Placentia, CA Right to Farm: Agricultural Zoning Protection (2026)

Section 23.10.010 states the purpose of the R-A district: to permit mixed farm and residential uses on parcels larger than typical residential lots, where livestock, poultry, and small animals are kept or raised in limited number. Section 23.10.020 lists what is permitted outright: one single-family dwelling per minimum lot size, light farming of agricultural crops including horticulture and grazing, accessory buildings, structures and uses ancillary to those uses (not to be construed as any commercial use), home occupations under § 23.81.020, crop and tree farming, and accessory dwelling units under Chapter 23.73.

Animal numbers are tied to land area. The caps are two equine or bovine animals for private use, twenty-five rabbits, chickens or small animals, and an aggregate of four sheep, goats or similar animals, each per 20,000 square feet. Under § 23.81.130(5), no stable, paddock, coop, pen or other enclosure for animals or fowls can sit closer than 100 feet from the front lot line or closer than 20 feet to any residence.

Site standards follow. Section 23.10.050 requires a minimum building site of 20,000 square feet on interior and corner lots, with a minimum lot width of 100 feet. Height tops out at 30 feet (§ 23.10.040), and buildings or structures can cover no more than 40 percent of the lot (§ 23.10.060). The front yard is 25 feet. Side yards are 11 feet on a corner lot line, and 6 feet on one side and 12 feet on the other on an interior lot. The rear yard is 5 feet, provided at least 700 square feet, clear and unobstructed, exists on the rear one-third of the lot.

A use permit is required under § 23.10.030 for churches, schools, parks, playgrounds, public utilities, large family day care homes, day nurseries, an aggregate of two single-family dwelling units per minimum lot size, and other uses found compatible with the permitted ones. This page rests on the R-A zoning text; it does not describe any nuisance-immunity rule for farms.