Manton

Tehama County is a population ~65,000 county in the upper Sacramento Valley between Shasta County (north), Glenn County (south), Mendocino / Trinity Counties (west, across the Coast Range), and Plumas / Butte Counties (east, across the Sierra Nevada / Lassen foothills). The county is bisected longitudinally by the Sacramento River, which provides the dominant axis of settlement and agriculture; the broad valley floor is dedicated to almonds, walnuts, olives (Tehama is a leading olive-producing county), prunes, hay, and cattle grazing. Three incorporated cities: Red Bluff (~14,000, the county seat, on the west bank of the Sacramento River where I-5 crosses), Corning (~7,500, southern Tehama, the historic 'Olive Capital'), and Tehama (~430, the smallest incorporated city, on the Sacramento River south of Red Bluff). Substantial unincorporated population in Los Molinos (the largest unincorporated community at ~2,000, on the east bank of the Sacramento River south of Red Bluff), Manton (eastern Tehama foothills, partially destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire complex and 2021 Dixie Fire), Mineral and Mill Creek (eastern county at the base of Lassen Volcanic National Park), Lake California (a private gated community west of Cottonwood with ~3,000 residents), Rancho Tehama (a low-income subdivision in the western county that is a notable wildfire-risk community), Paskenta (western county, Yocha Dehe Wintun ancestral territory periphery), Gerber (south of Red Bluff), Vina, and Bend. The Board of Supervisors administers ADUs in unincorporated areas under Cal. Gov. Code Sec. 65852.2 / 65852.22 via the County Department of Building and Safety. The county has been profoundly affected by the 2018 Camp Fire (which burned in adjacent Butte County but pushed insurance market dislocation across the entire region) and by the 2018 Carr Fire and 2020 August Complex Fire that burned western Tehama. Insurance non-renewal and California FAIR Plan use is among the highest in the state.

• Tehama County Code Title 17 (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)
• Tehama County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
• Cal. Code Regs. Title 14 Sec. 1280 et seq. - State Responsibility Area / FHSZ designation

State-floor overlay: California state ADU preemption applies in full to unincorporated Tehama County. AB 1033 condo-conversion election: not adopted as of April 2026. AB 976 prohibits owner-occupancy mandates on detached ADUs. AB 2533 unpermitted-ADU amnesty applies. SB 9 urban lot-split provisions apply only within incorporated cities (Red Bluff, Corning, Tehama); they do not apply in unincorporated parcels. HCD oversight applies to ordinance amendments per Sec. 65852.2(h); Tehama's housing element compliance is generally routine given low growth pressure. Post-fire reconstruction provisions of AB 38 (defensible space and home hardening on rebuilds) apply broadly given the county's recent fire history.

Tehama County overlays of consequence are dominated by wildfire and federal-land features: (1) extensive CAL FIRE SRA Very High FHSZ across the foothills and Coast Range; (2) the post-2020 August Complex burn scar covering ~415,000 acres in western Tehama and southern Trinity / Glenn / Mendocino Counties; (3) the Mendocino National Forest in the western county; (4) Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lassen National Forest in the eastern county; (5) FEMA SFHA along the Sacramento River and tributaries; (6) Williamson Act / Land Conservation Act ag-preserves across the agricultural belt; (7) tribal-consultation overlays for Yocha Dehe Wintun and Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians ancestral territory; and (8) the Lake California / Cottonwood and Rancho Tehama high-risk-community designations driving insurance market non-renewal.

• CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area / Tehama Foothill Very High FHSZ - post-Camp / August Complex / Dixie corridor
• Post-2018 Camp Fire / 2020 August Complex / 2021 Dixie Fire recovery zone
• Mendocino National Forest / Lassen National Forest / Lassen Volcanic National Park
• FEMA SFHA - Sacramento River, Mill Creek, Battle Creek, Antelope Creek, Cottonwood Creek
• Williamson Act / Land Conservation Act agricultural preserves
• Yocha Dehe Wintun / Paskenta Band of Nomlaki / Pit River ancestral territory consultation
• Lake California / Rancho Tehama elevated-wildfire-risk communities

Tehama County Department of Building and Safety (within Public Works) issues ADU permits for unincorporated parcels including Los Molinos, Manton, Mineral, Mill Creek, Lake California, Rancho Tehama, Paskenta, Gerber, Vina, and Bend. Practical permitting frictions: extensive CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area covering the bulk of the county outside the Sacramento River valley floor; significant Very High FHSZ across the foothills and the Coast Range; the eastern county has been heavily affected by recent megafires (2018 Camp Fire complex, 2020 August Complex, 2021 Dixie Fire); the western county was burned by the 2020 August Complex (the largest fire in California history at ~1,032,000 acres); Lake California / Cottonwood and Rancho Tehama are notable elevated-risk communities; FEMA SFHA along the Sacramento River, Mill Creek, Battle Creek, Antelope Creek, and Cottonwood Creek; the Lassen Volcanic National Park boundary in the eastern county (with associated NPS scenic / cultural overlay); the Mendocino National Forest in the western county; CAL FIRE Air Tactical Group (Red Bluff Tanker Base) operations at Red Bluff Municipal Airport; significant Williamson Act ag-preserves; Yocha Dehe Wintun and Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians ancestral-territory consultation; and the post-fire insurance market dislocation that has materially affected lender willingness to finance new ADU construction in elevated-risk zones.