Rural Preserve

A future land use area of mostly undeveloped, outlying lands. These rural regions are generally stable and require a high degree of protection to preserve agricultural, forestal, recreational, and remote rural residential areas.

Land Use Types

  • Agricultural Production - The production of crops, plants, vines, trees, livestock, poultry and eggs.
  • Agricultural Services - Services that support agricultural production such as soil and crop preparation, veterinary services and landscape and horticultural care.
  • Forest and Wood Products - Tree farms, forest nurseries and reforestation services.
  • Mining and Extraction Operations - Those uses that locate according to the availability of natural resources. There are strict limitations on these industries in the Rural Preserve designation due to potentially harmful effects on housing, farming and resource protection and conservation areas.
  • Parks and Outdoor Recreation Facilities - Large regional parks and other recreation facilities that are designed to preserve environmentally sensitive lands and protect them from more intense land uses.
  • Rural Institutional - Limited intensity uses such as religious assembly facilities and clubs serving the local rural population base.
  • Rural Residential - Single-family residential generally averaging a gross density of one unit per three acres. Cluster developments are encouraged.

Land Use Determinants

  • Access - Locations that are accessible by existing improved or unimproved rural roads and, to a lesser extent, rural arterial highways.
  • Existing Land Use Pattern - Locations where agricultural, recreational, and forestal uses are predominant and are encouraged to expand.
  • Existing Zoning - Locations where agricultural zoning is in effect.
  • Rural Residential and Institutional Areas - Locations where limited, very low density residential and institutional uses are allowed.
  • Resource Protection - Locations where valuable and irreplaceable resources such as open space, public water supply impoundments, rivers, streams, lakes, productive agricultural land, woodlands, critical slopes, ridgelines, historical and archeological sites and unique natural areas exist.
  • Rural Sector - Locations outside the urban service area.