All Programs

Planning Programs

• Cultural Heritage Board

The County of Ventura desires to preserve and protect public and private history and cultural and natural resources that are of special historical or aesthetic character or interest  The County’s Cultural Heritage Board, carried out by the Cultural Heritage Board, also seeks to relocate or recreate such resources where necessary for their preservation and for their use, education and view by the general public.

• Donate Your Unused Land

  Have you considered Donate Your Unused Land to a conservation agency? If you own a qualified parcel of land, the County of Ventura (with funding from the Santa Clara River Trustee Council) has just made it easier for you to donate or sell a portion of your property to a qualified conservation organization.

• Greenbelt Programs

  Greenbelts are voluntary agreements between the Board of Supervisors and one or more City Councils regarding development of agricultural and/or open space areas beyond city limits. They protect open space and agricultural lands and reassure property owners located within these areas that lands will not be prematurely converted to agriculturally incompatible uses.

• Housing Programs

  The staff dedicated to Housing Programs help the County meet State-mandated housing goals by overseeing periodic updates of the housing element of the County General Plan, implementing housing policies and programs detailed in the General Plan, and conducting Board-directed special studies on major housing issues. 

• Land Conservation Act – LCA

  The California Land Conservation Act (LCA) Program, also known as the “Williamson Act,” is a voluntary land conservation program adopted by the California Legislature in 1965 and administered by the County of Ventura to preserve agricultural and open space (wildlife habitat) lands.

• Legal Lot Program

  The State Subdivision Map Act, Ventura County Subdivision, and Zoning Ordinances prohibit the issuance of any permits or other planning entitlements on lots that are illegally subdivided. Therefore, prior to the issuance of a permit or other entitlement, the County must determine whether the applicant’s lot is legally created. The Preliminary Legal Lot Determination Program provides a service to individuals desiring to enter the permit by providing informal, preliminary legal lot research results.

• Local Coastal Program

  Ventura County’s Coastal Area Plan and the Coastal Zoning Ordinance together constitute the “Local Coastal Program” (LCP) for the unincorporated portions of Ventura County’s coastal zone. The primary goal of the LCP is to ensure that the local government’s land use plans, zoning ordinances, zoning maps, and implemented actions meet the requirements of, and implements the provisions and polices of the Coastal Act at the local level.

• Mobile Home Park Rent Control

  The Ventura County Board of Supervisors appoints a five member Mobile Home Park Rent Review Board (MHPRRB). The MHPRRB is responsible for rent stabilization through the Mobile Home Park Rent Control Ordinance.   On an annual basis, Ventura County Planning staff reviews the Mobile Home Park owners’ proposed rent change applications for completeness and consistency with the MHPRC Ordinance.   The ordinance was adopted to protect the owners of mobile dwelling units from unreasonable rent increases while at the same time recognizing the need for park owners to receive a fair return on their property and rental income sufficient to cover expenses.

• Surface Mining and Reclamation Act – SMARA
  SMARA is an acronym for the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975. SMARA was enacted by the California Legislature to address the need for a continuing supply of mineral resources and to prevent or minimize the negative impacts of surface mining to public health, property, and the environment  Ventura County has developed a three-pronged program to implement the State law: 1) each mining operation is subject to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) which contains detailed operating requirements and a plan for the reclamation of the site once mining has ceased, 2) annually inspecting sites for compliance with permit conditions, and 3) annually ensuring that there is an adequate financial surety in place to pay for the reclamation of each site should it be abandoned.

• Condition Compliance Program

  The Planning Division’s Condition Compliance Program seeks to maintain compliance with conditions approved with land use permits operating in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County. Condition Compliance Officers enforce the rules and regulations outlined in the County Zoning Ordinances as well as the conditions approved with issued permits. It is the intent of the Condition Compliance Program to work with the residents, tenants, and the businesses of Ventura County to promote and maintain a safe and desirable living and working environment through compliance with approved conditions of approval.

• Census and Demographic Information

  The following information comes from federal, state, and county sources. Click on the type of information desired from the list that follows.

  For the most current information from the California Department of Finance (DOF) or the U.S. Census Bureau, please visit their respective websites. For information about the 2017 Economic Census, please click here.

Environmental Health Programs

• Consumer Food Protection

  Environmental Health Division (EHD) inspectors in the Food Protection Program conduct annual inspections at more than 5,000 food facilities that sell food to the public in Ventura County. Inspections are conducted at all types of retail food facilities to ensure that they are operating in compliance with the California Retail Food Code  During an inspection, EHD inspectors ensure that the facility is clean, sanitary and free of sources of contamination; is operating in a manner to prevent contamination of food, utensils & equipment; that the facility meets minimum equipment and construction standards and has adequate food storage facilities  In addition, that operators have obtained the required training.

• Recreational Health – Pools and Spas and Organized Camps

  More than 1,500 public swimming pool facilities in Ventura County are inspected annually by staff from the Environmental Health Division. Public pool facilities include swimming pools, spas, wading pools, & interactive water features located condominiums, home owner associations, hotels, apartment buildings, parks, schools, gyms, community centers, therapy pools, or any pool that serves more than three families.

• Ocean Water Quality Program

  The purpose of this program is to assure the protection of human health and of the environment through the routine monitoring of coastal marine waters for bacteria contamination, to provide information as to the bacteriological quality of these waters, and to coordinate with private organizations and public agencies.

• CUPA Program

  CUPA implements State and Federal laws and regulations, county ordinance code, and local policies. Compliance is achieved through routine and follow-up inspections, educational guidance, and enforcement actions. The CUPA also is involved with hazardous materials emergency response, investigation of illegal disposal of hazardous waste, and public complaints.

• Medical Waste Program

  To protect public health and safety and the environment from potential exposure to disease causing agents, the Environmental Health Division Medical Waste Program regulates the generation, handling, storage, treatment, and disposal of medical waste throughout the County by providing oversight for the implementation of the following.

• Body Art Program

  The Body Art Program oversees the registration of body art practitioners, inspects and permits facilities that provide tattooing, body piercing, and the application of permanent cosmetics, regulates temporary events, and investigates complaints in Ventura County.

• Liquid Waste Program – Septic and Wastewater Disposal)

  The Environmental Health Division OWTS Program is responsible for protecting public health and the environment from the potential adverse health and environmental impacts associated with onsite individual sewage disposal systems. Staff carry out this responsibility through review of septic system design proposals, review of septic system design criteria, and inspection of both new septic system construction and repair of existing systems to determine conformance with applicable codes.

• Solid Waste Program – Waste Disposal and Composting

  The Solid Waste Program is the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) for solid waste within Ventura County. Solid Waste staff serve Ventura County residents by ensuring the safe handling and proper disposal of residential and commercial solid waste. Staff inspect, permit, and monitor the operation of solid waste facilities such as landfills, waste transfer processing stations, composting operations, and chipping/grinding operations  Staff respond to complaints of illegal solid waste disposal and perform related investigations.

• Land Use Program

  Land Use Program staff provide the County Planning Division with evaluations of projects concerning domestic water supplies, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal, and other environmental health issues.

• Vector Control and Mosquito Abatement Program

  A vector is any insect, arthropod, or other animal of public health significance capable of harboring or transmitting the causative agent of human disease. Vector Control Program staff maintain constant monitoring and control activities of mosquitoes at over 2000 potential mosquito breeding sources to prevent and minimize the exposure of the public to mosquito borne diseases including West Nile Virus, other types of Encephalitis, and Malaria.

• Drinking Water Program

  Environmental Health Division Drinking Water Program staff perform inspections, issue permits, and review water sample results for small water systems in Ventura County. Staff certifies individual water systems and oversees the regulation of state small water systems.

• Backflow Prevention Program

  A cross connection is a connection between a drinking water supply and a source of pollution or contamination. The entry of pollutants and contaminants into the drinking water supply is called “backflow.”