Section 4-3 of the Apex Town Code (Chapter 4 - Animals), effective June 1, 2007, prohibits the keeping of livestock within the corporate limits of the Town. 'Livestock' is defined to include cattle, goats, sheep, swine and other similar animals. The express exemptions are horses, ponies, rabbits, fowl (except for male chickens), and miniature pigs (neutered and not exceeding 20 inches at the shoulders when full grown). The Apex Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) further restricts where exempt large animals such as horses can practically be kept - the necessary acreage and accessory-structure setbacks are only realistic in the rural and very-low-density residential districts.
Apex's livestock policy was substantially tightened in June 2007 after a high-profile animal-cruelty case in which 77 sheep were seized from a residential property in Apex. The Town Council responded by adopting Section 4-3 of Chapter 4, which prohibits the keeping of 'livestock' (including but not limited to cattle, goats, sheep, swine and other similar animals) and male chickens within the corporate limits. The express exemptions are: (1) horses and ponies (allowed in principle but in practice requiring agricultural-zoned acreage); (2) rabbits (allowed in residential zones); (3) fowl other than male chickens (so hens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas are exempt, subject to nuisance rules); and (4) miniature pigs that are both neutered/spayed AND no more than twenty inches (20") in height at the shoulders at full growth, kept inside the dwelling or in a secure fenced area. The Apex Unified Development Ordinance (UDO, adopted August 1, 2000, as amended) sets the spatial framework - keeping a horse on a standard 1/4-acre Apex residential lot is functionally impossible because of pasture, accessory-structure setback, and stormwater requirements, even if the Code permits the species. The UDO's rural residential and conservation-residential districts (where they exist on the Apex zoning map) are the only realistic locations for an exempt large-animal use, and HOA covenants in most Apex master-planned subdivisions further prohibit any animal keeping beyond conventional companion pets. Outside the corporate limits but within the Apex ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction) and the unincorporated portions of Wake County, agricultural use is generally more permissive under the Wake County Unified Development Ordinance, though Wake County's ag-zoned acreage in the southwest Wake area has been steadily eroded by annexation and subdivision. Field enforcement of Section 4-3 is by Wake County Animal Services (919-212-7387) under intergovernmental agreement, in coordination with the Apex Police Department and the Planning Department for any related UDO setback violation.
Keeping cattle, goats, sheep, swine, or any similar livestock within the corporate limits of Apex is a violation of Section 4-3 of Chapter 4 of the Town Code. Keeping a miniature pig that is not neutered, or that exceeds 20 inches at the shoulders when full grown, is also a violation - the animal must be kept in the dwelling or a secure fenced area. Ordinance violations are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor under N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-4 and/or by civil penalty under Sec. 1-9 of the Apex Code, and the animal may be impounded at the Wake County Animal Center (820 Beacon Lake Drive, Raleigh) by Wake County Animal Services (919-212-7387). A non-conforming barn, pen, or accessory structure can also be cited separately by the Apex Planning Department under the UDO, with stop-work orders and per-day civil penalties.
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