The purpose of the Rural Living (RL) combining district is to expand the number and type of permitted and conditionally permitted uses within rural areas of the county. The RL combining district may be applied to areas designated 5.6, 5.7, or 5.8 by the Kern County general plan or other adopted general or specific plan. The RL combining district shall not be applied on any property that is located within one-quarter (¼) mile of any other property designated 5.1, 5.2, or 5.3 by the Kern County general plan or other adopted general or specific plan, nor shall the RL combining district be applied to any parcel with a size of less than two (2) acres. The RL combining district may be combined with the Estate (E) district or Limited Agriculture (A-1) district, where the permitted lot size is two and one-half (2½) acres or larger. The uses permitted or conditionally permitted and regulations established by the RL district shall be in addition to the uses and regulations of the base district with which the RL district is combined.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

The following uses, uses permitted by the base district, and all others determined to be similar to these uses pursuant to Sections 19.08.030 through 19.08.080 of this title are permitted in the RL district:

A.

Recreation, entertainment, and tourist facilities:

— Boarding or keeping of horses, not to exceed one (1) horse for each one-quarter (¼) acre, including owner's horses

— Horse breeding

— Horse riding

— Horse riding academies and schools

— Horse training or instructional clinics;

B.

Miscellaneous uses:

— Agricultural accessory buildings and structures, including cargo containers not to exceed one (1) cargo container for each two and one-half (2½) acres of gross lot area.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Uses permitted with a conditional use permit in an RL district are those conditional uses permitted by the base district with which the RL district is combined and the following uses:

A.

Recreation, entertainment and tourist facilities:

— Boarding or keeping of horses, exceeding one (1) horse for each one-quarter (¼) acre

— Equestrian establishment, including horse shows and rodeos;

B.

Commercial Uses.

1.

Services:

— Equestrian services

— Veterinary.

(Ord. G-6191 § 74, 1995: Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Prohibited uses in an RL district are those uses prohibited by the base district with which the RL district is combined and any other use not expressly authorized by this title.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Minimum lot size requirements in an RL district are per the requirements of the base district with which the RL district is combined, provided, no portion of any lot shall be included within a base district which permits parcel sizes of less than two and one-half (2½) acres.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Requirements for minimum lot area per dwelling unit in an RL district are per the requirements of the base district with which the RL district is combined.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Yard and setback requirements in an RL district shall be as required in the base district or as follows, whichever is least restrictive:

A.

Pens, coops, stables, corrals, and other structures and enclosures housing livestock or poultry, and the animals themselves, shall be at least:

1.

Fifty (50) feet from the front property line;

2.

Fifteen (15) feet from the street side of a corner lot.

(Ord. G-5966 § 115, 1993; Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Height limit requirements in an RL district are per the requirements of the base district with which the RL district is combined.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

The minimum distance between structures in an RL district shall be as required in the base district or as follows, whichever is least restrictive:

A.

There shall be a minimum distance of six (6) feet between a residential building and an accessory building or between accessory buildings, except that pens, coops, other structures for housing animals, and the animals themselves shall be at least thirty (30) feet away from any off-site residential building or other building used for human habitation, at least one hundred (100) feet from the front lot line, at least twenty-five (25) feet from the street side lot line on a corner lot, and at least one hundred (100) feet away from any public park, school, hospital, or similar institution.

(Ord. G-6077 § 228, 1994: Ord. G-5966 § 116, 1993; Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Parking requirements in an RL district are per the requirements of the base district with which the RL district is combined, except that parking area surfacing shall be provided as required by Subsection A(2) of Section 19.82.090. Parking area surfacing for conditional uses shall be as required by the approved conditional use permit.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Sign requirements in an RL district are per the requirements of the base district with which the RL district is combined.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

Landscaping requirements in an RL district are per the requirements of the base district with which the RL district is combined, except as otherwise required in conjunction with an approved conditional use permit.

(Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)

The director of the Kern County planning department may authorize, upon written request from the property owner, equestrian events to be held for a maximum of five (5) days during any given calendar year involving no more than one hundred (100) people on site, including participants and spectators. Any such request shall be accompanied by a written statement describing the proposed event and by the signatures of the owners of all abutting properties which contain a residence indicating "no objection" to the request. No public address or loudspeaker systems shall be utilized, except that portable, hand-held megaphones or similar sound amplification devices, as determined by the planning director, may be utilized. The planning director may impose conditions deemed necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

(Ord. G-6077 § 229, 1994: Ord. G-5861 § 25 (part), 1992)