(a) 
Any person desiring to keep or harbor any animal or fowl, whether singular or plural, within the city shall make written application to the city for a permit to harbor the animals. No fee shall be charged for the permit.
(b) 
The application shall specify the size of the property on which the animal or animals will be kept and the type of animals. There shall be required a minimum of 7,000 square feet per permitted animal.
(c) 
The permit, if granted, must be renewed by the applicant annually, providing all restrictions have been met and there is no change in ownership or residency of the property, for each location on anniversary dates.
(Ordinance 612 adopted 11/9/10)
(a) 
Each person obtaining a permit for the harboring of animals, and each firm, corporation or legal entity maintaining the animals under permit, shall maintain enclosures and grounds so as to avoid such becoming a health hazard or an esthetic nuisance.
(b) 
Specifically, it is unlawful to maintain premises for animals where the following is permitted to exist:
(1) 
Unpainted wood or paper surface or surfaces where paint has been permitted to peel away exposing the wood underneath, redwood or cedar excepted;
(2) 
Sagging or badly rusted metal fencing;
(3) 
Corrugated metal fencing;
(4) 
Corrugated metal roofs that are rusted so as to become unsightly;
(5) 
Standing water where flies, mosquitoes and other insects could breed;
(6) 
Accumulations of debris, feed or other matter that would provide breeding places for mites, fleas, insects, rats, rodents or other vermin; and
(7) 
Animal noises exceeding 50 decibels measured at the lot line.
(c) 
Any dog confined within a fenced yard or run must be provided with at least 100 square feet of space for each dog. The enclosure shall be constructed of such material and of sufficient height to prevent the dog from escaping from the enclosure. The top of the enclosure shall be covered with material to provide the dog with shade and protection from the elements.
(Ordinance 612 adopted 11/9/10)
(a) 
Enclosures for fowl shall be kept sanitary and free of trash, debris, accumulated feed and animal waste.
(b) 
Enclosures shall provide adequate heat, ventilation, shelter and facilities for fresh food and water, as well as an area adequate to accommodate the fowl consistent with their requirements based on the size and particularities of the breed and species.
(Ordinance 612 adopted 11/9/10)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful to keep or harbor fowl or animals, whether singular or plural, within the corporate limits of the city, subject to the following exceptions:
(1) 
Livestock grazing on open pasture land which extends unfenced for more than 200 yards beyond the corporate limits of the city;
(2) 
Livestock grazing on fenced tracts of land within or extending beyond the corporate limits of the city of not less than 7,000 square feet so long as concentrations of animals do not exceed one per 7,000 square feet. On any tract of fenced land, the computation shall exclude residential improvements and front yards for residences;
(3) 
Show lambs kept on the owner’s property solely for school projects and only during the normal season established for such;
(4) 
Swine being raised solely as a school project and being exhibited or raised for sale purposes and being harbored on the property described as:
A 5.43-acre tract of land out of Sections 1225 and 1233 E.L. and R.R. Co. Survey, Garza County, Texas, and being more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a fence corner in northerly right-of-way line of U.S. Highway 84, for the southwest corner of the Post Stampede tract and the southeast comer of Section 1233 and southwest corner of Section 1225, bear S 0°, 13' E 2177.54 feet and S 88°, 25' W, 128.32 feet; thence N 67°, 20' W along the said right-of-way line 331.05 feet to a 1- inch iron pipe set for the southwest corner of this tract; thence N 0°, 13' W 711.0 feet to a 1-inch iron pipe set for the northwest corner of this tract; thence N 89°, 47' E 305.0 feet to a 1-inch iron pipe set for the northeast corner of this tract; thence S 0°, 13' E 839.73 feet to the place of beginning, containing 5.43 acres.
(b) 
This article shall not be construed as prohibiting any person engaged in and operating any package house, slaughterhouse or cold storage plant from keeping livestock for a temporary period of time not to exceed 72 hours, providing that the person otherwise complies with the general sanitary requirements and applicable zoning requirements.
(Ordinance 612 adopted 11/9/10)
(a) 
No livestock, fowl or other animals not customarily recognized as household pets shall be permitted in an area bounded by 11th Street on the north, 7th Street on the south, Avenue M on the west and the Santa Fe Railroad Reservation on the east.
(b) 
The prohibition against livestock, fowl or other animals not customarily recognized as household pets in the downtown area shall not apply to:
(1) 
Livestock in a parade sanctioned by a nonprofit organization, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, where they will be in the area for no longer than four hours in any 24-hour period; and
(2) 
Livestock penned at a packing house, slaughterhouse or cold storage plant where they are penned for not exceeding 24 hours and in accordance with applicable zoning ordinances.
(Ordinance 612 adopted 11/9/10)
(a) 
After first obtaining an annual permit as required in section 2.02.001, a person may keep up to six (6) chicken hens in R-1, single-family residential districts or R-2, multifamily residential districts subject to the following conditions and requirements:
(1) 
Any and all chicken hens so kept shall remain confined in a covered enclosure at all times to prevent their running at large.
(2) 
Any such above-described enclosure shall be kept in the rear yard. The rear yard is defined by section 14.02.001 of this code.
(3) 
Any and all enclosures or other such shelters provided for said permitted chicken hens shall be of a size sufficient to be conducive to good sanitation, shall provide adequate and sanitary drainage for the enclosure or shelter and shall be constructed or repaired as to prevent rodents from being harbored underneath, within, or within the walls of the enclosure.
(4) 
The enclosure size shall, at a minimum, allow for a ratio of ten (10) square feet per chicken hen.
(5) 
No enclosure for chicken hens shall be located closer than:
(A) 
Ten (10) feet to any property line of an adjacent property;
(B) 
Twenty-five (25) feet to any residential structure on an adjacent property; or
(C) 
Ten (10) feet to any residential structure on the same property.
(6) 
No roosters shall be allowed or permitted.
(7) 
All litter and droppings resulting from the keeping of permitted chicken hens shall be collected daily in a container or receptacle of such a type that when closed is rodentproof and flytight and said container or receptacle shall remain closed after collection of litter or droppings. Any such litter and droppings so collected shall be disposed of at a minimum of once daily in a manner that complies with all provisions of this article and in such a way as not to permit fly breeding or any other unsanitary condition.
(8) 
All feed provided for any such permitted chicken hens shall be stored and kept in a rodent and wildlife proof and flytight receptacle.
(9) 
The keeping of any chicken hens(s) shall be considered an accessory use to the principal use of the building located on the same lot and the enclosure shall be deemed an accessory building as those terms are used in section 14.02.001 of this code.
(10) 
The chicken hen(s) shall not be allowed to be kept inside any residential structure including the garage.
(11) 
No keeping of any chicken hen(s) or associated use(s) shall otherwise be permitted which is or would reasonably be injurious to the neighborhood residents or which would interfere with the reasonable use and enjoyment of their property by reason of the emission of dust, smoke, odor, glare, noise, vibration, trash, junk, water spray, or by reason of any condition which would amount to a public nuisance at common law.
(b) 
The provisions and requirements outlined in section 2.02.001(b) shall not apply to a permit granted under this section.
(c) 
The city may deny, suspend or revoke a permit if:
(1) 
The applicant has failed to comply with or violated any of the provisions of this article or any other applicable ordinance or law;
(2) 
The applicant has omitted or materially misrepresented any information required for the issuance of a permit; or
(3) 
There is a risk to public health, safety or welfare.
(d) 
If the city denies, revokes or suspends the permit, the decision to do so shall be final unless the applicant or permittee files a written appeal to the city council within 20 days from the date of the notice of denial, revocation or suspension. If an appeal is timely perfected, the decision of the city council is final and nonappealable.
(Ordinance 653 adopted 1/12/16)