Medford, MA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Medford's zoning ordinance regulates livestock keeping through its citywide use table rather than a separate animal-keeping chapter. Sec. 94-3.1.2 sets the table's key: a use marked (Y) is allowed by right, (N) is not permitted at all, and a use marked with an authority code needs a special permit from that body, with 'CC' meaning the City Council. Table A's Open Recreational and Agricultural Uses category lists, as item 5, 'Keeping and raising of livestock, including animal stable or kennel,' and marks it 'N' across every residential district (ROS, SF-1, SF-2, GR, APT-1, APT-2, APT-3), both commercial districts (C-1, C-2), both office districts (O, O-2), and the Mixed Use Zone (MUZ).

The only district where the use appears at all is Industrial (I), marked 'CC,' meaning a livestock-keeping operation there needs a special permit granted by the City Council rather than an administrative sign-off. That structure puts backyard chickens, goats, or any comparable stable or kennel use squarely outside every neighborhood zoning district in the city, with the sole legal path running through an industrially zoned parcel and a City Council vote. Chapter 94's general enforcement provisions back the table up: Sec. 94-11.3.1 lets the building commissioner investigate a suspected violation and demand it be abated, and Sec. 94-11.3.2 fines any person convicted of violating the chapter not more than $300.00 for each day the violation continues.