Chino Hills, CA Outdoor Cooking: Outdoor Kitchen Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Front yard
- Not permitted at any distance
- Rear/side/street-side setback
- 5 feet minimum
- Height limit
- No separate cap listed (N/A)
- Governing table
- Table 10-1(B), residential properties
- Enforcement
- Compliance order, then misdemeanor or citation
Summary
Chino Hills treats a built-in barbecue, countertop kitchen, or pizza oven as an accessory feature under CHMC § 16.06.070's setback table, not a separate use with its own permit process. The structure cannot go in a front yard at all, and it needs a minimum five-foot setback from the rear, interior side, and street-side property lines in every residential district.
All required setback areas shall be open and unobstructed from finished grade to the sky, except that the following features are permitted within the setback areas subject to permissible projections into the setback and/or minimum distance to property lines as indicated in Tables 10-1(A), 10-1(B), and 10-1(C). ... Table 10-1(B) Minimum Distance to the Property Line for Residentially Zoned Properties ... Barbecue Structure (Built-In), Countertop, and Pizza Oven Not Permitted 5′0″ 5′0″ 5′0″ N/A
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
070 sets accessory-feature setbacks for residentially zoned properties in Table 10-1(B), and the 'Barbecue Structure (Built-In), Countertop, and Pizza Oven' row applies to any permanent grill island, outdoor cook station, or wood-fired or gas pizza oven built into the yard. The front yard column reads 'Not Permitted,' the same flat bar that applies to nearly every feature in the table, so an outdoor kitchen has to go in a rear, interior side, or street-side yard instead. Those three yards each carry a five-foot minimum distance to the property line, and the table lists no maximum height ('N/A') for the structure itself, unlike the ten-foot cap that applies to a small accessory building of 120 square feet or less under the same table.
100. 070 only fixes where on the lot the structure can sit. Because it sits inside Title 16, a placement violation is treated the same as any other zoning encroachment for enforcement purposes.
Violations & Fines
Building a barbecue structure, countertop kitchen, or pizza oven in a front yard, or closer than five feet to a rear, interior side, or street-side line, violates CHMC § 16.06.070 and Title 16 generally. Under § 16.02.110, a Development Code violation is a misdemeanor unless designated an infraction, punishable under § 1.36.010 et seq.; before an administrative citation issues, § 1.18.060 requires the city to first send a written compliance order giving the property owner a reasonable period to correct the encroachment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a built-in barbecue in my Chino Hills front yard?
How close to my property line can I build an outdoor kitchen island?
Does an outdoor kitchen need its own zoning permit in Chino Hills?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chino Hills
California rules heatmap·Compare Chino Hills to another location·View the California outdoor cooking overview
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Outdoor Kitchen Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle outdoor kitchen permits.