San Jacinto, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

The cat and dog cap sits in Table 4-5 (Animal Keeping Standards) of § 17.430.050, the animal keeping section the San Jacinto City Council adopted in Ord. 24-13 on 10/1/2024. The Cats or Dogs row allows any combination of four cats and/or dogs over the age of four months. The minimum parcel size and the minimum setback from property lines are both listed as None, so lot size alone does not trigger a permit. The row applies in the RE, RR, RL, RM, RH, RVH, MU, MU-E and DV zones, and its permit column reads P, which table note (4) defines as allowed without a land use permit.

Young animals are handled in note (1): offspring in addition to the maximum number are allowed until four months of age on a noncommercial operation, which lines up with the four-month age floor in the cat and dog row.

Small household pets get their own row. The table lists birds, domesticated rodents, nonpoisonous reptiles and snakes as examples, caps them at any combination totaling 10, and allows them in All zones with permit P.

Five animals is where the rules change. Table 4-5 lists noncommercial kennels at 5 and over, as determined by MUP, on a 20,000 sq. ft. parcel with a 50 ft. setback in the RE and RR zones. The permit is a minor use permit, which the Director approves or disapproves under Chapter 17.605 and can refer to the Commission. Article 8 defines a kennel as any property where five or more dogs, or five or more cats, over the age of four months, are kept or maintained for commercial or noncommercial purposes. Kennels also carry the subsection F standards: a license from the Animal Control Officer, night-time boarding inside an entirely enclosed building, and a manager on the site at all times.

Every household keeping animals also meets the subsection C standards: manure kept out of setback areas, animals contained on the site, and compliance with Municipal Code Chapter 8.40 (Noise Control).