Chapter 17.88 — ANIMAL REGULATIONS

§ 17.88.010. Purpose. ¶

The purpose of this chapter is to establish reasonable limits related to animal keeping which is considered accessory to residential use and is limited according to the provisions within this chapter. Further, this chapter ensures that the keeping, raising, and maintenance of domestic pets, livestock animals, and bees within the city does not create an adverse impact on adjacent properties by reason of dust, fumes, noise, odor, insect or vermin infestations, or visual blight, and to maintain animal welfare and public health, safety, and well-being. This chapter makes a distinction between household pets, exotic animals and typical livestock and larger animals.

(Ord. No. 1000 § 4, 2022)

§ 17.88.020. Standards for animal keeping. ¶

A. Limitations on the number of animals.
1. Number of animals.
  - a. The number of animals permitted on any lot is provided in Table 17.88.020-1 (Number of Animals Permitted by Zone).
  - b. The overall maximum number of animals that can be kept on a property can be a combination of the permitted different animal group types provided that:
    - i. The property complies with the minimum lot size requirement for each individual type of animal; and
    - ii. The number of each individual type of animal does not exceed the maximum number of each type of animal(s) permitted on the property.
2. Offspring.
  - a. Young animals born to a permitted animal listed in Table 17.88.020-1 kept on the lot may be kept until such animals are weaned (i.e. cats and dogs - four months; large animals - six months; and horses - 12 months).
  - b. Young animals are not subject to the maximum number of animals allowed in Table 17.88.020-1 (Number of Animals Permitted by Zone).

Table 17.88.020-1 NUMBER OF ANIMALS PERMITTED BY ZONE
Type of Animal	Zones in Which Animals are Permitted	Maximum Number of Animals Permitted by Lot Size (sq. ft.)
		<7,200	7,200 – 9,999	≥10,000 – 19,999	≥20,000
Domestic Pets
Cats	All zones	3	3	4	4
Dogs	All zones	3	3	4	4
Pigeons, doves, parrots, and other small birds (1)	All zones	5	10	20	25
Exotic Animals (2)
Exotic animals	All residential and form-based zones	Number and	type permitted determined by Minor Use Permit process
Livestock and Poultry
Large Livestock (1 animal per 10,000 sq. ft. of lot area)
Bovine	VL and L zones	-	-	-	3
Horses	VL and L zones	-	-	-	6
Medium Livestock (1 animal	per 5,000 sq. ft. of lot area)
Llamas, alpacas, donkeys, ponies, or similar-sized animals	VL and L zones	-	-	-	4
Sheep, goats, swine, or similar-sized animals	VL, L, and ME1 zones (3)	-	-	-	6
Small Livestock (1 animal per 5,000 sq. ft. of lot area)
Dwarf and pygmy goats, miniature pigs or similar- sized animals	VL and L zones	-	-	4	6
Poultry (non-crowing), rabbits	All residential and form-based zones	-	4	5	25
Poultry (crowing)	VL zone only (3)	-	-	-	2
	ME1 zone only (4)	-	-	-	6
Bees
Bee colonies	VL zone only	-	-	-	2

Table Notes:

(1) Total number of pigeons, doves, parrots, and other small birds per lot.
(2) Exotic animals require a minor use permit in all residential and mixed-use zones. Additional findings in section 17.88.040 shall be met.
(3) For crowing poultry in the VL zones, a minimum of one acre is required. The maximum number of animals allowed is two, subject to compliance with section 17.66.050 (Noise standards).
(4) For crowing poultry and livestock in the ME1 zone, a minimum of ten acres is required. The maximum number of animals allowed is six, subject to compliance with section 17.66.050 (Noise standards).
B. General rules and restrictions.
1. Manure storage and removal.
  - a. Removal of manure must occur no less than once a month or as necessary to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of residents and visitors to the area.
  - b. Manure shall be stored within enclosures built expressly for this purpose. Manure storage containers shall be set back a minimum of 50 feet from any perimeter property line.
  - c. Any conditions that result in odors, unsightly areas, or infestation that can be detected beyond the property line shall be deemed a public nuisance and/or health hazard and shall be abated within seven days of proper notice.
  - d. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the use of animal manure or droppings to fertilize any farm, garden, lawn, or ranch in a manner that is compatible with customary methods of good horticulture.
  - e. No incineration of animal refuse shall be permitted on the premises.
2. Feeding of livestock shall be done exclusively from containers (e.g., a trough) or on an impervious platform. Food for feeding livestock shall be stored in rodent and predator resistant containers. The area where livestock are fed must be located a minimum of 20 feet from any habitable dwelling.
3. Watering troughs or tanks shall be provided, which shall be equipped with adequate facilities for draining the overflow, to prevent the ponding of water, the breeding of flies, mosquitoes, or other insects, or any additional health hazards. Watering troughs must be located a minimum of 20 feet from any dwelling.
4. Shelters must be covered, predator-resistant, properly ventilated, and designed to be easily accessed, cleaned, and maintained.
5. All animal-keeping facilities must be designed in a manner such that water runoff does not become a health hazard or nuisance to uses on other properties; is contained and disposed of and does not contribute to the pollution of local groundwater or the flooding of adjacent properties.
C. Standards for specific animal types.
1. Winged animals.
  - a. Winged animals must have wings clipped or be contained in a covered enclosure at all times in order to ensure they are confined on the property.
2. Large livestock. (See Table 17.88.020-1 for standards for the number of animals)
  - a. Shelters for large livestock must be located:
    - i. No less than 50 feet from any primary or main dwelling unit.
    - ii. No less than ten feet from any property line.
  - b. Additional standards for horse corrals.
    - i. Horse corrals or enclosed box stalls shall have a minimum area of 12 x 12 feet for each animal.
    - ii. The corral and stable shall be located not less than 50 feet from all neighboring dwellings.
    - iii. Horse corral fences shall be at least five feet in height and constructed securely to confine the horses.
iv. A permanent shelter shall be provided to serve all large livestock including horses maintained on the property, with an area of 60 square feet for the first horse and an additional 36 square feet for each additional horse. Shelter shall consist of structures with an overhead cover to screen direct sunlight, wind, and rain and constructed such that they are weatherproof and will not be damaged by wind or rain.
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   - v. The corral and stable areas shall be sprinkled with water or otherwise treated so as to prevent dust, and all accumulation of manure, mud, or refuse shall be eliminated so as to prevent the breeding of flies. 

   - vi. Any effects such as odors, dust, and flies which may be created from the keeping of such animals shall not be detectable from adjacent properties. 

- c. Deed restrictions. New subdivision conditions, covenants and restrictions shall not prohibit the keeping of equine animals, where zone requirements for the keeping of said animals have been met. Individual lot owners shall have the option of keeping equine animals with-out the necessity of appealing to boards of directors or homeowner's associations for amendments to CC&Rs. A copy of the CC&Rs for single-family subdivisions shall be reviewed and approved by the city prior to final map recordation. Except as provided here-inabove, this section shall not be construed to supersede animal regulations contained in the conditions, covenants, and restrictions of any site or dwelling unit. However, in no case shall private deed restrictions permit animals or numbers of animals beyond those allowable in this section. 
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1. Medium livestock. (See Table 17.88.020-1 for standards for the number of animals)
  - a. No pigsty shall be built or maintained on marshy ground or land subject to overflow, or with-in 150 feet of any watercourse or other source of water supply, or within 300 feet of a dwelling unit on an adjoining property.
  - b. A permanent shelter shall be provided to serve all medium livestock with an area of 30 square feet for the first animal and an additional 20 square feet for each additional animal. A "shelter" or "shelters" shall consist of structures with an overhead cover to screen direct sun-light, wind, and rain and constructed such that they are weatherproof and will not be damaged by wind or rain.
  - c. The corral and stable areas shall be sprinkled with water or otherwise treated so as to prevent dust, and all accumulation of manure, mud, or refuse shall be eliminated so as to prevent the breeding of flies.
- d. Any effects such as odors, dust, and flies which may be created from the keeping of such animals shall not be detectable from adjacent properties.
- e. Shelters for medium livestock must be located:
  - i. No less than 50 feet from any primary or main dwelling unit.
  - ii. No less than ten feet from any property line.

Small livestock. (See Table 17.88.020-1 for standards for the number of animals)
- a. Shelters for small livestock must meet the following requirements:

i. Be located no less than ten feet from property lines abutting another residential lot and at least 20 feet from the nearest primary or main dwelling.
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- ii. May extend up to any property line abutting a public alley right-of-way or private alley tract. 

- iii. Livestock containment areas must have a minimum of ten square feet of permeable outdoor space per poultry or rabbit, and 130 square feet of permeable space per miniature goat or miniature pig. 

- iv. Livestock containment areas must have a minimum of four-square feet of indoor space per poultry or rabbit. 
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- b. Miniature goats, miniature pigs, or similar-sized animals.
  - i. Miniature goats shall be neutered by four months of age. Miniature pigs shall be spayed or neutered by four months of age.
  - ii. Male miniature pigs two years of age or older shall have their tusks properly trimmed.

D. The keeping of all animals must comply with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations. (Ord. No. 1000 § 4, 2022; Ord. No. 1015 § 3, 2023)

§ 17.88.030. Standards for beekeeping. ¶

A. Beekeeping is allowed in the VL zone. The principal use of the property on which beehives are kept must be residential.
B. Beehives, structures for housing honeybees, shall only be located in rear yards and shall be placed a minimum of 50 feet from any property line, street, road, highway, public school, park, property boundary, and from any dwelling or place of human habitation other than that occupied by the owner or care-taker of the apiary or further if determined to be beneficial for health and safety purposes. In all zones, the entrance to the beehive shall face away from the property line closest to the hive.
C. A flyway barrier made of a solid wall, fence, dense vegetation, or combination of these materials that extends beyond the hives on each end of a bee colony shall be established and maintained so that all bees are forced to fly at an elevation of at least six feet above ground level in the vicinity of the beehive. Any fence, wall, or natural barrier proposed as a flyway barrier shall comply with the provisions of chapter 17.48 (Fences, Walls, and Screening), as well as the following:
1. Be a minimum of six feet tall;
2. Be solid such that bees cannot fly through it;
3. Be placed parallel to the property line; and
4. Extend a minimum of five feet beyond the beehive(s) in each direction.
D. A plentiful source of water less than 300 feet from the apiary shall be made available for the bees at all times of the year so that bees are less likely to congregate at swimming pools, pet watering bowls, bird baths, or other water sources off the premises of the apiary.
E. In any instance in which a bee colony exhibits unusually defensive characteristics by stinging or attempting to sting without provocation or exhibits an unusual disposition towards swarming, beekeepers shall promptly re-queen the colony with another marked queen. Queens shall be selected with a gentle disposition from stock bred for gentleness and non-swarming characteristics. An owner/keeper of a beehive must be able to produce proof of a receipt from a queen breeder.
(Ord. No. 1000 § 4, 2022; Ord. No. 1015 § 3, 2023)

§ 17.88.040. Additional findings for exotic animals. ¶

Prior to approval of a minor use permit (MUP) for exotic animal keeping, the planning and the animal services director shall make the following additional findings:

A. The keeping of the animal at the location specified in the application will not violate any federal, state, or local law.
B. Odor, noise, dust, and drainage from the keeping and maintenance of the animal will not cause a nuisance or hazard to the public.
C. The keeping and maintenance of the animal will not endanger the peace, health, or safety of persons in the immediate vicinity, or in the city as a whole.
(Ord. No. 1000 § 4, 2022)