Animal Ordinances in Eagle Mountain, UT

If you live in Eagle Mountain or are thinking about moving there, animal ordinances are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Eagle Mountain has 9 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of animal ordinances, and some of them might surprise you.

Chickens & Livestock

Eagle Mountain lets residential lot owners keep livestock under EMMC 6.10.080's Table 6.10.080, which sets maximum head counts by lot size. Chickens, ducks and similar fowl are exempt and run under the separate residential land use table instead.

Key details: Governing table: EMMC Table 6.10.080. Minimum lot for any livestock: 1/2 acre. Cattle on 1/2 to 0.99 acre: Up to 2 head. Chickens/fowl: Exempt, see EMMC 17.25.030. Excess livestock route: Conditional use permit, Ch. 17.95.

Keeping livestock beyond Table 6.10.080's per-acre caps, without the required fenced area, or without an approved conditional use permit is a code violation the city can pursue through Chapter 4.10 EMMC's administrative code enforcement process, which starts with a written notice of violation, a compliance deadline of at least 10 days, and accruing daily civil penalties for noncompliance. A conditional use permit obtained for extra livestock can be revoked by the planning commission or animal control officer if the operation becomes a nuisance to adjoining owners.

Cat Rules

Eagle Mountain bars cat owners from letting a cat run at large on someone else's property under EMMC 6.05.120, with owners strictly liable regardless of knowledge. Every cat over four months old must have a current rabies vaccination, though city cat licensing under EMMC 6.05.520 stays entirely voluntary.

Key details: At-large ban: Unlawful to let cat run at large on another's property. Rabies vaccination: Mandatory once cat reaches 4 months old. Vaccination source: Licensed veterinarian, state-approved vaccine. City cat licensing: Optional, not required. Penalty: Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and 6 months jail.

Allowing a cat to run at large on another's property or possessing an unvaccinated cat over four months old violates Chapter 6.05 EMMC and is punishable under the chapter's general penalty in EMMC 6.05.020 as a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months. A cat that causes property damage, fouls the air, or otherwise meets the nuisance criteria in EMMC 6.05.130 can also be declared a public nuisance and summarily abated by the department.

Pet Groomer Rules

Eagle Mountain defines a groomer as someone who cleans and trims nails and fur during regular business hours only, with no overnight boarding. Run the business out of a house or residential lot and EMMC 6.05.010 requires a home business license under Chapter 17.65 EMMC before opening for clients.

Key details: Groomer definition: Cleans/trims nails and fur, day hours only, no boarding. Home-based license: Required if run from a residential unit or lot. Governing chapter: Chapter 17.65 EMMC, Home Businesses. Late-license penalty: 25% extra fee under 30 days, 100% over 30 days. Penalty waiver: Only if applied within 5 working days of notice.

Operating a home grooming business without the required home business license triggers a penalty fee on top of the regular license fee: 25 percent extra for under 30 days unlicensed, 100 percent extra for over 30 days unlicensed in the same calendar year (EMMC 5.05.160). The city license official can also pursue enforcement and, where grounds exist such as fraud or misrepresentation in the application, seek suspension or revocation of any license already issued (EMMC 5.05.400, 5.05.410).

Exotic Pets

Eagle Mountain bans selling, keeping, or harboring wild animals outright under EMMC 6.05.100. The code names bears, big cats, wolves and other canids, primates, raccoons, skunks, venomous snakes and fish, and weasel-family animals as prohibited wild animals, with limited exceptions for government agencies and grandfathered pre-ordinance pets.

Key details: Wild animal possession: Unlawful to sell, keep, own, or harbor. Prohibited categories: Bears, wild cats/canids, primates, venomous snakes, weasel family. Exception: Government agencies and state/federal-permitted animals. Grandfather clause: Pre-ordinance pets, lost if discontinued 1+ year. Penalty: Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and 6 months jail.

Violating the wild animal ban is a misdemeanor under the chapter's general penalty clause, EMMC 6.05.020, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months, unless a more specific penalty applies elsewhere in the chapter. An animal kept in violation is also a public nuisance under EMMC 6.05.130, which authorizes the department to summarily abate the violation, including by destroying the animal.

This is one of the stricter rules in Eagle Mountain's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Dog Leash Laws

Eagle Mountain makes it unlawful for an owner to let a dog run at large under EMMC 6.05.110, and the owner is strictly liable for the dog's actions whether or not they knew it was loose. A dog is only "under restraint" on a leash, confined in a vehicle, or within the owner's own property lines.

Key details: At-large ban: Unlawful for owner to allow dog to run at large. Owner liability: Strict liability regardless of owner's knowledge. Restraint definition: Leash, confined in vehicle, or on owner's property. Working exceptions: Field trials, hunting, herding, law enforcement work. Penalty: Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and 6 months jail.

Allowing a dog to run at large violates Chapter 6.05 EMMC and is punishable under the chapter's general penalty, EMMC 6.05.020, as a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months, unless a more specific penalty applies. A dog at large that is also declared a nuisance under EMMC 6.05.130 can be impounded and, if not reclaimed, disposed of by the department.

Breed Restrictions

Eagle Mountain has no breed-specific dog ban; instead EMMC 6.05.160 regulates by behavior. A dog judged vicious, meaning one with a known propensity to attack unprovoked, must be kept in a six-foot heavy-gauge wire run with a secure ceiling and floor, or leashed and muzzled outside the kennel.

Key details: Breed bans: None; regulation is behavior-based, not breed-based. Confinement standard: 6-foot heavy-gauge wire run, secure ceiling and floor. Outside the kennel: Must be leashed and muzzled. Impoundment: Vicious dog held in violation may be impounded after 5 days. Penalty: Misdemeanor; injury while at large is a Class B misdemeanor.

Possessing a vicious dog that is not properly caged, leashed, and muzzled violates EMMC 6.05.160 and is punishable under the chapter's general penalty in EMMC 6.05.020: a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months. Willfully allowing a known vicious animal to go at large or keeping it without ordinary care, where it then causes injury, is a Class B misdemeanor under EMMC 6.05.170, and the dog may be summarily impounded or destroyed under EMMC 6.05.150.

Bird Protection

Inside a mapped wildlife corridor overlay zone, Eagle Mountain bars all construction and development during bird nesting season, generally March 15 through July 31, under EMMC 17.49.060(D). The same clause also halts work during the mule deer migration season and cites the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Eagle Protection Act as its backdrop.

Key details: Nesting season window: March 15 through July 31. Governing chapter: EMMC 17.49, Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone. Scope: Only the mapped corridor portion of a parcel. Deer migration season also covered: Mar 15-Apr 30 and Dec 1-Jan 15. Enforcement: EMMC 17.05.190 civil penalties/administrative citations.

Chapter 17.49 sits within Title 17, Zoning, so violations are enforced under EMMC 17.05.190, Enforcement and civil penalties: the city may pursue civil penalties and administrative citations under the consolidated fee schedule, or enforce through the procedures set out in EMMC Title 4. Unauthorized in-season clearing or grading inside a mapped corridor also triggers the revegetation and habitat-restoration duty in EMMC 17.49.060(A)(3), which requires disturbed habitat to be restored to pre-development conditions.

Veterinary Clinic Zoning

Eagle Mountain permits veterinary and animal care service uses only where the city's supplemental standard is met: no nuisance to neighbors, fully screened outdoor waiting or care areas, and no overnight boarding except for treatment. The use is outright permitted in the agriculture zone and a special use in the equine overlay zone.

Key details: Overnight boarding: Strictly prohibited except for treatment. Outdoor care areas: Must be fully screened. Agriculture zone status: Permitted (P) use. Equine overlay zone status: Special (S) use. Governing standard: EMMC 17.75.061.

A veterinary or animal care facility that keeps animals overnight for anything other than treatment, or that fails to fully screen its outdoor waiting or care area, is out of compliance with EMMC 17.75.061 and can have its approval revoked or be subject to a code enforcement action. The planning director enforces Title 17 through site inspections and certificates of compliance under EMMC 17.15.020.E, and can investigate possible violations and initiate proceedings to correct them; uses found to be a nuisance to surrounding residences lose their permitted or special-use status under the same section.

Pet Limits

Eagle Mountain caps unlicensed pet ownership at four cats and a lot-size-scaled number of dogs under EMMC 6.05.260 and Table 6.05.260(a). On a condo or lot under 5,500 square feet, that means two dogs of any size as pets, with a hobby breeder, kennel, or pet-sitting license required to keep more.

Key details: Cat limit: 4 cats without coordinator approval, any lot size. Dog limit, under 5,500 SF lot: 2 dogs as pets, no license. With hobby breeder license: 4 small dogs or 3 large dogs on same lot. Dog limit, 1-10 acres: 4 dogs as pets, up to 8 with a license. Penalty: Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and 6 months jail.

Harboring more dogs than Table 6.05.260(a) allows for a given lot size, or more than four cats without coordinator approval, without the required hobby breeder, kennel, or pet-sitting license, violates EMMC 6.05.260 and is punishable under the chapter's general penalty in EMMC 6.05.020: a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months. A hobby breeder or kennel operating outside its approved alternative animal management plan is also subject to the plan's revocation by the planning commission.

The Bottom Line

Eagle Mountain's animal ordinances rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Eagle Mountain is broadly strict or permissive.

All of the above reflects Eagle Mountain's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.