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

San Jacinto, a Riverside County city governed by its City Council, treats farming on vacant ground as an interim use. Section 17.430.200 applies only to vacant land in a residential or open space zone. Limited, seasonal farming means seasonal row and field crops, and it also covers short-term seasonal grazing for the purpose of nonmechanical weed abatement.

Five standards apply to every operation. Aerial application of pesticides is prohibited, and any pesticide use must follow local, state and federal rules. Dust control is required. The operation has to avoid negative impacts on adjacent property and cannot constitute a nuisance. No structures are allowed, because the code treats limited, seasonal farming and agricultural uses as interim uses under the General Plan. A zoning clearance is required before the farming starts or expands.

Neighbors have a defined complaint path. If the Director receives more than 10 complaints about farming on the same property, from separate individuals and about a similar problem, during a thirty-day period, the matter is set for a nuisance hearing, and conditions can then be imposed on the farming. The City also keeps its power to investigate any complaint or farming practice tied to health or safety issues.

Other parts of the Development Code deal with longer-term agricultural uses. The RE (Residential Estate) Zone in § 17.215.010 allows agricultural uses and sets a maximum density of 1.0 dwelling unit per two gross acres, and the RE and RR zones allow horses and other farm animals in compliance with Section 17.430.050 (Animal Keeping). Under § 17.235.030, the -RAAB overlay can be applied only to RR and RL properties and adds cottage businesses, which must follow Section 17.430.140. Metal storage structures on sites with existing bona fide agricultural uses are exempt from the metal building standards in § 17.305.080.