Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Animal cap
- 10 poultry/fowl/small animals over 6 months old
- Applies in
- Adopted R-1, R-2, R-W, R-M LOZDs only
- Containment
- Coop, hutch, or similar required enclosure
- Daily fine
- $300 per day, KPB 21.50.055
- Enforcing agency
- Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Department
- Hoofed animals
- Banned except one service miniature horse
Summary
Outside Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Seldovia and Kachemak, the Kenai Peninsula Borough runs no animal control code, Title 8 sits reserved, so chicken and small-animal limits exist only inside an adopted Local Option Zoning District. Inside a Single-Family Residential (R-1) LOZD, KPB 21.44.160(C)(7)(c) caps contained poultry, fowl and small animals at 10 head over six months old.
c.Poultry, fowl and small animals shall be properly contained (e.g., chicken coop, rabbit hutch) and shall be located in accordance with the required accessory use setbacks. No more than 10 such animals over 6 months old are allowed.
Full Breakdown
The borough's Title 8 Animals chapter is reserved, meaning the assembly has adopted no general animal-control ordinance for the unincorporated area. Poultry and small-animal keeping is instead a subsection of the Local Option Zoning District (LOZD) program created by KPB 21.44.010, which lets property owners in the rural district petition the assembly for added land-use restrictions on their own subdivision. Once an LOZD forms as a Single-Family Residential (R-1) district, KPB 21.44.160(C)(7)(c) requires poultry, fowl and small animals to be properly contained, naming a chicken coop or rabbit hutch as examples, and to sit back from property lines by the same distance required for any other accessory structure under KPB 21.44.160(C)(1).
The section caps the count at 10 such animals over six months old; hoofed animals, by contrast, are banned outright under subsection (d) except for one service miniature horse. The identical language, and the same 10-animal cap, repeats verbatim in the Small Lot Residential (R-2, KPB 21.44.165), Residential Waterfront (R-W, KPB 21.44.175) and Multi-Family Residential (R-M, KPB 21.44.180) LOZD types. The Rural Residential (R-R) district instead scales poultry allowances to lot acreage rather than a flat headcount. Outside any adopted LOZD, and outside the six incorporated cities, no borough ordinance limits chicken or poultry keeping at all. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Department administers LOZD compliance and maintains the district maps required by KPB 21.44.090.
Violations & Fines
Exceeding 10 poultry, fowl or small animals over six months old, or failing to contain them as required, is a Development Standards violation of KPB 21.44.160(C), fined at $300 per day under the borough's KPB 21.50.055 fine schedule; each day of continued violation is a separate offense under KPB 21.44.150. The borough may also pursue a civil penalty up to $1,000 per day under KPB 21.50.040(B) or seek injunctive relief in superior court under KPB 21.50.040(A).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the chicken limit apply everywhere in the borough?
How many chickens can I keep in an R-1 LOZD?
What about goats, pigs or other livestock?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenai Peninsula Borough
How Kenai Peninsula Borough compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·Compare Kenai Peninsula Borough to another location·View the Alaska animal ordinances overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.