In unincorporated Polk County, livestock is a zoning matter under Iowa Code Chapter 335. Genuine agricultural use is exempt from county zoning (Iowa Code 335.2), so working farms keep cattle, horses, hogs and sheep without a county permit. Hobby livestock on small residential lots is limited by the zoning district.
Iowa Code 335.2 exempts land and structures 'primarily adapted...for use for agricultural purposes' from county zoning and forbids the county from charging a fee for that exemption. Polk County's Zoning Ordinance applies this in its agricultural (A-1) and rural districts, where livestock is a permitted agricultural use. Larger confined animal feeding operations are separately regulated by the state (Iowa DNR under Iowa Code 459). On residential-zoned parcels in the unincorporated county, the zoning district's use table and animal-setback rules determine whether livestock is allowed and at what density. Inside cities, municipal codes generally prohibit farm livestock in residential zones.
Keeping livestock in a district that does not allow it is a zoning violation enforced by Polk County Planning & Development, which can issue municipal-infraction citations and require removal of the animals.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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