California
Buying Land in Kings County, California
Kings County -- Hanford and the western San Joaquin Valley -- is major dairy and row-crop farmland shaped by two distinctive local facts: the Navy's largest master jet base on the West Coast sits here, with real land-use restrictions around it, and a meaningful share of the county's farmland occupies the historic bed of Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
NAS Lemoore: the Navy's largest master jet base, and what it means for nearby land
Naval Air Station Lemoore, commissioned in 1961, is the United States Navy's largest master jet base on the West Coast and home to the Pacific Fleet's carrier-based strike fighter squadrons. An installation of this scale carries real land-use consequences for the surrounding area: under the Department of Defense's Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) program, the Navy and Kings County work together to define noise contours and accident-potential zones around the base's runways, and the county's general plan and zoning ordinance incorporate compatibility restrictions within those zones -- generally limiting or prohibiting new residential development and other noise-sensitive uses in the areas of highest overflight frequency and accident risk.
For a buyer considering land anywhere near NAS Lemoore, confirm with Kings County Community Development whether a specific parcel falls within a mapped AICUZ overlay zone, and if so, what uses are restricted. This can materially affect what can be built on land that otherwise looks like ordinary rural or agricultural acreage.
Tulare Lake: a drained lake that still comes back in wet years
Before large-scale irrigation development beginning in the late 19th century, Tulare Lake -- fed by the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern rivers draining the southern Sierra Nevada -- was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. Diversion of its tributary rivers for irrigation progressively drained the lakebed over subsequent decades, converting it into some of the most productive farmland in the San Joaquin Valley, a substantial share of which lies within Kings County.
That history has not fully closed: in exceptionally wet years with heavy Sierra snowpack and rapid snowmelt, the historic lakebed has repeatedly reflooded, a pattern documented across multiple decades of California water history. This is a genuine, recurring geographic reality of farming this particular basin, not a one-time event -- any parcel within the historic lakebed footprint should be evaluated against current FEMA flood mapping and checked with the relevant local flood-control agency, regardless of how consistently dry the land has been in recent memory. See the dedicated flood-zones page below for more detail.
A major dairy and row-crop agricultural base
Beyond these two distinctive factors, Kings County's agricultural economy is substantial and diverse -- among the leading dairy-producing counties in California, alongside cotton, alfalfa, tomatoes, and other row crops across the valley floor. Water sources for agricultural land vary: some areas are served by irrigation-district surface deliveries tied to the Kings River or State Water Project contracts, while other parcels rely on groundwater from the underlying San Joaquin Valley groundwater subbasin, portions of which are subject to Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) planning given historical groundwater overdraft in the broader region.
Confirm a specific agricultural parcel's water source, any irrigation-district service status, and applicable groundwater sustainability plan requirements directly with the relevant district and Kings County Community Development before valuing farmland here.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Kings County
AICUZ compatibility zoning around NAS Lemoore is coordinated between the Navy and the county, but the county's own zoning ordinance is the enforceable local document -- confirm zoning-specific questions with Community Development.
Planning & Zoning
Kings County Community Development Agency
Zoning designations, AICUZ overlay status near NAS Lemoore, and subdivision or building feasibility for a specific parcel.
Floodplain / Stormwater
Kings County Public Works Department
Flood-zone status and drainage information for parcels in or near the historic Tulare Lake basin.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Kings County Environmental Health Services
Septic (OWTS) permitting and well permitting for a specific parcel.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Kings County Recorder-Clerk
Recorded deed and parcel history.
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Get local guidanceTopics Specific to Kings County
Sources
- Kings County Community Development Agency — County of Kings, CA (accessed 2026-09)
- Naval Air Station Lemoore — U.S. Navy, Commander Navy Installations Command (accessed 2026-09)
- Tulare Lake Basin history — California Department of Water Resources (accessed 2026-09)
- Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) — California Department of Water Resources (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09