St. Louis County, MN Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

21 applies to animal keeping on every parcel in unincorporated St. Louis County, regardless of zone district, whether the use predates the ordinance or not. 01. On 0-2 acre parcels the table limits residents to domesticated dogs and cats as pets, up to one total animal unit, plus no more than five chickens; the Planning and Zoning Director sets the animal-unit equivalent for any species not listed. A related administrative standard exempts up to five domesticated dogs or cats from the ordinance's general 200-foot penning setback from a neighboring residence, a setback that otherwise applies to any animal confined for feeding, breeding, raising or holding.

That exemption does not apply if the animals are pastured on ten acres or more. Anyone wanting to exceed the acreage-based animal-unit cap, for example keeping more dogs than the one-unit ceiling allows, must apply to the Planning and Zoning Department for a conditional use permit rather than simply adding animals. The rule sits inside the same section that regulates livestock and feedlots, so a St. Louis County resident with a small in-town-adjacent lot is measured by the identical animal-unit math used for a farm, just scaled down to pets.