Because prime agricultural land is not a readily renewable resource, this district classification is intended to provide for the protection of agricultural land and uses against encroachment by other uses which may be in conflict therewith. The provisions of this section, therefore, shall be liberally interpreted to apply to agricultural pursuits and related services, to the end that no other use shall be permitted, and no regulation shall be deemed or construed to interfere with any, normal accessory use conducted in conjunction therewith. It is the intention of this section to prevent the subdividing of prime agricultural lands into lot sizes which might threaten the use of such lands for agriculture, and changes of zone from AE to another classification are to be made only where such uses are in accord with the general plan. The following regulations, shall apply in all AE districts, subject to the provisions of Chapters 20.46 to 20.58 of this code.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

Uses permitted include the following:

1. A single-family (for mandated standards related to manufactured housing see Section 20.48.130)
2. Child Day Care Home, up to 14 children
3. Community Care Facilities for six or fewer people in compliance with Health and Safety Code Section 1566.3
4. Home occupations
5. One guest cottage for the use of friends, relatives and bona fide visitors, in conjunction with a single-family dwelling.
6. Nurseries and greenhouses.
   
7. Employee/Farmworker housing, up to 12 dwelling units or 36 beds, as specified in the State Employee Housing Act (Health and Safety Code Sections 17000 through 17062.5)
8. Employee housing, up to six residents, as specified in the State Employee Housing Act (Health and Safety Code Sections 17000 through 17062.5)
9. Accessory dwelling units
10. Junior accessory dwelling units
    
11. Accessory buildings and accessory uses including barns, stables, and other farm buildings
    
12. All agricultural uses, including crop and tree farming, livestock farming and animal husbandry and dairies
    
13. Home enterprises which are agricultural in nature as outlines in subsections D and F of this section.
    
14. Guest lodging.
    

(Ord. 2023-007 § 21, 2023; Ord. 2023-006 § 3 (part), 2023; Ord. 99-002 (part), 1999; Ord. 95-17 § 4 (2), 1995; Ord. 95-06 § 5 (part), 1995; Ord. 76-22 § 1 (part), 1976; Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

Uses permitted with a use permit shall be as follows:

1. Country clubs and golf courses, subject to the provisions of Section 20.10.50;
2. Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics;
3. Public or quasi-public uses;
4. Guest ranches and public stables;
5. A mobile home in lieu of a conventional residential unit or a manufactured home;
6. Airports, subject to the provisions of Section 20.10.100;
7. Quarters for farm labor employed on the premises;
8. Commercial excavation for rock and gravel, subject to the provisions of Section 20.10.100;
9. Oil and gas drilling, subject to the provisions of Section 20.10.100;
10. Produce sales stands, provided, that the majority of the produce sold or offered for sale is grown on the premises;
11. Hog farming;
12. Home enterprises which are not agricultural in nature.

(Ord. 99-002 (part), 1999; Ord. 95-17 § 4 (2), 1995; Ord. 95-06 § 5 (part), 1995; Ord. 76-22 § 1 (part), 1976; Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

Building height limit shall be none.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

Minimum lot area shall be as follows:

1. One hundred acres for golf courses and country clubs;
2. Forty acres, except as provided in Section 20.10.50(A).

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

Required front yard shall be twenty-five feet. Also refer to Section 20.48.90.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

Required side yard shall be twenty feet.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3, (part), 1974)

Required rear yard shall be twenty feet for main building and five feet for accessory building.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

1. Accessory buildings used as barns, stables or farm outbuildings shall be not less than twenty feet from any side or tear property line, and not less than fifty feet from the front property line, and not less than twenty feet from any dwelling limit on the property.
2. Yards for the use of livestock shall be fenced to keep animals not less than twenty feet from airy dwelling.
3. Side and rear yards for animal hospitals and veterinary clinics shall be no less than sixty feet when adjacent to a lot or parcel used for residential purposes.
4. Commercial excavations for rock or gravel shall have side and rear yards of a dimension large enough to provide a minimum distance of no less than two hundred feet between such operations and the nearest dwelling; but in no case less than sixty feet.
5. Oil and gas drilling operations shall have side and rear yard of a dimension large enough to provide a minimum distance of no less than one hundred fifty feet between such operations and the nearest dwelling, but in no case less than forty feet.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)

1. Where airports, commercial excavation for rock or gravel, or oil or gas extraction requires the removal of or the paving or surfacing over of topsoil, such topsoil shall be removed form all affected areas and stored or used for cultivation elsewhere.
2. At the termination of any use covered under Subsection 20.10.100(A), the property owner shall, within six months of such termination, restore topsoil and vegetation to substantially the same conditions as existed prior to the terminated use. In the event the owner or lessee fails to complete the rehabilitation of the property as herein provided, the director of public works shall restore the property to the conditions required herein. The unrestored condition shall be considered a nuisance, and the rehabilitation of the property shall be considered abatement of said nuisance. All costs incurred by the county in the rehabilitation of the property shall be recoverable form the owner as provided in Chapter 7.08 of the Del Norte County Code.
3. All trailers occupied continuously for a period of more than ninety days shall have a protective skirt of screening to prevent access under the trailer.

(Ord. 74-12 § 3 (part), 1974)