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Riverside council advances UDO rewrite, removes legacy Roaring Boulevard text and ducks from backyard-bird rules
Summary
On first reading the council moved Ordinance 260880 (UDO text) and Ordinance 260881 (official zoning map) forward, agreeing to remove legacy 'Roaring Boulevard mixed' language and to prohibit ducks from the proposed backyard-bird rules; both measures passed first-reading votes unanimously.
Riverside City Council on March 2 advanced its long-discussed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) rewrite and an updated official zoning map, adopting both ordinances on first reading with two specific edits.
City staff told council that Ordinance 260880 contains the proposed UDO text while Ordinance 260881 replaces the official zoning map. During council discussion, Council member Frieda Patterson raised a discrepancy: the map edits for the Roaring Boulevard area had been updated but legacy RBM (Roaring Boulevard mixed) language remained in the draft text. Patterson asked that that text be struck to avoid a mismatch that could cause confusion or legal challenges. Staff confirmed the map, as proposed, would control current parcel zoning but agreed removing the leftover RBM language would reduce future ambiguity.
Council then debated proposed backyard-bird rules. Several members said that community interest centered on chickens and quail, not ducks; one member who had kept ducks described them as "quieter than chickens," but the majority favored removing ducks from the permitted list for now and keeping chickens and quail. Staff clarified that the draft already prohibited roosters, turkeys and geese and that ducks would be added to that prohibited list if removed from permitted animals.
Council confirmed they expected the same coop and setback standards to apply across zones that require registration, while residential low-density (RL) parcels would not require a permit per the proposed language. Staff said they would prepare a user-friendly table or FAQ showing what bird-keeping is allowed by new residential zoning categories before the next meeting.
Procedurally, council moved to adopt Ordinance 260880 with language removing the Roaring Boulevard mixed text and removing ducks from the permitted backyard-bird language; the clerk called the roll and all present members voted "Yes." Council also carried Ordinance 260881 (the zoning map update) on a subsequent unanimous roll-call vote.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the agreed edits into the ordinance exhibits for second reading, prepare public-facing FAQs/tables on backyard-bird rules and proceed to the required second reading before final adoption.
