Story County, IA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

18, Non-Commercial Livestock Standards, applies on parcels in zoning districts where non-commercial livestock are permitted, but exempts the A-1 Agricultural and A-2 Agribusiness Districts entirely from these caps. Table 88-1 sets maximum animal densities by category: large animals like horses and cattle need at least one net acre, or one animal per 20,000 net square feet with a maximum of eight; intermediate animals like sheep, swine and goats are capped at one per 5,000 net square feet with a maximum of ten; and small animals, poultry, fowl, rabbits and similar animals, are capped at one animal per 1,500 net square feet of lot area, with no stated maximum count.

Roosters are prohibited outright under the table's footnote. Juvenile animals under six months old don't count against the density limit if they are offspring of allowed adult animals. Housing must sit at least 50 feet from property lines for large or intermediate animals, be sized and built to confine the animals to the owner's property, provide a covered predator-resistant shelter with daylight access, be kept clean and sanitary, follow Iowa State Extension manure-disposal best practices, and keep feed grain in rodent-proof containers with hay kept covered.

A zoning permit from the Planning and Development Department is required before constructing, adding to, or modifying any pen, coop, building, fence or other enclosure used to house non-commercial livestock, and nuisance conditions such as odor, noise, property damage or loose animals are separately prohibited.