Owner & Broker, Triple Crown Real Estate DRE #01337639 Yorba Linda & Southern California horse country

Call Sharon on (714) 606-7136
Buyers · Before you write an offer

Can I actually
keep horses here?

Three jurisdictions, three completely different answers — and in Orange Park Acres, two answers inside one neighbourhood. Pick where the property is.

No email required to see the answer.

Orange Park Acres — the City of Orange side

Four on an acre, and six is the ceiling however much land you own.

Roughly three-quarters of OPA’s parcels — about 1,154 of them — are inside the City of Orange. Here you need 20,000 square feet and the right zoning even to begin, and there is a hard cap that does not move.

Two conditions, both required § 17.13.040(F)(4)

20,000 sq ft + R1-20

Lots under 20,000 sq ft get no equines at all, under (F)(3).

Initial 20,000 sq ft allows § 17.13.040(F)(4)

2 animals

Then one more per additional 10,000 sq ft of contiguous land.

Hard cap § 17.13.040(F)(4)

6 animals

A five-acre R1-40 parcel still gets six.

From other habitable structures § 17.13.040(F)(4)(c)

50 ft

Other than the owner’s own dwelling.

From any property line § 17.13.040(F)(4)(c)

20 ft

And not in the required front yard.

What catches people out

  1. № 01

    The gap across the street is enormous

    A one-acre county parcel supports eight horses by right and up to twelve with a permit. A one-acre city parcel supports four. That is a materially different property, and the difference is invisible from the kerb.

  2. № 02

    “In any combination” means pooled

    Like Yorba Linda, the limit runs across adult equine, bovine, sheep, goats and swine together. It is not a horse limit.

  3. № 03

    Stables are not permitted in any residential district

    In the City of Orange, stables are allowed only by conditional use permit in the A1, RO, M1 and M2 districts. If the plan involves a stable operation rather than private keeping, that changes which parcels can work.

Source and currency Verified September 5, 2026

City of Orange Municipal Code § 17.13.040(F). Jurisdiction split verified against four independent sources.

This page reports what the published code says. It is not a zoning determination and it is not legal advice. Ordinances change, and the answer for a specific parcel can turn on its zone, its slope, its recorded easements or a permit issued decades ago. Before you rely on any of it, confirm with City of Orange Community Development — and Sharon will make that call with you.

Take it with you

The Orange Park Acres rules as a PDF.

Code sections and all, formatted to bring to a showing or hand to your agent. No email required — the file is right here.

Download the PDF Or ask Sharon about a specific parcel


Slope, recorded easements, whether a conditional use permit was ever actually issued — those decide whether a property works and none of them are published. Sharon has sold horse property in Orange Park Acres; call her on (714) 606-7136.