Lehi's Animal Ordinances: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles animal ordinances a little differently. In Lehi, Utah, there are 8 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Pet Limits

Lehi City Code caps most households and businesses at three dogs and three cats, each four months or older, at any one time. The limit applies per residential lot or commercial establishment, and it does not apply to licensed kennels, veterinary clinics, pet stores or grooming parlors.

Key details: Dog limit: 3 dogs, 4 months or older. Cat limit: 3 cats, 4 months or older. Applies to: Each residential lot or commercial establishment. Exempt: Licensed kennels, vets, pet stores, groomers. Last amended: Ordinance 62-2023, November 14, 2023.

Exceeding the pet limit is enforced as a class B misdemeanor under section 6-4F-1, with fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail under section 1-4-1. Because the police department can also treat an oversized household as a nuisance under section 6-4A-6.A.10 when the number of animals kept is found offensive or dangerous to public health, safety or welfare, a household over the cap can face impoundment of the excess animals in addition to a citation.

Dog Leash Laws

Lehi City Code makes it unlawful for any domesticated animal, dogs included, to be at large anywhere within city limits. A dog counts as restrained only when it is on a leash or lead, confined in a vehicle, or kept within its owner's property line. Owners face strict liability the moment their dog gets loose, no excuses accepted.

Key details: At-large ban: Unlawful anywhere in city limits. Restraint defined: Leash/lead, vehicle, or owner's property line. Liability standard: Strict liability, no excuse accepted. Enforcement: Police department / animal control officer. Penalty: Class B misdemeanor, up to $1,000.

A leash-law violation is enforced under section 6-4F-1, a class B misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in jail under section 1-4-1, and the city can also order the dog removed from the city or destroyed. A loose dog can be impounded on the spot under section 6-4A-5, and three or more violations within twelve months can cost an owner the privilege of keeping any animal in Lehi for a year under section 6-4A-9.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Lehi actively enforces its dog leash laws requirements.

Breed Restrictions

Lehi City Code does not restrict any dog breed by name. Instead it lets the city investigate and formally determine that a specific animal is vicious, and once that finding is made it is unlawful to keep the animal in Lehi except as a properly confined guard dog.

Key details: Breed list: None; determination is behavior-based. Trigger: Complaint plus police investigation. Owner options: Secure animal or remove from city. Guard dog exception: Must be isolated from public contact. Penalty: Class B misdemeanor, up to $1,000.

Keeping a vicious animal without securing it as ordered is enforced under section 6-4F-1 as a class B misdemeanor, carrying up to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in jail under section 1-4-1, and the city may separately order the animal destroyed or removed from Lehi. An animal not properly confined after a vicious determination can also be impounded on sight under section 6-4A-5.A.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Lehi actively enforces its breed restrictions requirements.

Exotic Pets

Lehi bans keeping wild animals as pets outright. City Code Section 6-4E-5 makes it unlawful to sell, keep or purchase any wild animal, a defined list running from bears and coyotes to venomous snakes and primates, unless the keeper is a zoo, veterinary hospital, humane shelter, lab or licensed exhibition with adequate containment.

Key details: Banned pets: Bears, wolves, primates, venomous snakes. Penalty: Class B misdemeanor, daily offense. City remedy: May order animal destroyed/removed. Exotic species CUP path: Buffalo, ostrich, elk, emu, peafowl only. Governing section: City Code 6-4E-5.

Violating Section 6-4E-5 is a class B misdemeanor under Section 6-4F-1, and the city may order the animal destroyed or removed from Lehi in addition to prosecution. Each day the violation continues is a separate offense, so an owner who keeps a banned wild animal for a week faces charges for each of those days rather than a single citation.

Compared to other cities, Lehi takes a harder line on exotic pets. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Chickens & Livestock

Lehi's Development Code sorts backyard animals into four categories and sets a hard number for each. Any lot with a single-family home may keep up to eight chickens, ducks, pheasants, rabbits, pigeons or birds of prey outright; larger farm animals need more acreage, and roosters are barred from ordinary residential lots.

Key details: Chickens per lot: 8 on any single-family lot. Roosters: A-5/TH-5/A-1, or 1+ acre RA-1/R-1-22. Dogs/cats w/o kennel license: 3 each maximum. Coop setback: 30 ft dwelling, 25 ft road. Governing section: Development Code 12.120.D.

Exceeding a category's numeric limit, keeping a rooster outside the permitted districts, or building a coop or corral without the required 25- to 60-foot setback is a Development Code violation. Under Section 34.010.D, the Zoning Administrator refers violations to the City Attorney, and noncompliance is a class C misdemeanor with each ten-day period counted as a separate offense until the animals or structure are brought into compliance.

Veterinary Clinic Zoning

Lehi's Development Code defines a Veterinary Office as a facility providing medical, surgical, or grooming services, plus incidental boarding, entirely inside an enclosed building, and lists it as a nonresidential use under Table 05.030-B. A veterinary clinic cannot operate as a home business: Section 20.060 bars animal and veterinary clinics and kennels from the city's Home Occupation program outright.

Key details: Home occupation status: Prohibited outright, Section 20.060.D. Zoning use table: Table 05.030-B, nonresidential zones. Definition requirement: Services entirely within enclosed building. Unlisted zones: Use deemed prohibited if not listed. Related kennel permit: Required for home animal boarding, Sec. 20.040.C.1.

Operating a veterinary clinic or kennel from a residence violates Section 20.060 regardless of any Home Occupation Permit on file, since the code excludes the use outright; the Zoning Administrator can revoke the permit and require the business to relocate under Section 20.080. Opening a veterinary office in a zone where Table 05.030-B does not list it as Permitted or Conditional is a separate zoning violation subject to the city's standard enforcement process.

Pet Groomer Rules

Lehi treats pet grooming as a commercial use under its Development Code, and Table 05.030-B lists "Pet Grooming Facility" among the businesses zoned for the city's nonresidential districts. A groomer cannot simply operate out of a house: the only path from a residence is a licensed Mobile Home Occupation, a narrowly defined category under Section 20.050 with its own parking, water and licensing rules.

Key details: Governing chapter: Development Code Ch. 20, Home Occupations. Mobile unit speed limit: Not on streets over 35 mph. Fire hydrant/utility clearance: 15 feet minimum. Business license: Annual, residential address required. Definition source: Development Code Ch. 39, Definitions.

Operating a grooming business, mobile or fixed, without the required Home Occupation Permit or business license is a zoning violation the Zoning Administrator can act on, and Section 20.080 allows revocation of a Home Occupation Permit for noncompliance. A Mobile Home Occupation parked overnight in the right-of-way, left running while providing services, or dumping wastewater into a storm drain violates Section 20.050 and can void the business license Lehi issued for it.

Beekeeping

Lehi treats beekeeping as a permitted use with no cap on the number of hives, in every zoning district from the A-5 agricultural district down to the R-3 multifamily district. Development Code Section 12.120.E only regulates placement: hives must clear the front yard, sit back from property lines or hide behind a flyway barrier, and stay under six feet tall.

Key details: Maximum hives: No cap. Standard setback: 6 ft from property line. Reduced setback: 16 in with 6-ft flyway barrier. Max hive height: 6 feet. State registration: Utah Dept. of Agriculture, Bee Inspection Act.

A hive placed in a front yard, set closer than six feet from a line without a flyway barrier, or built taller than six feet is out of compliance, and the animal control officer can order a colony removed as a nuisance. Because Section 12.120.E sits inside the Development Code, ordinary code violations fall under Section 34.010.D's class C misdemeanor and the Zoning Administrator's enforcement authority.

The rules around beekeeping in Lehi lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

The Bottom Line

Lehi is tougher than many cities when it comes to animal ordinances. Out of the 8 rules covered here, 3 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Lehi, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

These rules come from Lehi's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.