Sonoma, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)
Key Facts
- Leash length
- 6 feet maximum
- Plaza Park
- dogs banned entirely, even leashed
- Off-leash areas
- only city-designated dog parks
- Exempt
- guide, service, and on-duty police dogs
- First-offense fine
- up to $100
Summary
In the City of Sonoma, dogs may not run at large on any public street, public place, or private property without the owner's or property owner's permission. Elsewhere in public, a dog must be restrained by a leash no longer than six feet. Guide, service, and on-duty police dogs are exempt, and a dog found at large may be impounded.
Except as provided by SMC 8.06.070, no person shall cause, permit, or allow any dog to run at large upon any public street or other public place, or upon any private property without the permission of the property owner or premises other than those of the owner or other person in control of such dog, nor shall any person cause, permit, or allow any dog to be upon any public street or other public place unless the dog is restrained by a leash not to exceed six feet in length. This section does not apply to guide or service dogs while performing their duties for blind, hearing impaired and physically disabled people or police dogs while in the performance of their duties. Any dog found at large in violation of this section may be impounded.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 13-2025, passed December 3, 2025).
Full Breakdown
070 for the city's designated off-leash areas. Guide dogs, signal dogs, and other service animals working for blind, hearing-impaired, or physically disabled people, and police dogs on duty, are excluded from the leash requirement. 070 bans dogs outright, even on a leash, from all of Plaza Park (the National Historic Landmark plaza bounded by 1st Street East, 1st Street West, Napa Street, and Spain Street), the Montini Preserve, and the Sonoma Overlook Trail. In the city's other park facilities, a dog is permitted on a leash no longer than six feet, except in children's playground areas, provided the park has a waste-bag dispensary.
075, the city council may designate specific park areas as off-leash dog parks; within a designated area a dog must wear a visible, current license, may not behave aggressively, and its owner must remain within the area and supervise it at all times. 060 may be impounded by an animal care and control officer. This is City of Sonoma law, distinct from Sonoma County's animal control ordinance, which governs the unincorporated Sonoma Valley communities such as Boyes Hot Springs and El Verano that surround the city.
Violations & Fines
A leash-law violation is enforced under Sonoma Municipal Code Chapter 8.20 as a public-nuisance and animal-control matter, chargeable under the Chapter 1.12 general penalty schedule: a fine up to $100 for a first offense, up to $200 for a second violation of the same section within a year, and up to $500 for a third or subsequent violation, or prosecution as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Each day is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I walk my dog off-leash in the City of Sonoma?
Are dogs allowed on Sonoma Plaza?
What happens if my dog is caught running loose in the City of Sonoma?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sonoma
California rules heatmap·Compare Sonoma to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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Dog Leash Laws in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle dog leash laws.