Section 90.27 of the Noblesville Code of Ordinances (Title IX, Chapter 90 - Animals) prohibits keeping, raising, confining or feeding hogs, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep or cows within the corporate limits of the city unless the parcel is in an area zoned agricultural. Horses are not on the Sec. 90.27 list, but the Noblesville Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) accessory-use and zoning-district provisions effectively limit large-animal keeping to rural-zoned acreage. Indiana has no statewide preemption that would override the City's choice, and Sec. 90.27 has no residential permit or setback alternative. Hamilton County's Title 15 Agriculture and Animals Ordinance governs the unincorporated balance of the county.
Noblesville's livestock policy is one of the most categorical in Hamilton County. Section 90.27 ('Certain Animals Prohibited') of Chapter 90 of the Code of Ordinances states: 'No person shall keep, raise, confine or feed hogs, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep or cows within the corporate limits of the city unless in an area zoned agricultural.' That sentence is the entire residential rule. There is no permit pathway, no acreage threshold below which the rule relaxes, no setback alternative, and no conditional-use carve-out - the only way to keep any of the listed species inside Noblesville is to own land that already carries an agricultural zoning designation under the Noblesville Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The list of regulated species under Sec. 90.27 includes 'hogs, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep or cows' but NOT horses, so equestrian keeping is not categorically prohibited by Sec. 90.27 - however, the Noblesville UDO accessory-use provisions, pasture/setback requirements, and zoning-district use tables effectively limit horsekeeping to the rural and very-low-density residential zones at the city fringes. Hamilton County's Title 15 Agriculture and Animals Ordinance governs the unincorporated balance of the county, and is generally more permissive for agricultural use on appropriately zoned acreage; Hamilton County revised Title 15 in 2019 to add tethering and temperature guidelines, definitions, permanent ID, and enhanced cruelty/neglect sections. Indiana state law context: Indiana has no statewide preemption of residential livestock-keeping rules - IC 36-1-3 Home Rule authorizes the City to set its own framework. The Indiana Right-to-Farm statute (IC 32-30-6-9) protects existing agricultural operations on agricultural land from nuisance suits but does not authorize new residential livestock keeping inside Noblesville. The state animal cruelty statute (IC 35-46-3) and animal health framework (IC 15-17, including mandatory rabies vaccination) apply statewide independent of local rules. Field enforcement of Sec. 90.27 is by Hamilton County Animal Services (18100 Cumberland Road, Noblesville, 317-773-1282 non-emergency or 317-776-4110 active complaints) in coordination with Noblesville Code Enforcement at City Hall (16 S. 10th Street, 317-776-6324). HOA covenants in Noblesville's many master-planned subdivisions almost universally prohibit livestock and chickens entirely, providing a private-law layer of enforcement independent of Sec. 90.27.
Keeping hogs, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, or cows on a non-agriculturally-zoned parcel within Noblesville corporate limits is a violation of Section 90.27. Ordinance violations under Title IX are enforceable by civil penalty under the Code's general penalty (Title I, Sec. 10.99), with daily-recurring fines until the animals are removed. There is no permit pathway to cure a Sec. 90.27 violation - the animals must be relocated to an agriculturally zoned parcel or outside Noblesville. Field response is by Hamilton County Animal Services (317-773-1282), which may seize animals being kept in non-compliant locations and hold them at 18100 Cumberland Road, Noblesville. Cruelty involving livestock can be charged separately under IC 35-46-3 (Class A misdemeanor base, Level 6 felony with prior conviction or torture).
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