Chapter 6.04 ANIMALS – CARE AND CONTROL

No owner or custodian of animals shall permit them to go at large. A violation of this section is a nuisance and dangerous to the public health, safety and welfare. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 2, 1970)

6.04.030 Minimum lot area.

The minimum lot area on which any livestock or large animal may be sheltered, stabled or penned shall be 20,000 square feet for the first such animal plus 5,000 square feet for each additional animal. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 228, 1976; Ord. 177 § 3, 1970)

6.04.040 Setback from other dwellings.

It is unlawful for any owner or custodian to tether, shelter or stable any animal within 25 feet of any property line or neighboring dwelling in the city, or any swine within 300 feet thereof, except as permitted by LFPMC 6.04.108, unless the adjoining owner agrees in writing to a lesser distance and such written consent is filed with the city clerk. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 4, 1970)

6.04.050 Enclosure – Setback.

Fences which pen animals, except domestic dogs and cats, shall be set back not less than three feet from the property line. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 5, 1970)

6.04.060 Enclosure – Drainage.

No pen, shelter, stable or grazing area for any animal shall be built or maintained on marshy ground subject to overflow, in any environmentally sensitive areas or their buffers, in accordance with Chapter 16.16 LFPMC. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 6, 1970)

6.04.070 Enclosure – Maintenance.

All fences, shelters, stables or pens which confine any animals shall be maintained in an adequate condition for such purposes. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 7, 1970)

6.04.080 Offensive condition.

No owner or custodian of any animals shall keep, harbor or maintain any such animal, or any pen, kennel, yard, enclosure or building in which such animals are kept, in such a manner as to be nauseous, foul or offensive. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 8, 1970)

6.04.090 Enclosure – Housekeeping.

No organic material furnishing food for flies shall be allowed to accumulate in any shelter, stable or pen. All manure and other refuse must be kept in tightly covered fly-proof receptacles and disposed of at least once each week in a manner approved by the city health officer. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 9, 1970)

6.04.100 Enclosure – Rat control.

All shelters, stables or pens where any animals are kept shall be free from rats or rat harborages. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 10, 1970)

6.04.105 Beekeeping as a permitted accessory use.

Beekeeping is permitted as an accessory use on single-family residential lots in accordance with this chapter and Table l.

Table 1
Single-Family Lot Size	Maximum Number of Hives
Up to 10,000 square feet	2
10,001 to 12,500 square feet	4
12,501 to 15,000 square feet	5
15,001 to 17,500 square feet	6
17,501 to 20,000 square feet	7
20,001 to 22,500 square feet	8
22,501 to 25,000 square feet	9
25,001 square feet and larger	10

A. Hives shall not be located within 25 feet of any property line. No hives shall be located in environmentally sensitive areas or their buffers, in accordance with Chapter 16.16 LFPMC.

B. Each hive shall have only one swarm.

C. It shall be the duty of any person, firm or corporation having honey bees, apis mellifera, on its property to maintain each colony in the following condition:

1. Colonies shall be maintained in movable-frame hives.

2. Adequate space shall be maintained in the hive to prevent overcrowding and swarming.

3. Colonies shall be requeened following any swarming or aggressive behavior.

4. Abandoned colonies, diseased bees, or bees living in structures except in movable-frame hives shall constitute a public nuisance, and shall be abated as set forth in Chapter 1.25 LFPMC, Code Enforcement.

D. All colonies shall be registered with the Director of Agriculture pursuant to RCW 15.60.030 prior to April 1st of each year. (Ord. 1130 § 7, 2016; Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 820 § 2, 2000)

6.04.108 Keeping of chickens as a permitted accessory use.

Chickens may be kept within the city limits of Lake Forest Park in accordance with this chapter and Table 2.

Table 2
Single-Family Lot Size	Maximum Number of Chickens
Up to 10,000 square feet	8
10,001 to 12,500 square feet	9
12,501 to 15,000 square feet	10
15,001 to 17,500 square feet	11
17,501 to 20,000 square feet	12
20,001 to 22,500 square feet	13
22,501 to 25,000 square feet	14
25,001 square feet and larger	15

A. No roosters are allowed.

B. Henhouses, coops, and chicken tractors shall not be located within 10 feet of any residential structure on an adjacent lot.

C. Henhouses, coops, and chicken tractors including chicken runs shall not exceed 120 square feet in area and eight feet in height unless a building permit is issued authorizing structures of a greater area or height. No such structures shall be located in environmentally sensitive areas or their buffers, in accordance with Chapter 16.16 LFPMC. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012)

6.04.110 Noise nuisance.

No owner or custodian of animals shall permit them to remain outside of the dwelling of such owner or custodian while such animal is causing or emitting frequent, excessive or long continued noise which disturbs or is likely to disturb the comfort or repose of other persons in the neighborhood. A violation of this section is a public nuisance and adverse to the public welfare. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 11, 1970)

6.04.120 Exotic/wild animals prohibited as pets.

The possession or maintenance of an exotic or wild animal by private citizens as pets is prohibited, except for those animals previously authorized as otherwise provided in this title of the municipal code. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 592 § 3, 1994)

6.04.125 Exotic/wild animals permitted – Prior approval.

If an owner possessed or maintained an exotic or wild animal on or before the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section with the expressed permission of the city in accordance with the provisions of this code in effect at that time, then the owner may continue to possess and maintain such animal, if the owner satisfies the licensing requirements for such animals as are otherwise provided in this title of the municipal code. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 592 § 4, 1994)

6.04.126 Exotic/wild animals – Licenses.

The King County animal control authority, acting on behalf of the city, may cause to be issued an exotic or wild animal owner’s license to those owners that meet the conditions of LFPMC 6.04.125; provided, that the application is accompanied by the license fee, contains the information required by KCC 11.28.050, which is adopted by reference elsewhere in this title, and meets the cage or confinement rules and regulations of the King County animal control authority. The fee for such license shall be as provided for in KCC 11.04.035, which is adopted by reference elsewhere in this title. All licenses shall expire one year from the date of original application. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 592 § 5, 1994)

6.04.130 Impoundment authorized.

For any violation of this chapter, the chief of police may cause any such offending animal to be impounded in a suitable animal shelter, stable or pen. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 13, 1970)

6.04.140 Interfering with enforcement.

It is unlawful for any person to interfere with, hinder, delay or impede the chief of police in the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 14, 1970)

6.04.150 Biting animals.

The chief of police, upon receiving notice that an animal has bitten any person, is authorized to impound, after identification of the animal by the victim or a witness, and hold the animal under observation and for an examination by a veterinarian for a period of not less than 10 days. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 15, 1970)

6.04.160 Notice of impounding.

No later than three days after the impounding of any animal under the provisions of this chapter, the owner or custodian, if known, shall be notified, either in person or by first class mail, of the impounding, describing the animal and the place and time of taking. If the owner or custodian is unknown, the chief of police shall maintain for public inspection for a period of not less than five calendar days a written record of such impounding. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 177 § 16, 1970)

6.04.170 Vicious animals.

For a violation of this chapter, with reference to a vicious animal, the owner or custodian of such animal may, in addition to any other penalties provided for in this code, be required to remove such animal from the corporate limits of the city within 24 hours following conviction, or be ordered to make suitable arrangements within 24 hours following conviction to confine safely such vicious animal upon the owner’s or custodian’s property. On conviction by the court of failure to comply with such order such animal may be impounded and destroyed forthwith. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 192, 1972; Ord. 177 § 20(a), 1970)

6.04.180 Animal control sanitation offenses.

A. It is unlawful for an owner to:

1. Fail to remove the fecal matter deposited by his/her animal on public property or private property of another before the owner leaves the immediate area where the fecal matter was deposited;

2. Fail to have in his/her possession the equipment necessary to remove his/her animal’s fecal matter when accompanied by said animal on public property or public easement.

B. Owners of duly licensed guide dogs shall be exempted from subsections (A)(1) and (2) of this section. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 598 § 1, 1994)

6.04.190 Adoption of state laws.

The following statutes of the state of Washington (now in effect and as subsequently amended) are adopted by reference as if set forth in full:

RCW 16.36.050(3), (4) and (5); 16.36.060; 16.36.080(5); 16.36.110(1); 16.44.130; 16.44.140 and 16.44.180. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012; Ord. 762 § 3, 1998)

6.04.200 Feeding wildlife.

It is unlawful in any manner to directly or indirectly feed any wild animal, excluding the use of hanging bird feeders that provide seed, suet or nectar for a variety of common birds. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012)

6.04.210 Wildlife.

It is unlawful in any manner to tease, annoy, disturb, molest, catch, injure or kill or to throw any stone or missile of any kind at or strike with any stick or weapon any animal, bird, fowl or fish, subject to the limitations and conditions established under RCW 77.36.030(1), which establishes limitations and conditions for trapping or killing wildlife threatening human safety or causing property damage, and/or the city’s accepted wildlife management plan. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012)

6.04.220 Traps.

It is unlawful to use steel-jawed leghold traps, padded-jaw leghold traps, Conibear traps, neck snares, and nonstrangling foot snares to capture or attempt to capture any animal. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012)

6.04.230 Poison.

It is unlawful to poison or attempt to poison any animal using sodium fluoroacetate, also known as compound 1080, or sodium cyanide. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012)

6.04.240 Animal housing.

Any animal as defined in Chapter 6.02 LFPMC and any livestock, small animal or pet that lives outdoors must be sheltered, stabled or penned in a manner that prevents predation. (Ord. 1040 § 2, 2012)