Animal Ordinances in Palm Beach Gardens, FL (2026)
8 verified animal ordinances for Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Chickens & Livestock
Keeping chickens or other livestock outside Palm Beach Gardens' rural AR and AE zoning districts is not an option: Sec. 78-159(65) permits agriculture, including domestic livestock defined to cover ducks and chickens, only in those two districts, and even there it must stay accessory to a residential use unless it qualifies as a bona fide agricultural operation.
Palm Beach Gardens Backyard Chickens and Livestock
Significant RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 78-159(65); § 78-751
(65)Agriculture. ... Agriculture includes the growing, cultivating, and harvesting of crops; the raising and breeding of horses and domestic livestock; the production of animal products such as eggs, honey, or dairy products; or the raising of plant material. Agriculture is permitted only in the AR and AE zoning districts.a.Bona Fide Agriculture. As defined by F.S. Chapter 193.461, Bona Fide Ag...
Dog Leash Laws
City of Palm Beach Gardens law bans letting a dog run at large or roam a public street or right-of-way unattended. Code § 14-33(a) requires anyone who owns, harbors, or possesses a dog outdoors on public property to keep it on a collar and leash no longer than eight feet. A first violation draws a warning citation; every violation after that results in arrest, not just a fine.
Palm Beach Gardens dog leash and at-large law
Some RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 14-33(a)
(a)No person owning, harboring, or having in his possession any dog shall permit or allow the dog to run at large within the city or allow the dog to be upon any public street, road, or right-of-way within the city, unless accompanied by an attendant who shall have the dog firmly held by collar and leash, which leash shall not exceed eight (8) feet in length.
Exotic Pets
Palm Beach Gardens' animal code, § 14-1(a), names the only animals the city recognizes as household pets: dogs, cats, fish, parrots, parakeets, canaries, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and turtles. Anything outside that list, from venomous reptiles to primates or big cats, simply is not a permitted household pet in the city.
Allowed Household Pets in Palm Beach Gardens
Heavy RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 14-1(a)
(a)Dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals, which may include fish, parrots, parakeets, canaries, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and turtles may be kept and maintained as household pets within the city so long as they are kept and maintained in compliance with other provisions of this chapter. Proper sanitary measures shall be observed and followed at all times in connection with keeping an...
Cat Rules
Cats in the City of Palm Beach Gardens must stay on their owner's property. Code § 14-33(b) makes it unlawful for anyone owning, harboring, or possessing a cat to let it be on a public street, road, or right-of-way, or in any yard or enclosure other than the one owned or occupied by the cat's owner. There is no separate feral-colony exemption written into the article.
Palm Beach Gardens cat confinement at-large law
Some RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 14-33(b)
(b)No person owning, harboring, or having in his possession any cat shall permit or allow the cat to be upon any public street, road, or right-of-way within the city or in any yard or enclosure other than the yard or enclosure occupied or owned by the cat owner.
Pet Store Rules
The City of Palm Beach Gardens bans puppy and kitten mills outright and bars every pet store within city limits from selling, trading, or otherwise disposing of a dog or cat. Code §§ 14-37 and 14-38, both enacted in 2014, leave stores free to host adoption events for animals owned by a public shelter or registered nonprofit rescue, so a retail pet store can still operate, just not as a dog or cat seller.
Palm Beach Gardens bans retail sale of dogs, cats
Heavy RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code §§ 14-37, 14-38
Sec. 14-37. - Puppy mills/kitten mills prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to establish, operate, or maintain a puppy or kitten mill within the municipal boundaries of the City of Palm Beach Gardens. ... ... Sec. 14-38. - Sale or transfer of dogs and/or cats. No pet store shall display, sell, trade, deliver, barter, lease, rent, auction, give away, transfer, offer for sale...
Pet Groomer Rules
Pet grooming shops are a permitted use in Palm Beach Gardens' CG-1, CG-2, M-1, M-1A, and M-2 zoning districts under Table 21 of City Code § 78-159, with no minor or major conditional use review required. The use is prohibited in the CN, PO, and CR districts, and Table 33 requires one parking space per 250 square feet of floor area.
Palm Beach Gardens Pet Grooming Shop Zoning
Some RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 78-159, Table 21
Table 21: Permitted, Conditional, and Prohibited Use Chart P = Permitted Use C = Minor Conditional Use C* = Major Conditional Use Blank = Prohibited PUDs and PCDs = Permitted Uses by Development Order Approved by City Council AR AE RE RR10 RR20 RL1 RL2 RL3 RM RH RMH PO CN CG1 CG2 CR M1 M1A M2 P&I CONS PDA Note ... Pet Grooming Shop P P P P P
Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Veterinary offices and clinics are a permitted use in Palm Beach Gardens' AR, PO, CN, CG-1, and CG-2 districts and a minor conditional use in the M-1, M-1A, and M-2 industrial districts under Table 21 of City Code § 78-159. Note 48 bars kennels or overnight boarding at a clinic unless the facility is soundproofed and separately approved as a minor conditional use.
Palm Beach Gardens Veterinary Clinic Zoning
Some RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 78-159(j)(48)
(48)Veterinary office and clinic. Veterinary offices and clinics with kennels and/or overnight boarding facilities shall not be allowed unless soundproofed and approved as a minor conditional use.
Bird Protection
The City of Palm Beach Gardens has declared its entire corporate limits a bird and animal wildlife sanctuary under Code § 14-2. It is unlawful to intentionally kill, injure, molest, or harm any bird or wild animal within city limits, with narrow exceptions for self-defense, defense of another person, licensed veterinary practice, and sanctioned animal control. Violators face code enforcement action, not a simple verbal warning.
Palm Beach Gardens wildlife sanctuary bird law
Heavy RestrictionsPalm Beach Gardens Code § 14-2
(a)The area within the corporate limits of the city is hereby declared to be a bird and animal wildlife sanctuary.(b)It is unlawful for a person to intentionally kill, injure, molest, or harm any bird or animal wildlife within the city, unless done in self-defense, in defense of the life or safety of another person, pursuant to lawful authority in the practice of veterinary medicine, or in the ...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Palm Beach Gardens city rules.
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