Jurupa Valley | Animals and Rural Lots
Jurupa Valley, California Animals and Rural Lots: Animal Keeping by Zone, the Equestrian Overlay Update, Flood and Fire Limits
Many Jurupa Valley lots allow horses, goats, chickens and other farm animals, and the code sets how many animals fit, where pens may stand and how far they must stay from homes. Those rules shape where an ADU or SB 9 home can go on a rural lot. The City is rewriting them in 2026, and the Planning Commission was set to hear the draft on October 14, 2026. This page covers the animal rules in force, the proposal, and the flood and fire rules that apply to many rural lots. The Jurupa Valley overview has the summary.
Animals and rural lots in six facts
- A May 2026 City report counts 21,752 parcels zoned for animal keeping, 75 percent of them under half an acre. Source: Staff report, May 7, 2026
- R-1 allows up to two horses per 20,000 square feet and four per lot, on lots of at least 20,000 square feet and 100 feet wide. Source: JVMC Sec. 9.55.010
- R-R allows grazing of up to five farm animals per acre, and three times that for sheep or goats. Source: JVMC Sec. 9.45.010
- Poultry and crowing fowl pens must stay 20 feet from property lines and 50 feet from any residence. Source: JVMC Secs. 9.55.010, 9.65.020
- The Planning Commission was set to hear a new Section 9.240.305 on animal keeping and an expanded equestrian overlay on October 14, 2026. Source: Planning Commission agenda, October 14, 2026
- New homes in FEMA flood zones AE, AH and A1-30 must have the lowest floor at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation. Source: JVMC Sec. 8.15.150
How Many Lots Allow Animals
The May 7, 2026 staff report on animal-keeping, equestrian and agricultural standards counts 21,752 parcels in zones that allow animal keeping. Of these, 10,162 (47 percent) are a quarter acre or smaller, 6,194 (28 percent) are a quarter to half an acre, 3,535 (15 percent) are half an acre to one acre, and 1,861 (9 percent) are larger than one acre. The report concludes that "75% of properties zoned for animal keeping are under half an acre," and reads this to mean that most animal keeping in the city takes place in suburban neighborhoods.
The report also reviewed 26 existing apartment and condominium complexes. Two had active animal keeping nearby, nine could have it under their neighbors' zoning but showed no sign of it, and fifteen had no realistic potential for it. Over the last five years the City averaged 140 animal-related complaints a year, "mostly associated with odor and noise."
Animal Rules by Zone Today
| Zone | Horses and livestock | Poultry and small animals |
|---|---|---|
| R-1 and R-2 | Horses on lots of 20,000 sq ft and 100 ft wide: 2 per 20,000 sq ft, 4 per lot | 4 hens on 7,200 to 39,999 sq ft; 12 on 40,000 sq ft or more; poultry and rabbits on 1 acre; 2 sheep or goats on 2 acres |
| R-R and R-R-O | Grazing of farm animals, not hogs: 5 per acre; sheep or goats x 3 | 12 hens on 20,000 to 39,999 sq ft; 50 hens and 10 roosters on 40,000 sq ft or more; 5 mini pigs on 20,000 sq ft |
| R-A | Horses, cattle, sheep, goats on lots over 20,000 sq ft and 100 ft wide: 2 per 20,000 sq ft up to 1 acre, 2 per added acre | Poultry, crowing fowl and rabbits; 12 or 50 hens by lot size |
| A-1 | Grazing: 5 per acre, not hogs | Hogs: 5, or 2 under 1 acre, none under 20,000 sq ft |
| W-2 | None on existing lots under 20,000 sq ft | None on existing lots under 20,000 sq ft |
Source: Jurupa Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9.55.010, 9.70.020, 9.45.010, 9.65.020, 9.175.020 and 9.205.030 (Supplement 27). "Hens" means mature female crowing fowl.
R-1 and R-2. Horses are allowed on lots of at least 20,000 square feet and 100 feet wide, "provided they are kept not less than one hundred (100) feet from any street and twenty (20) feet from any property line." The cap is "two (2) horses per twenty thousand (20,000) square feet and, in any event, not more than four (4) horses on a lot." On a lot of one acre or more, poultry, chickens, rabbits and similar small animals may be kept for the occupants, in an enclosed area at least 20 feet from any property line and 50 feet from any residence, on the rear part of the lot. On two acres or more, two sheep or goats may be added, kept 100 feet from any street and 50 feet from any residence.
R-R and R-R-O. These rural zones allow "The grazing of cattle, horses, sheep, goats or other farm stock or animals, not including hogs," at no more than five animals per acre, with rotation allowed. For sheep or goats the number per acre may be multiplied by three. Noncommercial hogs are limited to five, or two on parcels under one acre, and none on lots under 20,000 square feet. Up to five miniature pigs are allowed on lots of at least 20,000 square feet, each licensed and spayed or neutered, in a pen 30 feet from the front line, 15 feet from side and rear lines and 35 feet from any neighbor's home.
R-A. Horses, cattle, sheep and goats are allowed on lots over 20,000 square feet and 100 feet wide, "not less than fifty (50) feet from any residence existing at the time such use is established." Two such animals may be kept on each 20,000 square feet up to one acre, and two for each added acre. On R-A lots under 20,000 square feet, Section 9.65.040 allows no animals or fowl other than domestic pets, poultry and rabbits.
Crowing fowl. The R-R, R-A and A-1 zones allow twelve mature hens on lots of 20,000 to 39,999 square feet, and fifty hens with ten roosters on lots of 40,000 square feet or more. In those zones a crowing fowl permit under Section 9.240.300 may raise the numbers by up to 50 percent. Section 9.240.220 sets the age when an animal counts as mature: two months for crowing fowl, six months for poultry, nine months for goats and sheep, eighteen months for cattle and twenty-four months for horses.
How Animal Rules Shape New Homes
The distance rules work in both directions. A pen for poultry or small animals must sit 50 feet from "any residence," and in R-A livestock must sit 50 feet from any residence "existing at the time such use is established." A new ADU or SB 9 home is a residence. Before you place one, map every existing pen, stall and corral on your lot and on the lots next to it, and check that the new home leaves the pens their required distance, or plan to move them.
- Lot area for animals. Adding a home does not add lot area. An SB 9 split of a 40,000 square foot R-1 lot creates two lots of 16,000 to 24,000 square feet under the 40 to 60 percent rule (VanPlex arithmetic). A 16,000 square foot lot is below the 20,000 square foot line for horses in R-1.
- Barns and stalls. Horse stalls and barns are accessory buildings under Section 9.240.170. On lots under one acre, one over 800 square feet needs a site development permit, and structures related to farm animals may use a farmhouse style with the Director's approval.
- Permit-ready plans. The City's Permit-Ready Accessory Buildings page posts code-compliant plans for a barn, a patio cover, a storage shed, a horse stable and a detached garage, approved for development by the City Council on November 21, 2024.
- Septic systems. Many rural lots use septic tanks. An SB 9 home on an onsite wastewater system needs a percolation test, a soil test for how fast water drains, done within five years, or ten if recertified. An ADU on septic needs approval from the Building Official in place of a sewer will serve letter.
The 2026 Update to Animal Keeping and the Equestrian Overlay
The Equestrian Lifestyle Protection Overlay (ELPO) is an overlay, a mapped area with extra rules, in the Land Use Element of the City's General Plan. As its name says, it aims to protect the equestrian lifestyle. According to the May 7, 2026 staff report, the City Council on October 2, 2025 "initiated a General Plan Amendment to amend the ELPO map boundaries and a zoning code amendment to amend Title 9 of the Municipal Code regulations related to animal keeping and development standards for animal keeping structures." The report says the current rules are spread across many sections, so that "Similar animals are often regulated differently depending on zoning classification, lot size, or permit type."
- Points per acre. Each animal would carry a point value, and the total would be capped at 15 points per acre, raised from 10 at the Council's direction. The report's example for one acre is 6 horses, 3 cattle, 15 goats, 10 sheep and 25 chickens.
- Small lots. On lots of 7,200 square feet or less, a by-right allowance of "15 chickens/poultry/small animals, 2 mini pigs, and a maximum of 4 medium sized animals (goats, sheep, mini horses)," up from 4 chickens and 1 mini pig today.
- Minor Animal Permit. A new staff-level permit for more animals than the by-right numbers, and for large livestock on small lots, decided by the Community Development Director based on lot size, layout and neighbors.
- Roosters. One rooster per fifteen hens.
- Farm structures. Side and rear setbacks for barns, corrals and coops could drop from 10 feet to 5 feet on smaller parcels, keeping a minimum distance from neighboring homes such as 50 feet.
None of this is law yet. The Planning Commission agenda for October 14, 2026 lists a public hearing to recommend that the City Council approve General Plan Amendment No. GPA 25010, to "expand the Equestrian Lifestyle Protection Overlay (ELPO)" and add a right-to-farm policy, and Zoning Code Amendment No. ZCA 25009, "to establish Section 9.240.305, Animal Keeping, Equestrian and Agricultural Standards," with changes to the zones and to Title 10, Animals. The City Council must hold its own hearing and adopt an ordinance before the new rules apply. If you are buying a rural lot to add homes, ask the Planning Division whether the lot falls inside the proposed ELPO boundary.
Flood Rules Along the Santa Ana River
The City's Flood Preparedness page says "the Santa Ana River and flood control channels present the greatest river-related flood risk" in Jurupa Valley, along with street flooding in heavy rain. Chapter 8.15 of the code applies "to all areas of special flood hazards within the jurisdiction of the city," the areas FEMA maps as having a one percent chance of flooding in any year. The City Engineer is the Floodplain Administrator.
- Permit. "A development permit shall be obtained before any construction or other development, including manufactured homes, within any area of special flood hazard," with plans showing elevations, fill, drainage and any regulatory floodway.
- Raised floors. New homes and substantial improvements must have the lowest floor, including any basement, at least two feet above the base flood elevation in zones AE, AH and A1-30, and two feet above the highest adjacent grade in an A zone without a set elevation. A civil engineer or land surveyor certifies the floor height after construction.
- Floodways. Within an adopted regulatory floodway, the City "shall prohibit encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development," unless a civil engineer certifies no increase in flood levels.
- SB 9. Section 9.305.030 bars SB 9 projects and lot splits in a FEMA special flood hazard area unless the site has a FEMA letter of map revision or meets federal floodplain management criteria, and in a regulatory floodway unless the project has a no-rise certification.
Fire Hazard Zones
Section 8.12.010, added by Ordinance No. 2025-13 on June 26, 2025, adopts "the fire hazard severity zones for the City of Jurupa Valley as recommended by the State Fire Marshal on March 24, 2025," and Section 8.12.020 says no zone the State Fire Marshal identified may be lowered. The City's 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zones page says owners in a Very High zone must keep "100 feet of defensible space," meet home hardening rules and build to the Wildland-Urban Interface codes, and owners in a High zone must meet the hardening and building code rules. Sellers in both must disclose the zone.
For new homes, Section 9.240.290 says all ADU applications in "high or very high fire hazard zones shall be reviewed by the Building Official and Fire Marshal," and Section 9.305.030 bars SB 9 projects in very high fire hazard severity zones unless the site meets the fire mitigation standards the section lists. The subdivision code also limits flag lot access in a hazardous fire area to 660 feet including the dead-end street. Check your lot on the Riverside County Fire map linked from the City page.
Best For
- ✓ Rural lots of 40,000 square feet or more, where homes and animals both fit with the 50-foot distances.
- ✓ Owners who use the City's permit-ready stable or barn plans.
- ✓ Lots outside FEMA flood zones and very high fire hazard zones, where SB 9 is open.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ A new ADU sits within 50 feet of a neighbor's chicken pen or livestock area.
- ✕ An SB 9 split leaves lots under 20,000 square feet and the plan keeps horses.
- ✕ The lot lies in a FEMA floodway with no engineer's no-rise certification.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → Whether the lot falls inside the proposed ELPO boundary.
- → The flood zone and base flood elevation from the City Engineer.
- → The fire hazard zone on the Riverside County Fire map.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: the Jurupa Valley overview, the lot eligibility checklist and the property tax and insurance page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a horse on my Jurupa Valley house lot?
How many chickens can I keep in Jurupa Valley?
How far must animal pens be from a new ADU in Jurupa Valley?
What is the Jurupa Valley Equestrian Lifestyle Protection Overlay?
Has Jurupa Valley adopted its new animal-keeping rules?
What would change for small Jurupa Valley lots under the animal proposal?
Can I build SB 9 homes on a Jurupa Valley lot in a flood zone?
Who decides flood permits in Jurupa Valley?
Do Jurupa Valley fire hazard zones limit new homes?
Does Jurupa Valley offer permit-ready plans for barns and stables?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
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