The Zoning Ordinance was adopted by the Board of Supervisors to regulate land uses in the unincorporated (non-city) portions of the County of San Diego. The unincorporated area is divided into zones according to the present and potential uses of the land. A business that may be out of place in a single-family neighborhood may fit comfortably among other businesses. By zoning land, citizens insure that new growth and development will take place according to an orderly plan. To fulfill the requirements of State law, the County has also prepared a General Plan. The Plan is an outline for the future. To be effective and to conform to State law, the Zoning Ordinance and zoning maps must be consistent with the General Plan, because they are the primary methods for achieving the objectives of the Plan.

The San Diego County ordinance differs from most zoning ordinances in certain key respects. Many zoning ordinances utilize zones such as RR1, A70, etc., which specify not only the uses permitted, but also lot size, density, height, building types, animal regulations and other requirements. The Zoning Ordinance of the County of San Diego separates each of these subjects and governs each with an individual designator. The designators are found in the appropriate schedules of the Zoning Ordinance. A “zone” is the combination of the Use Regulation and the other regulations, i.e., the entire zone “box.” The Use Regulation is not the zone, but specifies the permitted uses. Other regulations are indicated by the designator for the subject. [A dash (-) or blank space indicates that a particular designator is not used.] Because a zone is thecombination of all designators, a change in any designator requires a zone reclassification. You should be aware that the County does not have standardized zones. Side-by-side parcels may have the same use regulation but may have different animal, development, and special area regulations.​