Josephine County, OR Ordinances (2026)

Unincorporated Josephine County requires every sexually oriented business to hold an operator's license from the Director, and every worker there to hold an employee license, before…

Rural Josephine County allows vehicle and boat repair, service, detailing, restoration or sales as a Type II home occupation with up to four vehicles on site to be worked on or sold…

In unincorporated Josephine County, a small ancillary living unit is permitted only as a "detached living space" under a Temporary Use Permit, capped at 900 square feet, and the code…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, the combined footprint of sheds, garages, carports and shops is capped by lot size under…

In rural Josephine County's Rural Residential zones (RR-1, RR-2.5, RR-5), a homeowner may build one accessory dwelling unit under § 19.61.020(B) of the Rural Land Development Code, but…

In Rural Residential zones outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, § 19.61.020(B)(8) of the Rural Land Development Code bars any accessory dwelling unit from…

Rural Josephine County awards extra lots to cluster subdivisions through a points system: two points each for avoiding prime farmland, floodplain, and steep or granitic ground, and…

In unincorporated Josephine County, altering a building or lot marked a primary historic site on the official zoning map triggers a mandatory 30-day hold. The Historic Review Committee…

Josephine County gives property owners 10 days to fix a nuisance once a certified abatement letter goes out, then at least 10 more days' notice before a hearing, and another 10 days to…

To trigger a county nuisance investigation in unincorporated Josephine County, you need a written, signed complaint from at least three unrelated adult residents of separate…

To open a nuisance-abatement case in unincorporated Josephine County, at least three nonrelated adult residents living within a half-mile of the property must file a signed, written…

Unincorporated Josephine County allows marijuana producers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and labs to operate, but only with an annual compliance certificate from the Community…

Unincorporated Josephine County keeps new or relocated marijuana retail and dispensary sites 1,000 feet from any school, daycare or church, and 1,000 feet from any other marijuana…

In unincorporated Josephine County, putrescible waste must sit in fly-tight, rodent-proof containers and come off the property at least every seven days. Letting it pile up so rodents…

In Josephine County parks, county code makes it unlawful to build, light, start, or maintain any fire except in a stove, fire pit, or fireplace the park has designated for that use and…

Josephine County Code bars anyone from possessing or using firecrackers, fireworks, or other explosive devices in a county park without the Parks Director's prior written permission…

Chapter 19.76 of the Rural Land Development Code sets wildfire and emergency safety standards for new, replaced or substantially improved structures. Forest zone development must…

Josephine County requires two rings of cleared or fire-resistant vegetation around new structures: a 50-foot primary fire safety zone and a second 50-foot secondary zone beyond it…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, a fence that stays within the height limits set in Chapter 19.73 JCC (Fences, Walls and…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, a retaining wall in any residential, commercial or industrial zone cannot exceed four feet…

In unincorporated Josephine County, a sight-obscuring fence cannot be built from root balls, hay bales, junk, appliances, inoperable vehicles or equipment, plastic sheeting, or tarps…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, sight-obscuring fences and walls may reach 7 feet in a residential interior yard, but any…

In unincorporated Josephine County, it's unlawful to consume or possess an open container of alcohol or any other intoxicant on public property where consumption is generally…

Turning on a PA system or amplified sound equipment in a Josephine County park requires a temporary permit from the Parks Director first. Skip the permit and you're violating both the…

Josephine County has no fixed clock-hour quiet time. Instead, its noise ordinance makes 'excessive noise' a violation whenever a person intentionally or recklessly causes unreasonable…

Running a special event or group activity in a Josephine County park takes a temporary permit from the Parks Director. The application has to go in at least 48 hours ahead of time and…

Josephine County does not set traffic rules for cyclists; instead, JCC § 19.81.150 lets the Review Body require developers to build separate bicycle lanes on new arterial and collector…

County parks in Josephine County are open daily from sunrise to sunset, timed to U.S. Naval Observatory tables, and close at sunset except for areas set aside for overnight camping…

Advertising signs and billboards, defined the same as "advertising structure" under JCC § 19.11.040, may be illuminated only in the county's commercial and industrial zones, and JCC §…

JCC § 19.77.010 requires every exterior light fixture in unincorporated Josephine County, including security lighting, to be shielded or hooded so it casts light downward only, never…

In unincorporated Josephine County, an abandoned structure that is easily accessible to the public and has no resident caretaker is a declared public health nuisance under §…

Any Josephine County property, vacant or occupied, violates § 8.10.050 if discarded appliances, furniture, auto parts, or rubble sit visible from a public road. A sight-screening fence…

Josephine County's sign chapter defers temporary political signs to state law: JCC § 19.74.030(B) states they "are permitted in accordance with the ORS." The same section still bars…

In unincorporated Josephine County, owning more than six adult dogs without a fancier or rescue permit requires a kennel permit from Animal Control. No owner, permitted or not, may…

Josephine County does not mandate spay or neuter for pet owners generally. The requirement is narrow: anyone holding a county rescue permit for seven to ten adult dogs must have all of…

In Josephine County parks, dogs and other animals cannot run unrestrained; a leash longer than six feet is also a violation under § 12.05.120(A). Elsewhere in unincorporated Josephine…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, documented osprey and great blue heron rookeries get a 300-foot structure setback under…

In the Rural Industrial zone outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, § 19.63.020(B)(15) of the Rural Land Development Code lists a veterinary clinic and…

In the county's Rural Residential zones outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, § 19.61.050 lets homeowners keep chickens and other farm animals as an…

Rural Josephine County treats recycling centers and resource recovery facilities as a regulated land use under Josephine County Code § 19.86.030. Operators must hold a County solid…

Dumping or storing putrescible waste without fly-tight, rodent-proof containers, or letting solid waste accumulate enough to attract mosquitoes, flies, and rodents, is a prohibited…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, every subdivision, partition, replat and planned unit development must install stormwater…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, grading or filling on slopes of 15 percent or more, or on granitic soils, triggers the…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, the Rural Land Development Code's Flood Hazard Overlay (Chapter 19.69A) governs every…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, homes built in flood hazard areas with base flood elevation data must be raised above that…

On unincorporated land inside the Grants Pass or Cave Junction urban growth boundary, keeping an inoperable or wrecked motor vehicle unenclosed and visible for more than 10 consecutive…

Rural Josephine County lets residents run small businesses from their homes under Josephine County Code § 19.92.030, but only on residential or resource-zoned property already occupied…

Josephine County ties customer traffic to home occupation permit type. A Type I home occupation, JCC § 19.92.050(A)(4), allows customers and clients by appointment only. A Type II…

Sign size for a rural Josephine County home business depends on permit type. A Type I home occupation is limited to one nonilluminated sign of six square feet, set back 10 feet from…

In Rural Residential zones outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, § 19.61.020(F) of the Rural Land Development Code permits a family day-care dwelling for…

Rural Josephine County allows yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, auctions, beverage stands, and rummage or craft sales from a residence outright, without a home occupation permit…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, most rural structures are capped at 35 feet under the Rural Land Development Code's height…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, the Rural Land Development Code sets minimum yard setbacks by zone. In the Rural…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, the Rural Land Development Code generally bars removing vegetation within a stream's…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, the Rural Land Development Code zones farmland under two dedicated agricultural…

Section 19.64.010 of the Rural Land Development Code declares that normal farm and resource-management practices in the county's Exclusive Farm and Farm Resource zones are not a…

In the Exclusive Farm and Farm Resource zones outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, on-site filming and its accessory activities need no permit at all for…