Rural Event Venues

The event venue is located outside of, or partially contained within, the agricultural exempted portion of the property; or in a site with bed and breakfast establishment; or in a site designated historic.

Rural Event Venues are permitted, subject to the following conditions and limitations:

• Minimum property size: five gross acres, except for properties designated historic.
  
  
• Maximum number of guests or attendees allowed: 150 for properties that are less than 10 gross acres and 300 for properties that are 10 gross acres or more.
  
  
• Number of events on each property: one event per day, not to exceed three events per week.
  
  
• Events hours: from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. No outdoor amplified sound/entertainment and alcohol/food service is allowed between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m.
  
  
• Portable toilets (Porta Potty): must be provided, commensurate with the number of guests, unless the property has adequate restroom facilities that are connected to the sanitary sewer system.
  
  
• Lighting installations: must be designed to minimize direct spillage, sky glow and hazardous interference with vehicular traffic on adjacent rights-of-way and all adjacent properties. This may be achieved through the use of down-turned lights, light shields, building screening, landscaping or other similar elements.
  
  
• Annually renewable Certificate of Use (CU): Rural Event Venues must be established through a CU that must be renewed annually. A complete application for Event Venue (Rural) must be submitted to the Department and must include the following:
  • Description of event(s) and proposed schedule
  • Hours of operation
  • Frequency of events
  • Maximum number of guests
  • Number of parking spaces, which are not required to be paved but which must at a minimum comply with the following:
    • One parking space is provided for every four guests
    • No parking nor valet/shuttle service is allowed on road rights-of-way; and
    • Required parking spaces must be provided on site, except as allowed in the following:
      • Required parking spaces may be provided off site only upon demonstration of the following as part of the CU application:
        • Parking is located within one mile of the subject property;
        • A signed statement of consent from the owner(s) of the offsite parking property, including the terms of usage; and
        • The types of services (valet or shuttle) that will be provided to transport guests to the event venue; and
        • A parking and circulation plan for the offsite property, including the location of shuttle or valet pick-up.
  • A site plan, survey or sketch drawing clearly depicting: location of event structures; parking for guests and staff; emergency vehicle access; traffic circulation; sanitation and refuse facilities; and portable toilets or restrooms connected to the sanitary sewer system.
  • Upon renewal of a CU, the department director may require additional conditions or site plan modifications to address offsite impacts related to traffic, such as requiring the site plan to be reconfigured to increase traffic queuing onsite.

The event venue is wholly contained within the agricultural exempted portion of the property.

When a Rural Event Venue is entirely contained within land classified as agricultural land (ag exempted) by the County’s Property Appraiser, only the following simplified conditions and limitations to address substantial offsite impacts and emergencies apply to the event venue use:

• Number of events: will only be limited to events with outdoor amplified sound or events with more than 50 guests or attendees, and the cumulative number of such events on a property is limited to one event per day and cannot exceed three events per week.
  
  
• Events hours: from 9a.m. to 11 p.m. No outdoor amplified sound/entertainment and alcohol/food service is allowed between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m.
  
  
• Portable toilets (Porta Potty): must be provided, commensurate with the number of guests, unless the property has adequate restroom facilities that are connected to the sanitary sewer system.
  
  
• Lighting installations: must be designed to minimize direct spillage, sky glow and hazardous interference with vehicular traffic on adjacent rights-of-way and all adjacent properties. This may be achieved through the use of down-turned lights, light shields, building screening, landscaping or other similar elements.
  
  
• CU: The use must comply with the following conditions and limitations, except that for the initial CU or renewal application:
  • The frequency of events required as described above
  • A site plan depicting emergency vehicle access and portable toilets or restrooms connected to the sanitary sewer system
  • If parking will be provided entirely onsite, it need not be depicted on the site plan, provided that the CU application contains a certification that all parking will be provided and contained on site, within the boundaries of the property, and not on road right-of-way or on offsite property. Alternatively, the CU application shall include information showing compliance with the information above related to off-site parking
  • Upon renewal of a CU, the department director may require additional conditions to address substantial offsite impacts related to traffic, such as requiring more traffic queuing onsite.
    
    
• These simplified conditions and limitations will apply when the agriculturally-classified land is only a portion of a larger property, provided that the Rural Event Venue is entirely contained within that agriculturally-classification.

• Horse Country Area: Rural Event Venues in AU properties within the Horse Country Area are only allowed under scenario 2 above.