Pacifica, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

206 of the Animal Control chapter makes it unlawful for any owner or person with custody of an animal to let it be on any public street, sidewalk, park, school ground, other public property, or unenclosed private premises unless the animal is licensed where required and restrained by a chain, lead rope, or leash connected to its collar, saddle, harness, or halter. The code specifies that an electric or invisible fence does not count as an enclosure. Cats are expressly excluded from the leash requirement, as are service animals under the owner's complete control.

Two locations carve out an off-leash exception under subsection (g): the stretch of beach between Paloma Avenue and the city's northern boundary, and the fenced City dog park at 1220 Linda Mar Boulevard. Even in those areas, the off-leash privilege only applies while the location is open to the public, the dog remains under the immediate voice control of a person capable of controlling it, and any written rules the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Director has posted for the dog park are followed. 205 requires every dog owner to prevent their dog from biting, threatening, or attacking a person or another animal, and the failure of a victim animal's owner to have used a leash is not a mitigating factor in an attack.