Sedona's Animal Ordinances: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles animal ordinances a little differently. In Sedona, Arizona, there are 11 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.

Beekeeping

Sedona allows backyard beekeeping as an accessory use but caps every lot at two hives, requires a five-foot setback from side and rear lines, and mandates a six-foot flyway barrier so bees fly above head height before crossing a property line. A permit and a 15-day mailed neighbor notice are required before hives go in.

Key details: Hive limit: 2 hives per lot. Setback: 5 feet from side/rear lines. Flyway barrier: 6 feet tall, solid, no gaps. Permit notice: Mailed within 100 ft, 15 days ahead. Abandoned hive: Public nuisance; 30 days to fix.

Keeping hives without a permit, exceeding the two-hive limit, or skipping the flyway barrier is a code violation enforceable under SLDC Section 1.7 as a Class 1 misdemeanor or civil citation. A neglected or abandoned hive is deemed a public nuisance per se and can be summarily destroyed or removed by the City if the beekeeper fails to correct it within 30 days of the complaint.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Sedona actively enforces its beekeeping requirements.

Dog Leash Laws

All dogs in Sedona "shall be kept under restraint" under SCC § 6.05.040(A), meaning on a leash under a handler's control, or confined to the owner's property or vehicle. Unrestrained dogs are "animals at large," subject to impoundment or a $25.00 violation notice due within 96 hours.

Key details: Restraint mandate: All dogs must be under restraint. Restraint satisfied by: Leash, fenced yard, or owner's vehicle. Tag requirement: ID tag worn whenever off-premises. At-large penalty: $25.00 notice fee, due in 96 hours. Enforcement: Police or city enforcement officer.

An unrestrained dog is an "animal at large" that police or the enforcement officer may impound under § 6.05.050, with the owner paying the shelter's daily impound fee to reclaim it, or the officer may instead issue a $25.00 notice of violation due within 96 hours. Chapter-wide penalties for restraint violations run through § 6.05.130 to the citywide schedule at SCC § 1.15.010, and the owner remains civilly liable under § 6.05.100 for any injury or damage the loose dog causes.

Cat Rules

Sedona's animal-control chapter treats cats differently from dogs: SCC § 6.05.030 requires a license only for dogs, so cats never need a city tag. Cats still count as "animals at large" under § 6.05.020 and can be impounded under § 6.05.050. Feeding a stray cat for four straight days legally makes the feeder its owner, responsible for nuisance and restraint violations.

Key details: Cat licensing: Not required; only dogs need a license. Feeding a stray 4+ days: Makes you its legal owner. At-large notice penalty: $25.00, due within 96 hours. Impound fee: Daily rate set by contracted shelter. Enforcement: Police or city enforcement officer.

Officers may impound an at-large or nuisance cat under § 6.05.050 and hold it pending the daily fee charged by the city's contracted animal shelter, or issue a written notice of violation carrying a $25.00 penalty due within 96 hours. Because cats are not licensed, there is no license-renewal citation path, but the harboring definition still exposes a regular feeder of a stray cat to nuisance liability for damage, noise, or unsanitary conditions the animal causes.

Chickens & Livestock

Sedona allows up to six hens, no roosters, and two beehives per lot as a permitted accessory use under Land Development Code § 3.4.D(2), with coop, setback, and neighbor-notice standards. Larger farm animals need a full acre and are capped at three animals on the first acre plus one per additional half-acre under § 3.4.D(1).

Key details: Max chickens: 6 hens per lot; roosters prohibited. Coop size cap: 200 sq ft, 4 sq ft per bird. Max beehives: 2 per lot. Bee permit notice: Mailed within 100 ft, 15 days ahead. Farm animals: 3 per acre, 1-acre minimum.

Keeping chickens or bees without the required permit is unlawful under § 3.4.D(2)(b), and exceeding the six-chicken or two-hive caps, keeping a rooster, or violating coop or setback standards can draw code-enforcement action and permit revocation. An abandoned or unmaintained hive found to be a public nuisance can be summarily destroyed or removed if the beekeeper fails to correct it within 30 days of the complaint.

Pet Limits

Sedona sets no blanket household pet cap, but SCC § 6.05.020 legally reclassifies any premises keeping five or more dogs as a "kennel." A fifth dog moves a home from ordinary pet-keeping into a regulated kennel use, while cats carry no numeric limit at all under the chapter.

Key details: Kennel threshold: 5 or more dogs on one property. Cat limit: No numeric cap codified. Per-dog rule: Each dog over 3 months needs its own license. Penalty basis: Enforced under SCC § 1.15.010. Unlicensed-dog penalty: $25.00 notice fee, due in 96 hours.

Keeping five or more dogs without complying with kennel-related standards exposes an owner to the general penalty provisions of § 6.05.130, which apply the citywide penalty schedule in SCC § 1.15.010 to any violation of Chapter 6.05. Failing to license even a single dog over three months old can separately draw a $25.00 notice-of-violation penalty under § 6.05.050(J) once an enforcement officer identifies the animal, payable within 96 hours.

Breed Restrictions

Sedona regulates dangerous animals by behavior, not breed. SCC § 6.05.020 defines a "vicious animal" as one that attacks, bites, or injures without provocation or has a "known propensity" to do so, and § 6.05.040(D) requires the licensing authority to order confinement and muzzling once that determination is made.

Key details: Breed-specific ban: None; regulation is behavior-based only. Vicious determination: Made case by case by licensing authority. Confinement: Building or secure enclosure required. Off-premises rule: Must be muzzled or caged. Owner liability: Full responsibility for injury/damage under § 6.05.100.

Violating the confinement and muzzling requirements for a declared vicious animal draws the general Chapter 6.05 penalties under § 6.05.130, tied to the citywide penalty schedule in SCC § 1.15.010. The enforcement officer can also impound an animal found at large under § 6.05.050, and the owner remains civilly liable under § 6.05.100 for any injury or damage the animal causes regardless of what criminal or civil penalty is imposed.

The rules around breed restrictions in Sedona lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Exotic Pets

SCC § 6.05.080 makes it unlawful to keep or harbor any wild animal within Sedona city limits "except as provided by state law," an outright ban on private wild-animal ownership. A separate chapter, 6.20, bans public display or performance of wild or exotic animals without a USDA or state wildlife license.

Key details: Private wild pets: Banned unless state law allows it. Display/performance: Banned without USDA/AZGFD license. City-property display insurance: $1M per occurrence, $2M aggregate. First display violation: Documented warning only. Repeat civil fine: Up to $2,500 per animal per day.

A first violation of the display chapter draws only a documented warning under § 6.20.060(A). A repeat violation is a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 per animal per day of display, and a further conviction after that escalates to a class 1 misdemeanor. Any wild or exotic animal held or displayed in violation may be confiscated, and the cited person remains responsible for its feeding, boarding, veterinary care, and transportation costs.

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

Wildlife Feeding

SCC § 6.15.020 makes it unlawful to "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly feed wildlife or to attract wildlife" anywhere within Sedona, covering bears, javelina, deer, elk, coyotes, bobcats, skunks, foxes, and mountain lions. Penalties escalate from a written warning to fines up to $500.00 and eventually a class 3 misdemeanor.

Key details: Prohibited act: Feeding or attracting listed wildlife. Covered species: Bears, javelina, deer, elk, coyotes, bobcats, skunks, foxes, mountain lions. First violation: Written warning plus educational materials. Second violation (90 days): Civil fine up to $150.00. Third violation (180 days): $150.00 to $500.00 fine.

A first violation draws only a written warning plus educational materials under § 6.15.080(A). A second violation within 90 days of a prior warning is a civil offense fined up to $150.00; a violation following a conviction within the past 180 days carries a fine of $150.00 to $500.00. After two or more prior convictions, a further violation becomes a class 3 misdemeanor, and each day a violation continues can generate a separate citation under § 6.15.070.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Sedona actively enforces its wildlife feeding requirements.

Wildlife Rescue Permits

Feeding birds or animals at Sedona's wastewater wetlands is unlawful unless the public works director or city manager has given written permission for wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, education or wetlands management under SCC 12.30.182.

Key details: Applies at: wastewater wetlands (city park facility). Default rule: feeding birds/animals prohibited. Exception: written permission from public works director or city manager. Allowed purposes: rescue, rehab, education, wetlands management. Related rule: SCC 12.30.181(C) wildlife-handling exemption.

Feeding birds or animals at the wastewater wetlands without the required written permission from the public works director, city manager or a designee violates SCC 12.30.182. SCC 1.15.010 makes the violation a class 1 misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $2,500, up to six months in jail, or both, and a peace officer or code enforcement officer can issue a civil citation in place of a criminal charge.

Sedona is more permissive than most cities when it comes to wildlife rescue permits. That said, there are still limits.

Bird Protection

It's unlawful to harass, capture or throw objects at wildlife in Sedona's parks, trails and open spaces, and disturbing or moving a bird's nest or its eggs is banned outright under SCC 12.30.181, with a narrow exception for permitted wildlife rescue work.

Key details: Applies in: city parks, trails, open space areas. Banned: harassing, chasing, harming, capturing wildlife. Banned outright: disturbing or moving birds' nests or eggs. Exception: wildlife rescue/rehab with public works director OK. Also banned: releasing wild/exotic/nonnative animals into wetlands.

Harassing, chasing, harming, capturing wildlife, disturbing a bird's nest or eggs, or releasing a wild, exotic or nonnative animal into the wastewater wetlands, all without the wildlife-rescue permission described in subsection (C), violates SCC 12.30.181. SCC 1.15.010 makes the violation a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $2,500, up to six months in jail, or both, and a peace officer or code enforcement officer can issue a civil citation instead.

Veterinary Clinic Zoning

Veterinary hospitals and clinics are permitted by right in Sedona's M2, M3, CO and IN districts, and allowed with a conditional use permit in M1. Every clinic must meet the same enclosed-building and 150-foot outdoor-kennel setback standards as a commercial kennel, and the CO district caps kennel or boarding space at half the building.

Key details: By-right districts: M2, M3, CO, IN. Conditional-use district: M1 (needs CUP). Outdoor kennel setback: 150 ft from single-family zoning. CO boarding cap: 50% of floor area. Governing section: SLDC § 3.3.C(3).

A clinic that opens outdoor kennel runs within 150 feet of single-family residential zoning, or exceeds the 50 percent floor-area cap on boarding in the CO district, is in violation of the Land Development Code. Under Section 1.7.A that is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable as provided by state law, with the option of a civil citation under Section 1.7.B and injunctive relief under Section 1.7.C to stop the noncompliant use.

The Bottom Line

Sedona is tougher than many cities when it comes to animal ordinances. Out of the 11 rules covered here, 3 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Sedona, 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 Sedona's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.