Pismo Beach Municipal Code Ch. 6.04 City Animal Control Regulations

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6.02.020, the City hereby reserves the local animal control regulations set forth in this chapter. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)

For the purposes of this chapter:

"City" shall mean the City of Pismo Beach.

"Household pet" shall mean any animal normally kept for purposes of companionship or amusement, as opposed to commercial purposes or for hobby breeding. Household pets include, but are not limited to, cats, dogs, canaries, parrots, fish, rodents, rabbits, turtles, lizards, and snakes. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)

With the exception of goats, the raising or keeping of animals is allowed without a land use permit, subject to the standards of this section.

A. General standards.

1. Household pets. Household pets are generally exempt from this Chapter, except that standards for cleanliness, restraint, and noise, and other requirements set forth in this Subsection A. shall apply to the keeping of animals considered to be household pets. Further, prohibited animals described in Subsection B. shall not be considered household pets under any circumstances.

2. Maintenance. Corrals, pens, feed areas, paddocks, stables, and permanently fenced pasture are to be maintained free from litter, garbage and the accumulation of manure.

3. Animal restraint and shelter. No person shall permit any animal to be or remain during the nighttime secured by a stake or any other manner other than by enclosing such animal in a pen, corral, or barn sufficient and adequate to restrain such animal.

4. Overall animal density. Unless a larger number is allowed through development plan approval, the maximum number of animals allowed on a single site is the cumulative total of any two (2) animal densities set by Subsection C. of this section.

5. Noise and other nuisances. No animal shall be kept which is noisy, dangerous, or in some way prevents the full use and enjoyment of neighboring properties.

B. The intentional raising or keeping of the following animals is prohibited in the city:

1. Bees.

2. Hogs, pigs, and swine of any description.

3. Animals of the Mustelidae family, including but not limited to mink and ferrets, and any other carnivorous animals of similar size at maturity.

4. Turkeys.

5. Lions, tigers, poisonous snakes, alligators, and other typically wild animals able or likely to inflict serious physical injury or property damage.

C. The intentional raising or keeping of the following animals is permitted under the following conditions:

1. Birds. Facilities for the raising of ten (10) or fewer domestic birds or birds intended for sale in pet shops as a home occupation, excluding poultry or game fowl, are allowed with no minimum site area. Domestic birds are defined as canaries, parrots, and other birds which are small and tame.

2. Cattle and horses.

a. Minimum site area. One (1) acre;

b. Animal density. Maximum number of animals allowed is one (1) per acre;

c. Setbacks. Corrals and other animal enclosures shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet from any residence other than that of the animal owner.

3. Game, fowl, poultry, and rabbits, including other non-carnivorous animals of similar size, but not including turkeys.

a. Limitations. Except on parcels of two (2) acres or larger, where all adjoining parcels are of equivalent size or larger, no male fowl or poultry may be kept or raised in any residential zone;

b. Minimum site area. Two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet;

c. Enclosure required. All game fowl, poultry, and rabbits shall be contained in covered coops or pens, and not allowed to run free of a site;

d. Animal density. The number of game fowl and poultry is limited to a ratio of one (1) mature animal per two thousand (2,000) square feet of lot area. The maximum number of animals is twenty-five (25);

e. Setbacks. Animal enclosures shall be located a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet from any residence on an adjoining lot, and seventy-five (75) feet if more than five (5) game fowl or poultry are kept.

4. Sheep.

a. Minimum site area. One (1) acre;

b. Animal density. The number of animals allowed is four (4) per acre;

c. Setbacks. Animal enclosures shall be located a minimum of fifty (50) feet from any residence on an adjoining lot.

5. Goats. With approval of a permit by the community development director, goats may be kept or raised on private property subject to the following requirements:

a. Minimum site area. The minimum lot size required for the keeping of goats is nine thousand square (9,000) feet;

b. Animal density.

No more than four (4) goats shall be allowed on any lot within the city;

c. A permit for keeping or raising goats shall only be granted upon a showing by the applicant that appropriate provisions have been made for sanitation, care, caging, and odor control appropriate for the breed of goat for which the permit is requested;

d. Setbacks. All accessory structures used for the purpose of housing or keeping animals shall be set back a distance of at least ten (10) feet from a property line;

e. No accessory building, structure or pen shall occupy any portion of a front yard or side yard on a street.

f. Permit conditions. In addition to the general standards found in this section and any conditions of permit approval deemed necessary by the community development director, the following conditions shall apply to all permits for keeping and raising goats on private property:

i. No goat(s) shall be allowed to devegetate an area so as to cause erosion;

ii. Should goat feces accumulate and create an odor problem, the feces shall be immediately cleaned up from the site;

iii. Goats shall be kept at least twenty-five (25) feet (measured in a horizontal distance) from any open water drainage system;

iv. No permit shall be issued if another permit is in force within two hundred (200) feet of any property boundary;

v. The guardian/owner of the goats or person in charge shall agree to hold the city harmless from all liability and costs in the event of any damage, injury, or accident caused by such goats, whether unintentional, intentional, and/or negligent.

g. Review. Approval is granted for a one (1) year trial period and the keeping or raising of goats on the subject property shall be reviewed by the city's animal control officer, community development director or their designee after the one (1) year trial period to determine if the permit allowing goats should be continued, further conditioned, or revoked;

h. Notice. Owners and tenants of properties within three hundred (300) feet of a site for which an application for permit to keep or raise goats has been submitted shall be notified by mail at least ten (10) days before community development director consideration of the permit request;

i. Appeal. In case an applicant or any other person is not satisfied with the action of the community development director on a permit decision, the person may appeal the decision in writing within ten (10) days to the city council, subject to payment of an appeal fee which may be established by the city council. An appeal must be filed with the city clerk in writing within ten (10) days of the applicant being notified in writing of the community development director's decision. If notice of the community development director's decision is mailed, the applicant must file an appeal within fifteen (15) days from the date of mailing of the decision. The city clerk shall set the matter for hearing before the city council within forty-five (45) days of receiving the written appeal. The city council shall deny the appeal and affirm the decision of the community development director unless it finds the community development director abused the director's discretion by being arbitrary and capricious or the decision otherwise violates the law. If the city council grants the appeal and overrules the decision of the community development director, it shall make written findings and determinations supporting its decision based upon the testimony and documents presented to it at the hearing, and shall adopt its written findings and determination within fourteen days (14) of the close of the hearing on the matter;

j. Weed abatement exempt. The short-term use of goats for weed abatement purposes does not require permit approval and is not subject to the conditions listed above.

D. Nonconforming keeping of animals. The keeping of types or numbers of animals not allowed by Section 6.04.060 of this Code may be continued provided that:

1. The number of animals existing on the effective date of Ordinance O-335 which originally enacted this title, to wit, April 25, 1984, is not to be increased except as provided in Section 6.04.060;

2. New offspring of existing animals may be retained on-site until weaned, after which the new animals are to be removed;

3. Deceased or relocated animals are not to be replaced;

4. Public Nuisances. Though this section provides for the keeping of animals that are not in conformity with this section, such use may be declared a public nuisance by the city council and abated as provided in the municipal code, where the use is found by the city council to be dangerous or to prevent the full use and enjoyment of neighboring properties. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)

A. Any person owning and/or possessing a dog must keep the animal on a leash not exceeding six (6) feet in length. Further, the leash must be held by a person capable of controlling such dog.

B. Exceptions. A dog can be unleashed under any of the following circumstances:

1. When the dog is on private property of the owner or of another who has consented and is either:

a. Contained on the enclosed property of the owner or of another who has consented; or

b. Is under control of a person who is in the presence of the dog; or

2. When the dog is assisting a peace officer who is engaged in law enforcement duties; or

3. When the dog is in designated parks, as specified in a resolution of the city council. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)

A. Except as provided in Subsection B. of this Section, it is unlawful for any person owning, having an interest in, harboring or having charge of the care, custody, control or possession of any dog to cause or permit such dog to be on the city pier.

B. The prohibition set forth in Subsection A. shall not apply to any dog meeting the definition of a service dog under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), when such dog is accompanying a disabled person requiring the assistance of such dog; or when such dog is receiving training by a person licensed to train guide dogs. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)

Dogs used by or under the authority of the police department or other law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes shall be exempt from all restrictions and prohibitions contained in this title. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)

A. On the Cypress Street Bridge, or within one hundred (100) feet of the bank of Pismo Creek, it is unlawful to:

1. Feed any pigeon, seagull, or any other bird;

2. Disperse any food material or other matter edible by pigeons, seagulls, or and other any bird so as to make such material or matter available to pigeons, seagulls, or other birds for ingestion; or

3. Permit any food or other matter edible by pigeons, seagulls, or any other bird to remain on the ground after dispersing or dropping the same.

B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any public officer or public employee in the performance of the officer's duties. (Ord. O-2025-001 § 2 (part), 2025)