Yolo County, CA Outdoor Cooking: Outdoor Kitchen Permits (2026)

Yolo County zoning defines a second or outdoor kitchen at Sec. 507 as any outdoor space, singly or in combination, that has electrical or plumbing outlets sufficient to run a stove, range, oven, sink, or dishwasher, whether or not the equipment is installed yet. 304(e), the county's permit table for residential and other uses on agricultural-zoned land, lists Second or outdoor kitchen as its own line item with its own permit tier, separate from the primary dwelling's kitchen. Under that table, a property owner needs a Site Plan Review to build one in the A-N (Agricultural Intensive), A-X (Agricultural Extensive), or A-R (Agricultural Residential) zones.

The same table marks the use N, meaning not allowed, in the A-C and A-I zones. A Site Plan Review is a staff-level land use permit administered by the Planning Division without a public hearing, but it still requires the county to review and approve the plans before a permit issues; a landowner cannot wire up an outdoor grill island with a sink and dishwasher and skip review because it sits outside the house. The distinction exists because the county treats a fully plumbed second kitchen as functionally close to converting a detached structure into a second dwelling, the same concern behind the accessory dwelling unit and accessory structure standards in the surrounding parts of Sec. 506.