Sedona, AZ Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

The Sedona Land Development Code splits animal-keeping into two accessory-use categories. D(1), Agriculture General, covers farm animals such as horses, cattle, alpacas, llamas, sheep, and goats: keeping them requires at least one acre, caps the count at three animals on the first acre plus one more per additional half-acre, sets a 50-foot setback for shelters, bans swine outright, and prohibits slaughtering anywhere in the city. D(2), Agriculture Urban, governs chickens and bees. Keeping either requires a city permit, and it is unlawful to keep chickens or bees without one; the use is not allowed in shared outdoor space for attached or multifamily housing.

Chicken keeping is capped at six birds per lot with roosters banned entirely. Coops cannot exceed 200 square feet, must provide at least four square feet per bird, must sit at least 20 feet from side and rear property lines and out of the front setback, and birds must be locked in the coop from dusk to dawn. Bees are capped at two hives per lot, each requiring a six-foot flyway barrier to redirect flight paths away from people, a year-round water source so bees do not congregate at pools, and a queen bred for gentleness.

Before the city issues a bee-keeping permit, it must mail notice to every property within 100 feet, 15 days in advance. An abandoned or aggressive hive is declared a public nuisance and can be summarily destroyed, though the beekeeper gets 30 days from the complaint to fix it.