Santa Barbara, CA Animal Ordinances: Livestock (2026)

Livestock keeping is tightly restricted in the City of Santa Barbara under Municipal Code Chapter 6.08 (Care and Keeping of Animals). It is unlawful to keep any cow, calf, hog, sheep, goat, or other hoofed animal (other than horses) on any lot less than one and one-half (1.5) acres in size. No such animal, pen, stable, barn, or corral may be kept or maintained within 35 feet of any property line, dwelling, or other building used for human habitation. Horses are treated separately and are governed by the zoning code (Section 30.185.210): horses may be kept only on lots of 20,000 square feet or more, never for commercial purposes, with the number limited to one horse per 10,000 square feet of lot area, but no more than five per lot. Horse facilities carry larger setbacks: no animal, pen, stable, barn, or corral within 35 feet of any dwelling or habitable building, within 75 feet of the front lot line, or within 75 feet of any public park, school, hospital, or similar institution. These thresholds make most standard City residential lots ineligible for cattle, goats, sheep, or hogs. Smaller animals such as rabbits and chickens fall under the separate fowl/rabbit provisions of the same chapter. Because Santa Barbara is a built-out coastal city, livestock keeping is uncommon and concentrated in larger-lot and outlying zones.