2025 FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONE INFORMATION: CLICK HERE TO VIEW

What is Your Zoning?

The first step for any development project is to find out the zoning on your property. Zoning regulates what uses can go where, as well as the development standards to which new developments must be built. To find out zoning information on your property, you may do the following:

• Visit the Interactive City Map - The interactive map allows you to easily search by address or APN to find your zoning without having to wait for planning staff to respond to your inquiry!
• Download the Zoning Map (pdf)
•   Email Planning Division 
• Contact the Planning Division at (530) 538-2401

Once you have determined your zoning,  access the Municipal Code Title 17 Zoning here to find development standards, allowed uses, and other helpful information.

Zoning Ordinance

The City’s Zoning Ordinance gives clear rules for how land can be used and developed. These rules help the City grow in a planned and organized way, following the goals and ideas in the General Plan. More specifically, this part of the law is meant to meet the following goals:

• To control how tall buildings can be, how many stories they have, and how big they are.
• To set rules for how far buildings must be from streets and property lines, and how much open space is needed around them.
• To manage how many people can live in different areas of the city.
• To divide the city into different zones that are best suited for certain types of land use, and to make sure the rules for each zone are followed.
• To protect and improve property values and take care of the city’s natural resources.
• To make sure there’s enough open space for light and air, and to reduce the risk of fires and other dangers.
• To create a traffic system that works well and includes enough off-street parking and loading areas.
• To protect the health, safety, and well-being of the public, and to support the goals in the City of Oroville’s General Plan.

Zoning Districts

In order to carry out the purpose and provisions of the City's Zoning Ordinance, the City is divided into the following districts:

Overlay Districts

• Besides the regular zoning rules for each piece of land, the City also uses “overlay zones” to add extra rules in certain special areas. These areas might include historic districts, planned developments, airport influence zones, land near the municipal airport, or land with steep slopes. These overlay zones add more rules on top of the regular zoning rules.
• The normal zoning rules still apply unless the overlay zone has different rules. If the rules in the overlay zone and the regular zone don’t match, the overlay zone rules are the ones that must be followed.

HD-O: Hillside Development Overlay

• The Hillside Development Overlay is meant to guide how building happens in the City’s foothill areas. It helps make sure that new development fits well with the natural shape of the land and causes as little damage to the land as possible. This overlay ties the number of homes allowed in an area to how steep or uneven the land is. It also encourages good design and smart building practices.
• The rules are in place to reduce things like heavy grading, erosion, water runoff, fire danger, landslides, and loss of natural plants. The goal is to make sure the land is used in a way that works with nature—not against it.

PD-O: Planned Development Overlay

The Planned Development Overlay is meant to encourage creative and flexible planning for building and developing properties. It focuses on design, clustered housing, and protecting the environment while aiming to achieve the following goals:

• Encouraging new ideas and creating affordable housing, especially on properties with challenges like environmental issues, natural resources, or land shapes that need special planning and design.
• Protecting the health, safety, and well-being of people living in residential areas, as well as in commercial and industrial zones.
• Making sure the development follows the General Plan, any specific plans, and any design guidelines set by the City Council.

DH-O: Downtown Historic Overlay

The Downtown Historic Overlay aims to protect and celebrate the City’s history by preserving and using historic buildings in Downtown Oroville. It works to protect important pieces of the City’s history for the following reasons:

• To protect the City’s heritage by encouraging the care and preservation of important historical sites.
• To help build pride and a sense of identity for the community by appreciating and using historic resources.
• To improve the City’s appearance by keeping different architectural styles from various times in history and encouraging new buildings that match the character of old ones.
• To allow different types of housing that keep the traditional feel of Downtown Oroville’s neighborhoods.
• To boost the City’s economy by making sure historic sites are protected and attract both residents and visitors.
• To protect and increase property values by preventing new designs that don’t match the historic look of the area.
• To help people enjoy and learn from historic sites for education and recreation.
• To make sure the preservation of historic buildings is considered in land use and development plans.
• To save valuable materials and energy by keeping and maintaining existing buildings.

AIA-O: Airport Influence Area Overlay

• The Airport Influence Area Overlay sets rules about how land can be used near the Oroville Municipal Airport to protect both people on the ground and those flying in airplanes. These rules focus on things like the height of buildings, how much land can be developed, and how intense the use of property can be. The purpose is to reduce risks from the airport's operation, based on the 1990 Master Plan for the airport. The rules follow the guidelines set by the Butte County Airport Land Use Commission for airport safety.

Click here to view the 2017 Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan.

F-O: Foothill Overlay

The Foothill Overlay is meant to protect and improve the special feel of Oroville's foothill areas. Properties in this area must follow rules for land use and infrastructure that match the low-density, rural style of the area.

UA-O: Unique Agriculture Overlay

The Unique Agriculture Overlay is designed to protect small-scale farms, family farms, and unique crops. It allows special farming uses, like agricultural support and tourism, in areas where they wouldn't normally be allowed. The district also helps protect nearby homes and farms.

PO-O: Professional Office Overlay

The Professional Office Overlay allows for professional office spaces in certain areas, in addition to the other uses allowed by the zoning district. This helps create a lively downtown with a mix of businesses, housing, and office spaces.

ACE-O: Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Overlay

 The Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Overlay is meant to bring new life to the historic Downtown by creating an Arts, Culture, and Entertainment District (AC&E District). It focuses on using the area's cultural, historic, and natural resources to make it a fun and interesting place for locals and visitors.