Pismo Beach, CA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 6.04.060 of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code allows most animal keeping without a land use permit but bars a defined list. Subsection B prohibits in the city the intentional raising or keeping of bees, hogs, pigs and swine of any description, turkeys, animals of the Mustelidae family, and item 5, lions, tigers, poisonous snakes, alligators, and other typically wild animals able or likely to inflict serious physical injury or property damage.

Two items reach exotic pets directly. The Mustelidae item covers animals of that family, including but not limited to mink and ferrets, and any other carnivorous animals of similar size at maturity, so a pet ferret falls inside the ban. The item 5 catch-all reaches typically wild animals judged by the harm they are able or likely to inflict, not by species name, which is why lions, tigers, poisonous snakes and alligators are only examples.

Section 6.04.060 A.1 closes the household-pet loophole: prohibited animals described in subsection B are not considered household pets under any circumstances. That matters because the definition in Section 6.04.040 lists snakes and lizards among household pets, and household pets are otherwise exempt from most of the chapter. A snake that is poisonous is therefore not a household pet, while the definition still covers other snakes.

Subsection D allows nonconforming keeping of types or numbers of animals not allowed by the section to continue where the number existing on April 25, 1984 is not increased, offspring are removed after weaning and deceased or relocated animals are not replaced. The city council can declare such keeping a public nuisance and abate it where it is found dangerous or to prevent the full use and enjoyment of neighboring properties. Section 6.02.020 adopts San Luis Obispo County Code Title 9 by reference, but under Section 6.06.020 the locally reserved rules in Chapter 6.04 control in a conflict.