Tempe's Animal Ordinances: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles animal ordinances a little differently. In Tempe, Arizona, 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

Tempe enforces AZ §13-2910 animal cruelty for hoarding. Tempe City Code Ch. 8 limits number of dogs/cats in residential zones; MCACC investigates complaints alongside Tempe PD.

Key details: Residential limit: ~5 dogs/cats typical. Cruelty statute: AZ §13-2910. Forfeiture: §13-2910.07 boarding. Misdemeanor max: $2,500 + jail. Investigator: MCACC + Tempe PD.

Misdemeanor cruelty: up to $2,500 + 6 months jail per count. Felony: up to 2 years prison + $150,000. Restitution for veterinary care ordered. Tempe code limit violations: $100 civil + permit requirement.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Tempe actively enforces its pet limits requirements.

Dog Leash Laws

Tempe City Code Sec. 6-30 bars dogs from running at large anywhere in the City, requiring a leash, chain, rope or cord no longer than six feet, with narrow exceptions for livestock-control, hunting, kennel-club or racing dogs.

Key details: Governing section: Tempe City Code Sec. 6-30. Max leash length: 6 feet. License tag age trigger: Dogs over 4 months. Off-leash areas: Only where Community Services Director designates. Enforcement: Impoundment; citation under A.R.S. § 13-3903.

Any dog owner or custodian whose dog is at large is in violation of Chapter 6 under Sec. 6-30(d), a misdemeanor enforced under Sec. 6-22 and punishable per Section 1-7 of the Code; the enforcement agent can additionally seize and impound the dog under Sec. 6-30(e).

Cat Rules

Tempe City Code Sec. 6-26 requires any cat that bites a person to be confined and quarantined for at least seven days in an authorized pound or, at the owner's expense, a veterinary hospital, and requires the bite to be reported to the county enforcement agent immediately.

Key details: Governing section: Tempe City Code Sec. 6-26. Bite quarantine period: Minimum 7 days. Quarantine location: Authorized pound or vet hospital. Reporting duty: Immediate, to county enforcement agent. General penalty: Misdemeanor under Sec. 6-22 / Sec. 1-7.

Failing to confine and quarantine a biting cat, or failing to report a bite, is a misdemeanor under Sec. 6-22, punishable per the general penalty provisions of Section 1-7 of the Code; owning or possessing a cat formally declared vicious without required restraint, confinement or muzzling is likewise a misdemeanor violation of Chapter 6.

Bird Protection

Tempe cites keeping or feeding outdoor birds as a nuisance when frequent public defecation from the birds annoys or disturbs a neighborhood. City Code § 21-3(b)(21) requires a petition from at least three witnesses in separate households before the City can act, a higher bar than the two-witness threshold for barking animals.

Key details: Governing section: Tempe City Code § 21-3(b)(21). Petition threshold: 3 witnesses, separate households. Triggering harm: Frequent public bird defecation. Waiver: Available with independent evidence. Max civil sanction: $2,000/day per property.

A confirmed violation of Section 21-3(b)(21) is enforced as a civil sanction under Section 21-42, with fines set by the Council's schedule and capped at $2,000 per day per property, plus a $50 default fee for a missed hearing; the City may instead charge a Class 1 misdemeanor. Each day the bird-feeding nuisance continues past the notice-to-comply deadline is a separate offense.

Pet Groomer Rules

Tempe treats every animal grooming shop as a cross-connection hazard on the municipal water system. Under the city's 2024 International Plumbing Code amendments, a grooming shop's water service connection must carry a Secondary Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Prevention assembly, the same tier required for veterinary hospitals and morgues, before Public Works will sign off on a building permit for the space.

Key details: Governing section: IPC § 608.7.2 (Tempe amendments). Device required: Secondary Reduced Pressure Principle assembly. Approval needed: Before building permit, § 33-103. Violation: Misdemeanor under § 1-7 (§ 33-111). Noncompliance remedy: Water service shutoff (§ 33-109).

Operating without the required Reduced Pressure Principle assembly, or bypassing or removing one already installed, is enforced the same way as any cross-connection violation under Chapter 33, Article V: Section 33-111 makes a violation a misdemeanor punishable under Section 1-7 of the Code, with each day of noncompliance counted as a separate offense, and Section 33-109 authorizes the Public Works Department to discontinue water service to the shop until the defect is corrected, on twenty days' written notice absent an emergency.

Veterinary Clinic Zoning

Tempe's Zoning and Development Code lets a medical, dental or small-animal veterinary clinic operate by right in every commercial, mixed-use and office/industrial district in the city. Animal kennels and boarding operations sit in the same tables but need a discretionary use permit almost everywhere clinics do not.

Key details: Vet clinics, commercial/mixed-use: Permitted by right (Table 3-202A). Animal kennels, same districts: Use permit required. Industrial districts (LID/GID/HID): Clinics permitted outright. MU-Ed district: Clinic needs use permit. Parking ratio: 1 space per 150 sq ft.

Running an overnight boarding kennel, grooming-with-lodging operation, or animal hospital as though it were a walk-in veterinary clinic to skip the use-permit process violates the Section 3-202 and 3-302 use tables and can draw a stop-work order or a civil citation under Section 1-201. Community Development treats boarding beyond incidental post-surgical recovery as a kennel use requiring its own approval and the parking required by Table 4-603E.

The rules around veterinary clinic zoning in Tempe lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Pet Store Rules

Tempe City Code Sec. 6-54 bars pet shops and pet dealers from obtaining or selling a dog or cat from anyone unlicensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act or with recent violations, effectively steering retail sales toward pounds and nonprofit shelters.

Key details: Governing section: Tempe City Code Sec. 6-54. Record retention: 2 years, open to inspection. Allowed sourcing: Pound or nonprofit humane society. Disclosure required: Breeder name, USDA license #, website. Violation type: Civil offense per A.R.S. § 44-1799.08.

Violation of Sec. 6-54 is a civil offense under subsection (g), with a penalty set by Arizona state law and administered through Sections 1-7 through 1-10 of the Tempe City Code; the state-law reference for the sourcing ban is A.R.S. § 44-1799.10, and the penalty structure follows A.R.S. § 44-1799.08.

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

Chickens & Livestock

Tempe's Zoning and Development Code Section 3-404(I) caps hens at six per single-family lot with roosters banned outside the AG district, and caps other small animals at five, while livestock keeping under Section 3-404(B) is calculated by lot size.

Key details: Governing section: Zoning Code Section 3-404(I). Chicken limit per lot: 6 hens, no roosters. Small animal limit: 5 per lot (incl. up to 2 pot-bellied pigs). Livestock density: 1 per 6,000 sq ft, 24 max. Over-limit path: Use Permit under Sec. 6-308.

Keeping small animals, chickens or livestock beyond the numeric limits in Section 3-404(I) without an approved Use Permit, or keeping any of them in a way that creates a nuisance under subsection (I)(7), is a zoning code violation subject to the City's Chapter 6-308 use permit enforcement and code compliance action; exceeding the cap without prior Use Permit approval is treated as an unpermitted land use.

The Bottom Line

Tempe is tougher than many cities when it comes to animal ordinances. Out of the 8 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Tempe, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

Keep in mind that Tempe can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.