Chapter 6.2
Food Security and Sovereignty

• ALL
• Remove Code Barriers
• Create Incentives
• Fill Regulatory Gaps

Agricultural Animals as Accessory Uses, Permitted Uses, and By-Right in Urban and Suburban Areas

INTRODUCTION

Urban and suburban agriculture is a growing trend.[1] The desire for “healthier dietary practices, community sustainability and resilience, and greater access to safe and healthy food options” has led to the popularization of including agricultural animals as part of urban and suburban agriculture.[2] This brief covers a broad range of agricultural animals, beyond what some may consider “livestock.”[3] For example, fowl and bees are included here, as well as in separate briefs discussing those issues (see Keeping Fowl in Urban and Suburban Locations and Bees in Urban and Suburban Districts). Local governments have the discretion to choose which animals they allow in urban and suburban agricultural areas. As discussed further in the Effects section, locally grown animals can lead to economic opportunities, increase public health, and reduce environmental impacts.[4] For example, landowners can sell milk from their goats and other animals, eggs from their chickens.[5] As discussed below, however, the raising of animals can give rise to other challenges that local governments should consider when allowing the raising of animals.

In order to encourage the growth of small-scale livestock in urban and suburban areas, some local governments have begun permitting livestock as an accessory use, permitted use, or by-right. When drafting these ordinances, local governments have several options, including whether to categorize animals based on size (for example, large and small as in the Lakewood, Colorado ordinance below). They may require a minimum amount of square footage per animal and animal type, and they may address permitted structures to house livestock. In addition, because livestock can create noise and odor[6] and may increase the risk of disease,[7] regulations may specifically address decibel levels and smells, as well as permission to slaughter animals.  Small-scale slaughter and meat processing require specific regulations and support to ensure safe operations, especially so in urban locations.

EFFECTS

These ordinances permit urban and suburban livestock and the production of fresh and local food products including eggs, honey, and milk.[8] Further, livestock can be a source of high-quality and local meat,[9] and residents are able to learn from the experience of keeping farm animals as pets.[10] While there may be numerous barriers to producing and selling the products of agricultural animals, careful zoning and intentional removal of the barriers can create another way to address food security and sovereignty.

Allowing agricultural animals in urban and suburban areas may increase access to healthy and local food. Local food can provide numerous health benefits, including increased nutritional value.[11] In addition, local food travels a shorter distance than commercially produced food, preserving both nutrients and freshness.[12] Commercially produced food may have to travel thousands of miles and sit in distribution centers, which increases the potential for contamination and diseases.[13] Many foods that can be grown and produced locally in many areas are shipped thousands of miles to their final destination.[14] Cheese, for example, has the third highest carbon impact among food;[15] eggs produce about one-third of the emissions as cheese; and milk produces the equivalent of about one-eighth of the emissions.[16] Landowners that are able to use their own milk and eggs help reduce their carbon footprint, thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions.[17] Local governments considering these ordinances should also address raw (unpasteurized) milk safety concerns. Raw milk can carry numerous bacteria, such as salmonella, E. Coli, and listeria.[18]

Finally, allowing and encouraging urban and suburban livestock increases a sense of community, especially when a community has farmers markets (for our brief on farmers markets see Farmers Markets in a Variety of Districts), farm stands (for our brief on farmers markets see Temporary Farm Stands), community gardens (for our brief on community gardens see Community Gardens on Private Property as a By-Right or Permitted Use), or community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs.[19] Further, raising fowl—and by extension, any agricultural animal—can foster connections between neighbors and community members.[20]

EXAMPLES

Lakewood, CO

Lakewood, a suburb of Denver, regulates animals based on their size, categorizing them as either small or large.[21] Further, animals in Lakewood are regulated based on the land’s use: Limited or Accessory.[22] Limited uses are permitted “subject to compliance with any supplemental standards.”[23] Accessory uses are only allowed when it is an accessory to permitted-use land, and then is subject to supplemental standards as well.[24] Large animals include horses, cows, llamas, alpacas, goats, and sheep.[25] Standards for large animal land area are based on a “horse equivalent unit,” where one “horse equivalent” is equal to either one cow or two llamas, alpacas, goats, or sheep.[26] Emus and ostriches are regulated separately, and are not scaled for the “horse equivalent units.”[27] The first emu or ostrich requires 8,000 square feet; each additional animal requires an additional 5,500 square feet of land.[28]

Small animals are regulated differently depending on whether the use is zoned as accessory or limited use.[29] For accessory uses, pigeons, poultry, rabbits, and chinchillas are subject to additional limitations.[30] Limited-use land only allows for chicken hens (no roosters), ducks, and dwarf and other small breeds of goats.[31] Keeping these small limited-use animals requires a permit from Lakewood.[32] This category of animals is the only one that does not allow for by-right permitting. Slaughtering of animals, regardless of size or land use, is prohibited in Lakewood.[33]

To view the provisions see Lakewood, CO, Zoning Ordinance §§ 17.4.3.1:C, D (2016).

Seattle, WA

Seattle allows residents to keep small animals, domestic fowl, farm animals, and bees as an accessory use to businesses and dwelling units.[34] Roosters and swine other than miniature potbellied pigs are strictly prohibited.[35] Miniature goats and miniature potbellied pigs are included as small animals.[36] Male goats must be neutered and all miniature goats must be dehorned.[37] Up to four small animals are allowed on lots 20,000 square feet or larger.[38] For every additional 5,000 square feet, one additional small animal is allowed.[39] All accessory structures, including kennels, must be a minimum of 10 feet from all neighboring lots.[40]

Up to eight domestic fowl are allowed on any size lot in addition to any small animals on the lot.[41] One extra fowl is allowed for every 1,000 square feet over 10,000 if the lot includes a community garden or urban farm.[42] Fowl housing structures must be a minimum of 10 feet away from any dwelling on a neighboring lot.[43] Cows, horses, sheep, and “other similar farm animals” are allowed on lots 20,000 square feet or larger.[44] One farm animal is allowed for every 10,000 square feet.[45] In residential zones, both the animals and their structures must be a minimum of fifty feet from any other lot.[46]

To view the provision see Seattle, WA, Land Use Code § 23.42.052 (May 11, 2020).

Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh allows residents to keep agricultural animals in urban areas without a permit if  the intent is to produce goods for personal use and consumption.[47] The Code allows for chickens, ducks, goats, and honeybees.[48] Roosters are strictly prohibited.[49] Up to five chickens or ducks are allowed on a lot with a minimum of 2,000 square feet.[50] One additional chicken or duck is allowed for every additional 1,000 square feet but only if no other livestock are kept on the lot.[51]

Pittsburgh allows goats to be kept in urban areas.[52] Two goats are allowed on lots 10,000 square feet or larger.[53] One extra goat is permitted for every extra 5,000 square feet.[54] Any resident wanting to keep goats must have a minimum of two goats on the lot.[55] Goats are social animals and need a companion to feel safe.[56] A goat on its own is prone to loud and frequent bleating. Requiring two goats on a lot can help lessen the amount of noise goats make.[57] In Pittsburgh, all adult goats must be dehorned, and adult male goats must be neutered.[58]

To view the provisions see Pittsburgh, PA, Zoning Code § 912.07.B(14) (May 22, 2020).

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES

Cleveland, OH, Zoning Code § 347.02(c) (Feb. 5, 2009) (regulating goats, pigs, sheep, and similar farm animals in residential and nonresidential lots, establishing minimum lot size requirements).

Denver, CO, Denver Zoning Code § 11.8.5.1 (Oct. 10, 2019) (permitting residents to keep domestic and household animals including horses, pigeons, doves, chickens, ducks, and dwarf goats without a zoning permit as an accessory use to a primary dwelling in all zones).

Lacey, WA, Zoning Ordinance § 16.21 (2018) (permitting urban livestock as an accessory use).

Oakland, CA, Code of Ordinances § 6.04.290 (June 12, 2020) (restricting the keeping of a specific number of animals on property used for an apartment house, hotel, or business district).

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Heather Wooten et. al., Seeding the City: Land Use Policies to Promote Urban Agriculture, Nat’l Pol’y & Legal Analysis Network, Oct. 2011, https://perma.cc/47CR-3YRF.

Chester County Planning Commission, A Model Township Zoning Ordinance: Raising and Keeping of Chickens, https://perma.cc/EC5A-KS5L (last accessed June 15, 2020).

Kate A. Voigt, Pigs in the Backyard or the Barnyard: Removing Zoning Impediments to Urban Agriculture, 38 Boston C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 537, 543 (2011), https://perma.cc/S6NE-3N3Z.