Big Pine

Inyo County (population ~19,000) is California's second-largest county by area (~10,200 sq mi) and one of the least populous, occupying the Owens Valley, the eastern Sierra Nevada front, the White-Inyo Range, and the western Mojave east of the Sierra crest. The county seat is Independence; Bishop is the only incorporated city. Major unincorporated communities include Lone Pine, Big Pine, Independence, Olancha, Tecopa, Shoshone, Death Valley Junction, Furnace Creek (in Death Valley NP), Cartago, Aberdeen, and Keeler. The county Board of Supervisors administers ADU permitting on unincorporated parcels under California Government Code Sec. 65852.2 and 65852.22 (state ADU preemption regime). Inyo's defining land-use overlay is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) ownership: through the Owens Valley land grab of 1905-1928, LADWP acquired ~25% of the Owens Valley floor and most of its water rights, leasing back to ranchers and operating the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Federal lands dominate: Death Valley National Park (the largest national park in the contiguous US, ~3.4 million acres in Inyo and San Bernardino), Inyo National Forest, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park (eastern slope, including Mt. Whitney - the highest peak in the contiguous US at 14,505 ft), and BLM lands across the Mojave and Owens Valley.

• Inyo County Code Title 18 - Zoning, ADU/JADU provisions
• Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65852.2 (Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65852.22 (Junior Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Inyo County / LADWP Long-Term Water Agreement (1991) and Memorandum of Understanding (1997)
• Cal. Water Code (state water-rights law); LA Aqueduct water rights
• Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program / Great Basin Unified APCD orders

State-floor overlay: California state ADU preemption applies in full to unincorporated parcels in fee. AB 1033 condo-conversion election status pending verification. AB 976 prohibits owner-occupancy mandates on detached ADUs. SB 9 urban lot-split provisions apply only within incorporated cities (Bishop), not in unincorporated Inyo. HCD oversight: ordinance amendments submitted within 60 days per Sec. 65852.2(h). LADWP-owned land (the majority of the Owens Valley floor) is not subject to state ADU preemption in the same way as fee land - LADWP leases include their own land-use covenants.

Inyo County overlays of consequence: LADWP land ownership and water-rights regime covering ~25% of the Owens Valley floor and most groundwater extraction; Inyo County Water Department / Long-Term Water Agreement governance of LADWP pumping; Owens Lake dust mitigation overlay (the largest single PM10 source in the US prior to mitigation); Death Valley National Park (~3.4M acres, the largest national park in the contiguous US); Inyo National Forest (eastern Sierra); Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park boundary including Mt. Whitney; BLM lands across the Mojave and Owens Valley; Manzanar National Historic Site (the WWII Japanese American incarceration camp); Tribal jurisdictions (Bishop, Big Pine, Lone Pine, Fort Independence Paiute, Timbisha Shoshone in Death Valley); CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area on eastern Sierra forest; Alquist-Priolo zones along the Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley faults; FEMA SFHA along the Owens River, Bishop Creek, Big Pine Creek; very high seismic exposure (1872 Lone Pine M7.4-7.9; 2019 Ridgecrest M7.1).

• LADWP Owens Valley land ownership and water-rights regime
• Owens Lake PM10 Dust Mitigation Overlay
• Death Valley National Park / Manzanar NHS / Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP
• Inyo National Forest / BLM Bishop Field Office
• Owens Valley Paiute / Timbisha Shoshone Tribal jurisdictions
• CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area / Eastern Sierra FHSZ
• Sierra Nevada Frontal Fault / Owens Valley Fault (Alquist-Priolo)
• FEMA SFHA - Owens River / Sierra creeks

Inyo County Planning Department issues ADU permits for unincorporated fee parcels including Lone Pine, Big Pine, Independence, Olancha, Tecopa, Shoshone, and Furnace Creek. Practical permitting frictions: most of the Owens Valley floor is LADWP-owned; ADU activity on private fee land is concentrated at the Bishop edge, Big Pine, Lone Pine, and the Death Valley periphery (Tecopa, Shoshone, Furnace Creek). Water supply is the dominant constraint - LADWP groundwater pumping limits Inyo County Water Department-monitored basin yields, and many rural parcels rely on LADWP water leases or on private wells subject to GSA review. Death Valley NP boundary parcels carry NPS-coordination considerations. CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area covers eastern Sierra forest belt (Bishop Creek, Big Pine Creek). High seismic exposure (the 2019 Ridgecrest M7.1 was felt strongly across Inyo, the 1872 Lone Pine M7.4-7.9 is one of California's largest historical earthquakes). Owens Lake dust exposure affects southern Owens Valley parcels.