Buying or selling in Santa Rosa Valley

Santa Rosa Valley is in unincorporated Ventura County, between the cities of Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark. The county's trail plan puts its rough edges at Rosita Road on the west, Moorpark Road on the east, the City of Moorpark on the north and the Mount Clef Ridge open space on the south.

Santa Rosa Road is the one main road through it. It leads west to Camarillo and the 101 freeway, and east to Moorpark and Highway 23. Homes here have a Camarillo mailing address.

No. It has a Camarillo mailing address, but it is outside the city limits, in unincorporated Ventura County. The county, not a city, handles zoning, building permits, fire protection and parks.

The valley is in County Supervisorial District 2. Its Municipal Advisory Council was created in 2003 because there is no city, its five members have been elected since 2006, and it advises the supervisor.

It depends on the zoning of the parcel. By land area, about 38% of the valley is zoned Rural Exclusive, about 26% Rural Agricultural, about 26% Open Space and about 6% Agricultural Exclusive.

The number after the zone is the minimum lot size, so RE-1 ac means Rural Exclusive with a one-acre minimum. RE-1 ac is the most common single zone, at about a fifth of the land, and other parts are zoned for 2, 5, 10 and 40 acres. The water district describes the valley's lots as 2 to 40 acres.

About a quarter of the land is Open Space, mostly with a 40-acre minimum, so much of what looks like empty land cannot be split into home sites. Check the zoning of the exact parcel with the county before you plan to add buildings or split a lot.

The county counts animal units. A large horse, over 58 inches at the withers, is one unit, a medium horse is half a unit and a small one is three tenths.

By the county's formula, a one-acre lot in the Rural Exclusive zone works out to about three large horses and a two-acre lot to about five. Rural Agricultural and Open Space lots allow more: about one unit for every 10,000 square feet, which is about four large horses on one acre, and no limit over 10 acres. Animals must be kept at least 40 feet from a neighbor's home.

Those are the county's limits. A homeowners association can set stricter ones, so read the association rules as well as the zoning.

Septic. The Camrosa Water District, which has supplied the valley's water since 1962, says the valley relies entirely on permitted septic systems. There is no sewer.

About 240 parcels in the western part of the valley have two water services: drinking water for the house, and a separate line of non-drinking water for irrigation. They were once served by the Santa Rosa Mutual Water Company, which Camrosa took over in 2000.

On a purchase here I recommend a septic inspection during your contingency period, the same way you would inspect the roof.

Yes, nearly all of it. On the county's map, about 97% of the valley's land is in a Very High fire hazard zone and the rest is High.

County Fire Station 52, on Santa Rosa Road, serves much of the valley. The Hill Fire of November 2018 started at Hill Canyon Road and Santa Rosa Road. CAL FIRE lists it at 4,381 acres, with 4 structures destroyed and 2 damaged.

Get a homeowners insurance quote during your contingency period, before you are committed to the purchase.

Since January 1, 2026, a county fire ordinance requires the seller of a home in a High or Very High fire hazard zone to give the buyer documentation that the property meets defensible space rules. That covers effectively the whole valley.

The fire department does the inspection at no charge. It typically takes 7 to 10 days from the request, and the department recommends at least two weeks before escrow closes. Anything it flags must be corrected within 30 days or before closing, whichever comes first, unless the buyer agrees in writing to finish the work within 60 days after closing.

State law also requires a home-hardening disclosure for homes built before 2010 in these zones. I order the inspection when we list, so it does not hold up the closing.

I found none. No community facilities district on the county's list covers Santa Rosa Valley.

For 2026-27 the property tax rate in the valley's tax areas is about 1.096% of assessed value: the 1% base plus voter-approved school, college and water bonds. A title report will show whether a particular property carries its own financing lien, such as an energy-upgrade loan.

The valley is in the Pleasant Valley School District for transitional kindergarten through 8th grade and the Oxnard Union High School District for 9th through 12th.

Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School, a Pleasant Valley campus for grades TK to 8, is in the valley at 13282 Santa Rosa Road. Check an address with each district to see which schools it is assigned to.

Yes. Many of the early subdivisions set aside trail easements, and those make up much of the trail system. A nonprofit, Santa Rosa Valley Trails, holds and maintains public trail easements, and a trail runs along the Arroyo Santa Rosa channel with a crossing under Santa Rosa Road.

Trails connect south to the open space around Wildwood Regional Park and Hill Canyon. Not every trail is public: the county's plan shows some association trails, in Rancho Santa Rosa and Lexington Hills, as open to members only.

It is a 50-acre county regional park with two equestrian riding arenas, a training area, picnic sites and trail access to Hill Canyon. Horse trailers are welcome, and it is open from 7:30 in the morning until dusk.

The county charges a gate fee there only on special event days. It opened the park in 2012.

Only in strips along the creeks. About 6 to 7% of the valley's land is in a FEMA special flood hazard area, along the Arroyo Santa Rosa and its tributaries, and about 92% is mapped as minimal flood hazard. The maps in force are dated January 20, 2010.

Flood insurance is required for a home in a high-risk flood area when the mortgage comes from a government-backed lender. Your lender's flood determination will tell you where a specific property stands.

From the east end of the valley, by the school, it is about 11 miles by road to Camarillo City Hall, about 7 to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and about 4 to Moorpark City Hall. From the west end, near the county park, it is about 8 miles to Camarillo, 10 to Thousand Oaks and 8 to Moorpark.

The Norwegian Grade, a two-mile stretch of Moorpark Road, is the direct route up to Thousand Oaks.

The county's 2014 trail plan names these associations and tracts, among others: Rancho Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Valley Estates, Hidden Meadows Estates, Bridlewood, Saddlebrook Estates, Lexington Hills, Camelot Estates, Holiday Pines, Blanchard Acres, Carriage Estates and Wildwood Ranch.

Rancho Santa Rosa is in the center of the valley and Lexington Hills is at its northeast corner. Each association has its own rules and dues, so ask for its documents early.

It depends on price and condition more than on the area, and acreage properties have fewer buyers than homes in town. Across Ventura County, my own 49 listings since 2022 sold in a median of 11 days on the market, at a median of 100% of the asking price.

Here the preparation matters: the defensible space inspection, a septic inspection and clear answers on zoning and animal limits remove the questions that slow a rural sale down.

I'm Jason Walters, and my office is in Camarillo, on Village Commons Boulevard. I have 22 years in real estate, the last 17 in Ventura County.

I have closed 31 homes in Camarillo: 10 for sellers and 21 for buyers. You work with me directly, from pricing strategy to closing day.