The City of Napa Zoning Ordinance excludes venomous reptiles, apiaries (except as separately permitted), kennels, and other prohibited animals from the definition of 'small domestic animals' permitted at residences (NMC 17.06.030). California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 671 separately classifies a wide range of species as restricted and requires a permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) before they may be imported, transported, or possessed in California — common exotics such as ferrets, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, most primates, and large carnivores are prohibited or restricted under state law and may not be kept as pets in Napa absent a CDFW permit.
Napa relies on the combination of its Zoning Ordinance and state law to regulate exotic-pet keeping. Section 17.06.030 of the Napa Municipal Code defines 'small domestic animals' as the type generally accepted as pets — dogs, cats, rabbits, pigeons, hens, and the like — and expressly excludes roosters, quacking ducks, geese, pea fowl, goats, sheep, hogs, apiaries (regulated separately under 17.52.055), venomous reptiles, kennels, and other prohibited animals. Anything outside that definition is not a permitted noncommercial accessory use at a Napa residence, and keeping such an animal can be cited as a zoning violation. The state-level constraint is the heavy one. 14 CCR Section 671 (https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=160745&inline) classifies as 'restricted' a wide range of species — all members of Order Carnivora (other than dogs, cats, and certain mustelids), all primates (other than humans), most large reptiles and amphibians, ferrets (Mustela putorius furo), hedgehogs (Erinaceidae), sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), and many others. Any restricted species requires a CDFW permit under 14 CCR Section 671.1 before it may be imported, transported, or possessed in California, and most permit categories are limited to bona fide research, zoological, educational, or scientific purposes — not pet ownership. CDFW publishes the restricted-species list and application packets at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Laws-and-Regulations/Restricted-Species. Some species commonly thought of as exotics are not restricted under state law (most parrots and finches, most non-venomous snakes, geckos, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, chinchillas) and may be kept as ordinary household pets in Napa under the small-domestic-animal allowance. Venomous reptiles are separately excluded from the City's small-domestic-animal definition in 17.06.030 even where CDFW does not restrict them. Napa County Animal Services (https://www.napacounty.gov/1023/Animal-Shelter) at (707) 253-4382 handles exotic-animal complaints inside the City under its contract.
Possessing an exotic or wild animal in Napa that falls outside the small-domestic-animal definition in 17.06.030 is a zoning violation enforced by City Code Enforcement with administrative citations and abatement orders requiring removal of the animal. Possessing a restricted species under 14 CCR Section 671 without a CDFW permit is a separate offense enforced by CDFW Wildlife Officers under California Fish and Game Code Sections 2118-2118.4 with fines and seizure; animals seized for public-safety reasons are placed with CDFW-authorized facilities at the owner's expense. Repeat zoning violations can be charged as misdemeanors under Title 1 of the Municipal Code.
Napa, CA
Pool barriers in Napa follow California Health and Safety Code Sections 115921-115929 (the Swimming Pool Safety Act, as amended Jan 1, 2018) and California B...
Napa, CA
Napa Municipal Code 17.52.170 governs fence height and visibility but does not impose a closed list of allowed residential fence materials. Wood, vinyl, orna...
Napa, CA
Napa's Municipal Code does not require neighbor consent to build a fence. Boundary fence cost-sharing follows California Civil Code Section 841 — the Good Ne...
Napa, CA
Fences 6 feet or less in Napa generally do not need a building permit, but any fence over 6 feet in height must obtain a building permit under the California...
Napa, CA
City of Napa Municipal Code Section 17.52.170 regulates fences, walls, and hedges. Fences in residential side and rear yards are typically allowed up to 6 fe...
Napa, CA
Backyard composting in the City of Napa is permitted and encouraged. Curbside collection of organic waste is mandatory under California SB 1383 (Public Resou...
See how Napa's exotic pets rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.