Animal Ordinances in Lakewood, CA (2026)
7 verified animal ordinances for Lakewood, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Lakewood Municipal Code Part 9 sets a hard distance rule for keeping fowl, rabbits or other animals: 35 feet from any dwelling or restaurant, 100 feet from a school or hospital. On R-1 and R-A lots, up to five rabbits or five female fowl are exempt from licensing and permits, but roosters are never allowed there.
Lakewood Backyard Chicken & Livestock Rules
Some RestrictionsLakewood, CA, Municipal Code § 4191
A person shall not keep and maintain any animal, fowl, or bird, wild or domestic within thirty-five (35) feet of any restaurant, food establishment, resident or dwelling, or other building used for human habitation, or within one hundred (100) feet of any school building, hospital building, or similar institutional building. The provisions of this section shall be inapplicable to the following:...
Breed Restrictions
California law forbids Lakewood from writing breed-specific ordinances. Instead, Food and Agricultural Code Sections 31601 through 31683 let the city's contracted animal control department, Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control, declare any dog potentially dangerous or vicious after unprovoked bites or attacks, then impose registration, strict confinement, possible destruction, and fines up to $1,000, no matter the breed.
Lakewood Dangerous Dog Declarations & Breed Rules
Significant RestrictionsCal. Food & Agric. Code § 31683
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing its own program for the control of potentially dangerous or vicious dogs that may incorporate all, part, or none of this chapter, or that may punish a violation of this chapter as a misdemeanor or may impose a more restrictive program to control potentially dangerous or vicious dogs. Except as prov...
Beekeeping
Lakewood allows backyard apiaries in single-family zones with up to four hives per lot, one hive per 1,500 square feet, and a 50-foot setback from streets, parks and schools. A site plan approval and county registration are required before hives go in.
Lakewood Backyard Beekeeping Rules
Some RestrictionsLakewood, CA, Municipal Code § 9320(A)(8)
Apiaries. An apiary for private backyard beekeeping of honeybees (Apis mellifera) with no more than four (4) hives is allowed on a lot at the rate of not more than one hive per 1,500 square feet of lot area, provided the lot has only one addressed dwelling unit... No hive shall be located within fifty (50) feet of any public street or highway, any public park, or any school (public or private)....
Exotic Pets
Lakewood restricts ownership of exotic and wild animals. Many species require special permits or are prohibited entirely for public safety.
Lakewood Exotic & Wild Animal Regulations
Heavy RestrictionsCal. Code Regs. Title 14, Sec. 671 (Restricted Species - Permit Required for Restricted Animals)
t.ca.gov"></script> <title> Restricted Species Permits </title><meta id="MetaDescription" name="description" content="The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public." /><meta id="MetaRobots" name="robots" content="INDEX,...
Pet Limits
Lakewood's R-1 zoning code caps household pets at two dogs and two cats over four months old per single-family lot. The limit is written into the zoning code's list of permitted accessory uses, not a separate animal-control chapter.
Lakewood Household Pet Limits
Some RestrictionsLakewood, CA, Municipal Code § 9320(A)(4)
The keeping of such domestic animals, and in such numbers as expressly declared permissible by the City Council in resolution or ordinances... This subsection shall be construed as expressly granting permission for the keeping of the following domestic animals in conjunction with the maintenance of a single-family residence: (a) Not more than two dogs over four months of age; (b) Not more than ...
Pet Groomer Rules
Pet grooming and training businesses are a permitted C-1 Neighborhood Commercial use in Lakewood under Section 9340, but they carry two hard numeric limits: no outdoor activity between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., and animal or operational noise capped at 65 dBA at the nearest adjoining property line.
Lakewood Pet Grooming Zoning Rules
Some RestrictionsLakewood, CA, Municipal Code § 9340.B.32 (C-1 Zone, Uses Permitted, Pet Care Services)
Pet Care Services. Pet care services including pet shops, pet grooming and training, veterinarian offices, and animal hospitals, which all may provide 24-hour daily care, subject to the following: These uses shall not allow outdoor activities between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The animal and the operational noise levels generated by the use shall not exceed 65 dbA at any adjoining pro...
Bird Protection
Lakewood makes it a public nuisance to put out food that attracts wild birds or pigeons on residential property. Section 4328 bans feeding unless the birds are owned and fed inside a building or an enclosed cage, pen or loft; hummingbird feeders are specifically carved out unless they themselves become a nuisance.
Lakewood Bird Feeding Nuisance Ban
Significant RestrictionsLakewood, CA, Municipal Code § 4328
No person or property owner within a residential zone shall place or maintain any food or substance upon which birds, including pigeons, may feed or which will attract birds, unless the birds are owned and maintained by the person or property owner and fed within the walls of a building, or within the confines of a cage, pen, bird house, or loft located outside of a building. Such bird feeding ...
Looking for Los Angeles County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Lakewood city rules.
Animal Ordinances in Los Angeles County →