Zoning designation

What Is RR Zoning? Rural Residential Districts Explained

What RR zoning usually allows, the minimum lot sizes and animal-keeping rules that define it, how Austin, Columbus, Prince George's County, and Riverside County define it, and what you can build on rural residential land.

By Nathan Robinson, Founder, Plotzy Published 4 min read

RR stands for rural residential (or rural residence). It is the district between farmland and subdivisions: single-family houses on large lots, usually with room for a garden, a few animals, and outbuildings, in areas without the roads and utilities that denser development needs. The minimum lot size is the rule that defines it, and it varies widely. One city's RR lot is a quarter acre and another's is a full acre or more.

What RR usually allows

  • Single-family detached homes, one per lot.
  • Accessory dwelling units or guest houses in many codes.
  • Gardens, orchards, field crops, and small-scale farming.
  • Horses, poultry, and other livestock, with limits tied to lot area.
  • Barns, stables, workshops, and other accessory buildings.
  • Home occupations, and in some codes a stand selling produce grown on the property.
  • Schools, places of worship, parks, and utility facilities, often conditionally.

Commonly prohibited: multifamily housing, commercial uses beyond home occupations and farm stands, and industrial uses.

What the code usually requires

  • Minimum lot size: commonly one to five acres in county codes, and as small as a quarter or half acre where RR is a low-density suburban district.
  • Minimum lot width and road frontage, which often limit splits more than area does.
  • Setbacks larger than in urban residential districts, with added distance for animal enclosures.
  • Animal limits by number or by animal units per acre.
  • Well and septic standards where public water and sewer are not available, which can set a larger effective lot size than zoning does.

How real jurisdictions define RR

  • Austin: RR is the Rural Residence district, for low-density residential use on lots of at least one acre. See our Austin zoning guide.
  • Columbus, Ohio: RR is Rural Residential, a single-family district with a 10,000-square-foot minimum lot and an 80-foot minimum lot width. It is the smallest-lot member of a rural family that also includes R (Rural, 5 acres), LRR (Limited Rural Residential, 1 acre), and RRR (Restricted Rural Residential, 20,000 square feet).
  • Prince George's County, Maryland: RR is the Residential, Rural zone, for single-family detached houses on lots of about half an acre (20,000 square feet minimum).
  • Riverside County, California: R-R is the Rural Residential zone, with a half-acre minimum lot. Along with one-family dwellings it permits field and tree crops, nurseries and greenhouses, and a temporary stand selling produce grown on the premises.
  • Phoenix does not use RR. Its closest districts are S-1 (Ranch or Farm), S-2 (Ranch or Farm Commercial), and the RE-43, RE-35, and RE-24 residence districts. See our Phoenix zoning guide.

Columbus's RR lot is under a quarter acre and Austin's is at least a full acre. The letters describe the character the district is meant to have, not a lot size.

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What you can typically build

A house, a garage or shop, a barn or stable, and often an accessory dwelling. For developers, RR land is usually either a large-lot subdivision site, where the yield is the acreage divided by the minimum lot size less roads and unbuildable land, or a rezoning candidate on the edge of a growing city. The comprehensive plan's future land use map and the reach of water and sewer service tell you which. Agricultural districts such as A-1 and A-2 usually have larger minimums.

How to check a specific parcel

Confirm the jurisdiction and the district on the official zoning map, then read the minimum lot size, lot width, and animal-keeping standards. Check whether the lot was legally created, whether it has road frontage, and whether well and septic rules require more land than zoning does. In Plotzy, filter an area to RR and equivalent designations by lot size, and ask Zoning AI "What is the minimum lot size in RR here, and are horses permitted?" for an answer with the section cited.

Frequently asked questions

What does RR zoning mean?

RR means rural residential: a district for single-family homes on large lots, usually with limited farming and animal keeping allowed. Lot minimums and permitted uses are set by the local code.

What is the minimum lot size in RR?

It depends on the jurisdiction. Austin requires at least one acre, Riverside County half an acre, Prince George's County 20,000 square feet, and Columbus 10,000 square feet. Many county codes require one to five acres.

Can I keep horses or livestock on RR land?

Usually, within limits. Most RR districts allow horses and small livestock with a cap based on lot area and setbacks for barns and corrals.

Can I subdivide RR land?

Only into lots that each meet the district's minimum size, width, and frontage, and that can be served by a well and septic system or by utilities. Smaller lots require a rezoning to a denser residential district such as R-1.

Sources

District names and standards on this page were checked against each jurisdiction's own code or planning documents on October 4, 2026. Codes are amended often, so confirm the current text before relying on any detail.

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