Montebello, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Montebello's animal-keeping standards for the R-A (Residential-Agricultural) zone sit inside Chapter 17.68, a chapter titled for horses but written to cover the full range of R-A backyard livestock. Section 17.68.020(C) lists three categories of animals allowed in the R-A zone beyond horses. Poultry or rabbits may be kept for private, noncommercial use, but only if they are confined at all times within an enclosure; the code gives the confinement duty no exceptions for size of flock or lot. The grazing of horses and bovine animals, other than dairies, is allowed at a maximum of two horses or two bovine animals per acre on sites of four acres or less.

Animals raised for breeding, feed, or scientific purposes require a conditional use permit under Chapter 17.70 before they can be kept at all. These R-A allowances exist only in that zone; the standard R-1 through R-4 residential zones covered by the same chapter address horsekeeping ratios but do not extend the same poultry and rabbit allowance. An occupancy permit is required for the site under subsection (D), and a scaled plot plan showing structures, feed storage, and drinking water facilities must be submitted to and approved by the city planner under subsection (E) before the animals move in.