Norco City Zoning Code

Applicant shall submit a completed and executed application for such a permit to the Planning Director on a form provided by said Director. Said form shall be prepared by the Director and require such data and information as the Director deems necessary to allow him to exercise his judgement in determining whether a permit should be issued.

Applicant shall pay an application fee as determined by City Council Resolution, which shall be used to defray the costs and expenses of the City in reviewing, investigation and processing said application. Said fee shall not be refundable. The Planning Director shall not accept an application for filing until said fee has been paid.

Upon receipt of a proper application, the Planning Director shall conduct whatever investigation and review he deems necessary for a proper determination of said application, including an on site review of the proposed location of said additional animal unit. An applicant's refusal to allow the Director on his property to make such an investigation shall be grounds for immediate denial of said application.

The Director shall conclude his review and investigation of said application no later than 10 days from the date of filing the application and shall, no later than 14 days from said date, issue or deny the permit. The Planning Director shall issue a permit therefor unless he shall find, from all the evidence developed in his investigation, that issuance of the permit, as applied for, would be contrary to the public health, safety and welfare of the City of Norco.

The Director shall have the right to impose any reasonable conditions on the issuance of such a permit; including, but not limited to requiring the permittee to keep his additional animal unit within a certain location on permittee's property, and to provide certain enclosures for such animal.

Any permit granted hereunder shall be personal to the permittee, and shall not be transferable in any manner.

Any person, including an applicant or permittee, who believes he is aggrieved by the decision of the Planning Director, including but not limited to the imposition of any condition to the granting of a permit, may appeal the Director's decision to the Planning Commission. Said person must file an appeal with the Planning Commission no later than 5 days from the Director's final determination of said application. Said appeal shall be filed with the Planning Director on a form as prepared by the Planning Commission and provided by the Planning Director. Appellant shall file with said Notice of Appeal a fee as determined by City Council Resolution to defray City's cost and expenses in processing said appeal. A Notice of Appeal shall not be accepted for filing unless the aforesaid fee has been paid.

Upon receipt of a timely filed Notice of Appeal, the Planning Director shall set a hearing on said appeal for the next regular Planning Commission meeting following the date said Notice of Appeal was filed. The Director shall transmit to the Commission, for its consideration at said hearing, the entire written record concerning said application, including but not limited to the application, a copy of the Director's report, if any, concerning his review and investigation of the application and a report by the Director to the Commission stating his reasons for the grant, denial or conditions, which are subject to an appeal.

The Commission shall, at the above prescribed time, hear the appellant and other persons, who desire to express themselves concerning the appeal; including, but not limited to, the Planning Director. After hearing all interested persons and considering all documentary evidence, the Commission shall, no later than 30 days from the close of the hearing, render a decision affirming or overruling the Planning Director's decision, in whole or in part, or modifying any condition of the Director, which is subject to appeal.

If permittee, at any time after the grant of said permit, violates any condition of said permit or any provisions of this section, the Planning Director may forthwith revoke said permit. Permittee may appeal said revocation to the Planning Commission in the manner provided hereinabove for appeals concerning permit applications; and the Planning Commission shall hear said appeal according to the hereinabove procedures. The Director's decision to revoke the permit shall not be stayed pending any appeal to the Commission.

The proceedings hereunder for permit application or revocation of a permit shall be considered quasi-judicial in nature, and shall be subject to appeal to the City Council or City Council initiated review, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 18.40 (SITE PLAN REVIEW).

The keeping and maintaining of horses, cattle, swine, sheep and goats (hereinafter referred to as "keeping", it being the intent that whenever the term "keeping" or "kept" is used in this Section it shall mean that portion of a lot upon which such animals receive food and/or water and/or shelter) may be permitted only on a lot on which, as of the effective date of this ordinance, uses not allowed in said zone are being conducted pursuant to a legal nonconforming use status in accordance with Chapter 18.39 (NON-CONFORMING USES, LOTS AND STRUCTURES) of this Ordinance and which said nonconforming uses are substantially residential or agricultural, if said lot is not less than 20,000 square feet in area, and includes no less than 5,000 contiguous square feet of land unimproved by structures, buildings or artificial surfacing for each animal unit to be kept; provided, however, if swine are being kept on a lot, said lot shall contain not less than 10,000 contiguous square feet of such unimproved land.

The Conditional Use Permit application shall include, in addition to those items listed in Chapter 18.45 (CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS), statements as to the area of the lot on which the proposed animal keeping is requested, the amount of contiguous square feet of land which is unimproved as described hereinabove, the type of animals to be kept, the date on which the residential and/or agricultural use to which said animal keeping is related commenced, and what type of structures and improvements, if any, are on the subject property.

Before a Conditional Use Permit may be granted for the requested animal keeping, the Commission or Council upon appeal of it, shall make a finding from the evidence as submitted that the proposed animal keeping is reasonably compatible with the area immediately surrounding the location of said use, is not detrimental or undesirable to the public convenience or general welfare of persons residing or working in the neighborhood thereof, and is not injurious to properties immediately surrounding said use.

No animal, as described hereinabove, shall be kept closer than 50' from the right of way line of any existing public right of way which is adjacent to the lot on which the animal is kept, or closer than 50' from the right of way line of a public right of way proposed by the City's General Plan to be adjacent to said lot whichever distance is the greater.

A permit granted hereunder may be revoked or modified at any time by the City Council. Revocation or modification proceedings shall be governed by Chapter 18.46 (REVOCATIONS OF PERMITS OR VARIANCES)

The keeping and maintaining of horses, cattle, swine, sheep and goats (hereinafter referred to as "keeping", it being the intent that whenever the term "keeping" or "kept" is used in this Section it shall mean that portion of a lot upon which such animals receive food and/or water and/or shelter) shall be permitted on the basis of a maximum number of adult units per lot under the terms and conditions, as provided hereinbelow, only on lots in the manufacturing zones, on which, as of the effective date of this Ordinance, uses not allowed in said zone are being conducted pursuant to a non-conforming use status in accordance with Chapter 18.39 (NON-CONFORMING USES, LOTS AND STRUCTURES) of this Ordinance, and which said non-conforming uses are substantially residential or agricultural. Any animal keeping and maintenance, as allowed hereunder, shall cease on the date the non-conforming residential or agricultural use on the same lot terminates pursuant to the provisions of said Chapter 18.39, or on an earlier date as ordered by the City's Planning Commission or Council pursuant to provisions of Subsection (8) hereof.

Adult animal units shall be determined as follows:

The maximum number of adult animal units permitted at any one time on a lot shall be determined as follows in relation to lot size:

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated in this Section, any animal unit, including any offspring of any adult animal unit, which was being kept or maintained on a lot less than 7,500 square feet in area on the effective date of this Ordinance shall be permitted to continue until the non-conforming residential or agricultural use on the same lot terminates pursuant to the provisions of said Chapter 18.39, or on an earlier date as ordered by the City's Planning Commission or Council pursuant to provisions of Subsection (8) hereof.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated in this Section no adult animal unit or offspring thereof, shall be permitted on a lot, unless the lot has at least 500 contiguous square feet of land which does not slope more than 15 degrees for each animal unit proposed to be kept or maintained on said lot. This provision shall not apply to goats or sheep.

No adult animal unit or offspring thereof shall be kept or maintained at a distance less than 35 feet from a building occupied for any residential or commercial purpose other than commercial agriculture located on an adjacent lot. Except for swine, an adult animal unit or offspring thereof may be kept or maintained at a distance less than 35 feet from a building occupied for any residential or commercial purpose other than commercial agriculture on an adjacent lot, if the owner of said animal unit or offspring thereof constructs a solid fence not less than six (6) feet high on his lot in a manner that screens said animal unit or offspring thereof from said building. Under no circumstances shall swine be kept or maintained at a distance less than thirty-five (35) feet from such a building on an adjacent lot.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated hereinabove, adult animal units, including offspring thereof, which are being kept or maintained by the following uses:

4-H Projects.

Future Farmers Projects

may be so kept or maintained in excess of the quantities provided in Subsection (3) of this Section, subject to the issuance of a Conditional Permit therefor pursuant to the procedures set forth in Chapter 18.45 (CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS).

Procedures for Termination of Animal Keeping: