SISKIYOU COUNTY — Commissioners reviewed a proposal to tier rural‑residential zoning by parcel size and to require a single‑family dwelling on RR parcels before other accessory farming or animal uses could be allowed.

Commissioners and staff said the county now has parcels ranging from 2.5 acres to several hundred acres with the same RR zoning. One commissioner proposed tiers such as R R 40 to permit more livestock and small‑acreage farming on larger parcels and recommended using AUMs (animal unit months) rather than species counts to scale allowed animals. “Instead of using numbers of species, simply go AUMs,” a planning commissioner said. Staff confirmed the county has an agriculture chart that defines an AUM and said AUMs could be used per zoning tier.

The commission discussed whether livestock operations on RR land should require a dwelling on the parcel. Commissioners favored requiring at least one livable dwelling on an RR parcel where livestock are kept, while noting contiguous parcels with a dwelling on one lot and animals on another raise complications if the parcels are not contiguous. One commissioner said, “If you’re going to have livestock, though, it should be a requirement. It’s irresponsible to be raising livestock of any kind and not be present.”

Several commissioners suggested that if a landowner prefers not to locate a dwelling on the parcel, the appropriate path is rezoning to AG‑1 or AG‑2 so agricultural activities can occur without the residential requirement. The commission also discussed specific uses to classify by tier — for example, allowing goats and sheep more readily on larger RR parcels while requiring conditional review for large bovine dairies.

Staff recommended clarifying code language so that accessory uses are explicitly tied to the presence of a single‑family dwelling in RR districts and to remove ambiguity about exceptions and conditional uses. Commissioners asked staff to draft zoning code language that defines tiers, uses, and an enforceable requirement that accessory uses on RR parcels be incidental to a primary dwelling unless rezoned.