 24-34.1(D)(5) requires the Department of Development Services to consult the California…

Operators of hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, RV parks, campgrounds and short-term rentals in unincorporated Butte County must collect a 6 percent transient occupancy tax from any…