Shasta County, CA Ordinances (2026)

Shasta County's published zoning height rules do not impose a general residential ban on barbed wire or specific fence materials, and the county is largely rural where agricultural…

Routine residential fences need no county building permit, but the California Building Code requires a building permit for any fence over 7 feet tall. A use permit from Planning is…

In unincorporated Shasta County, fences, walls and hedges are limited to 3 feet within a required front yard or the street-side yard of a corner lot, and 6 feet in rear and interior…

Shasta County Code Section 6.04.050 makes it unlawful for an animal owner to allow their animal to disturb the peace by loud and unreasonable howling, barking, or other loud and…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no stand-alone amplified-music ordinance. Amplified sound is regulated through the General Plan exterior noise standards, which are lowered 5 dB for…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no county-wide ordinance fixing construction hours. Construction timing is controlled project-by-project through use permits and environmental review…

Aircraft flight operations are regulated by the FAA, not Shasta County. The County manages aircraft noise indirectly by guiding compatible land uses around airports such as Redding…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no classic curfew-style quiet-hours ordinance. Instead the General Plan Noise Element sets time-based exterior noise limits that tighten at night (10…

Unincorporated Shasta County regulates short-term rentals under Ordinance SCC 2020-05, codified at County Code Section 17.88.230. Whole-house vacation rentals need a vacation rental…

Shasta County caps short-term rental occupancy by approved bedroom and time of day. From 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. up to 5 guests per approved bedroom are allowed; from 10:00 p.m. to…

Shasta County requires liability insurance for whole-house vacation rentals. Under Section 17.88.230(H)(2), before a vacation rental permit is approved the property owner must provide…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Shasta County must register with the county Tax Collector and pay Transient Occupancy Tax under County Code Chapter 3.16, currently ten…

Outdoor watering in unincorporated Shasta County is governed mainly by statewide rules and by individual water providers, not a single county ordinance. California's permanent…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no general aesthetic lawn-height limit, but its defensible space ordinance (County Code Chapter 8.10) caps weeds and annual grasses at six inches when…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no general permit requirement to trim or prune trees on private property. Trimming is most often driven by the County's defensible space ordinance…

Home occupations in unincorporated Shasta County are not allowed any business sign. Zoning Code Section 17.88.175 prohibits 'advertising signs of any kind' as exterior evidence of the…

Shasta County caps how many customers can drive to a home-based business each day. Under Section 17.88.205, a home occupation with customer vehicle trips is limited to six trips daily…

Shasta County allows a large family day care home, one caring for up to fourteen children or adults, in any residential zone once an administrative permit is issued under Code Section…

Unincorporated Shasta County allows home occupations as an accessory use to a residence under Zoning Code Section 17.88.175. The activity must be incidental to the home, conducted…

In Shasta County's F-2 floodplain combining district, new residential structures and substantial improvements must sit at least one foot above the base flood level. The Resource…

Shasta County Code Section 18.10.090 makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant, any non-storm water, or any storm water violating a permit limit into the county's storm drains…

Shasta County Code Section 18.10.190 requires anyone who owns or operates a construction site inside the county's MS4 permit area to install best management practices controlling…

Any construction inside Shasta County's Restrictive Flood (F-2) District has to be anchored against flotation, collapse, and lateral movement, and Code Section 17.70.050 sets a hard…

Beekeepers in Shasta County must register their apiaries with the agricultural commissioner, get the landowner's permission to site a hive, and keep hives at least 300 feet from any…

In Shasta County's Limited Agriculture (A-1) district, keeping chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese or rabbits is capped at twenty-five birds per half-acre of gross lot area under Section…

Shasta County does not ban or single out any dog breed; instead it adopts the state's individualized dangerous-and-vicious-dog process under the Food and Agricultural Code. A dog of…

The Board of Supervisors can designate specific areas of unincorporated Shasta County as dog leash zones after a public hearing, and inside those zones every dog must be on a leash and…

Shasta County caps ownership at six dogs over four months old per lot, dwelling, or premises unless the owner holds a dog hobbyist, ranch dog, or non-commercial dog sanctuary permit…

Electric vehicle charging stations are a by-right use in every zone district in unincorporated Shasta County, exempt from discretionary review unless a station would cause a specific…

Buildings of 10,000 square feet or more used as a hospital, hotel, or commercial or industrial facility must provide at least one off-street loading space, plus one more for every…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no dedicated ordinance limiting how long an RV, trailer, or boat may sit on a public road. Street use is governed by the California Vehicle Code, while…

Shasta County's code does not impose a blanket ban on parking commercial trucks on residential roads in the unincorporated area. Any commercial-vehicle street restriction must come…

Shasta County Code Chapter 10.04 declares abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles on public or private property a public nuisance. A vehicle left on a highway for 120…

Unincorporated Shasta County does not have a comprehensive residential street-parking ordinance. On county-maintained roads, where and how you may stop or park is set by the California…

Unincorporated Shasta County has no general ordinance banning overnight parking on residential streets. The only overnight rule in the county code is a midnight-to-5 a.m. restriction…

All exterior and interior lighting in unincorporated Shasta County must be designed and aimed to stay on the property where it is installed. A fixture cannot shine directly onto…

Shasta County bars anyone from erecting, altering, moving, or converting a structure or mobile home, or installing, repairing, or replacing building service equipment such as wiring or…

Plumbing installed in a Shasta County limited density owner-built rural dwelling must follow the most recently adopted California Plumbing Code, Part 5, Title 24, under Code Section…

Shasta County's owner-built rural dwelling program does not force any dwelling to hook up to electrical power, but Code Section 16.10.340 requires that whatever wiring or electrical…

Any group larger than twenty-five people must get written permission from the Director of Public Works before holding a picnic, celebration, parade, service, or exercise inside a…

Shasta County parks close to loitering, camping, and overnight stays between midnight and 5:00 a.m. under County Code Section 12.32.120(N), unless the Board of Supervisors has…

Shasta County bars anyone under eighteen from being in a public place or business establishment between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under Code Section 9.04.020(A). Parents and guardians who…

A card room can only operate in Shasta County's Community Commercial (C-2) zone district, and even there it needs a discretionary use permit alongside bars and nightclubs. The county…

Temporary window signs in unincorporated Shasta County are exempt from a use permit if they are painted with water-soluble paint or made of paper, cloth, or similar expendable…

Shasta County bans changeable-copy signs outright, a category that expressly includes electronic message boards, large television or projector screens used as signage, and electronic…

Shasta County does not print a fixed pickup day in its code; instead the board of supervisors decides collection frequency, method, and cost for every unincorporated service area under…

Dumping refuse or rubbish anywhere in Shasta County outside a site the board of supervisors has designated for disposal is unlawful under Section 8.32.110. Any name or identifying mark…

Single-family households in unincorporated Shasta County must subscribe to the county's organic waste collection service and sort yard trimmings and food scraps into the green…

Anyone buying or selling secondhand goods as a junk dealer or itinerant junk dealer in unincorporated Shasta County must first obtain a license from the Board of Supervisors. The…

Shasta County keeps adult entertainment businesses away from homes, schools and each other: Section 17.88.290 bars any new adult bookstore, theater, cabaret, model studio or similar…

Shasta County charges a 10% transient occupancy tax on rent paid at any hotel, motel, inn, or other lodging in the unincorporated county, including short-term rentals under 30 days…

Any itinerant restaurant, mobile food vehicle, or vending machine operating in unincorporated Shasta County needs a valid health permit from the county health officer before serving…

Anyone going door to door in unincorporated Shasta County to sell goods, take orders, or offer services must first get a solicitor's permit from the county sheriff's office. The permit…

In Shasta County's Limited Residential (R-L) district, the most common baseline residential zone outside town centers, Section 17.24.060(B) sets a flat thirty-foot setback on all…

Shasta County's Limited Residential (R-L) district caps a main building at thirty-five feet under Section 17.24.060(C)(1). Accessory buildings follow a sliding scale tied to distance…

Shasta County bans outdoor cannabis cultivation everywhere and requires that any legal indoor grow stay invisible and undetectable from schools, school bus stops, child care centers…

There is no zone where a cannabis dispensary can locate in unincorporated Shasta County. Section 17.88.325(D) bans all commercial cannabis activity, medical or nonmedical, in every…

Shasta County channels farming into two zoning districts built to keep land in agricultural use: Limited Agriculture (A-1) for part-time and hobby operations, and Exclusive Agriculture…

Any violation of Shasta County's code, or of Division 4 or 18 of the state Food and Agricultural Code, is declared a public nuisance under Section 8.28.010. That covers everything from…

Shasta County bans camping or squatting on public property in specific closed zones, including the Keswick Reservoir Rails-to-Trails corridor and any public building or bridge, under…

Shasta County bans riding a bicycle, skateboard, scooter, or in-line skate on the parking surfaces, driveways, sidewalks, and grounds of any county-owned property under Code Section…

Shasta County bans open containers and drinking alcohol at Shasta Dam, its visitor areas, and their parking lots between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under Code Section 9.09.010. The ban lifts…

Anyone who wants to place a structure, driveway, or other encroachment in a Shasta County road right-of-way must first sign an indemnity agreement protecting the county before a permit…

Shasta County's short-term rental rules don't touch private HOA authority: Section 17.88.230(F)(3) expressly preserves every homeowners association's right to enforce its own…

Every limited density owner-built rural dwelling permitted under Shasta County's wildfire-rebuild program must have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed to the current California…

A backyard fire pit used only for cooking, warmth, or ambience counts as a 'campfire' under County Code Section 8.08.010 and is exempt from Shasta County's outdoor burning permit…

In areas the state classifies as local fire responsibility, Shasta County bans burning waste, trash, dry grass, or other flammable material outdoors without a permit from the county…

In unincorporated Shasta County, ADUs are regulated by Zoning Code Section 17.88.132. One ADU is allowed per legal lot in any district permitting a one-family residence (plus the…

Converting a garage into living space in unincorporated Shasta County is treated as creating an ADU under Zoning Code Section 17.88.132. A key benefit: when an existing, legally…

Storage sheds in unincorporated Shasta County are 'residential accessory buildings' under Zoning Code Section 17.88.140. The combined floor area of all accessory structures on a lot…

A building permit is required to build a swimming pool, spa, or hot tub in unincorporated Shasta County. The Building Division reviews plans under the 2022 California Residential Code…

Pools and spas in unincorporated Shasta County must be enclosed by a barrier at least five feet (60 inches) high, with no gaps that pass a four-inch sphere and gates that are…

Shasta County has no standalone noise ordinance. A data center's cooling systems and backup generators are held to the General Plan Noise Element standard (Table N-IV): 55 dBA hourly…

Shasta County has no dedicated data-center ordinance. In unincorporated areas a data center is treated as an industrial use and belongs in the Light Industrial (M-L) or General…