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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
appropriation; Little Colorado River levee.
(NOW: backyard fowl; regulation; prohibition)
As passed by the Senate, S.B. 1321 appropriated $20,000,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2024 to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to distribute to Navajo County to reconstruct the Little Colorado River levee in the City of Winslow.
The House of Representatives adopted a strike-everything amendment that does the following:
Purpose
Prohibits a municipality or county from adopting any law, ordinance or other regulation that prohibits a resident of a single-family detached residence that is one-half acre or less in size from keeping fowl in the backyard of the property.
Background
The legislative body of any municipality or county by ordinance, in order to conserve and promote the public health, safety and general welfare, may impose various regulations, including the use of building, structure and land as between agriculture, residence, industry, business and other purposes (A.R.S. §§ 9-462.01 and 11-251.05).
Within the City of Phoenix, poultry may be kept within 80 feet of a residence if written permission consenting to the keeping of poultry is first obtained from each lawful occupant and each lawful owner of the residence (Phoenix Municipal Codes Article II § 8-7).
Within the City of Tucson, a person may keep and maintain a maximum of 24 fowl within the city limits. However, the coop may not be within 50 feet of another residence (Tucson, Arizona Charter and General Ordinances § 4, Article IV).
Within the City of Flagstaff, small livestock, including goats, ducks, rabbits, chickens and bee colonies, may be kept on residential or educational property. On property that is less than 20,000 square feet, up to 5 chickens may be kept, if the chickens are fenced in on the owner's property and have at least 10 square feet of outdoor space and 4 square feet of indoor space (Flagstaff Municipal Codes § 6-03).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Prohibits a municipality or county from adopting any law, ordinance or other regulation that prohibits a resident of a single-family detached residence that is one-half acre or less in size from keeping fowl in the backyard of the property.
2. Allows a municipality or county to:
a) restrict the number of fowl that a resident may keep in the backyard of the property to a maximum of six;
b) prohibit a resident from keeping male fowl, including roosters;
c) require fowl to be kept in an enclosure at least 15 feet from a neighboring property and restrict the enclosure size to a maximum of 200 square feet with a maximum height of 8 feet;
d) require the enclosure to be maintained and manure picked up and disposed of or composted at least twice weekly;
e) require that composted manure be kept in a way that prevents migration of insects;
f) require water sources with adequate overflow drainage;
g) require that feed be stored in insect-proof and rodent-proof containers; and
h) prohibit fowl from running at large.
3. States that the property rights of Arizona property owners are of statewide concern.
4. Preempts all local laws, ordinances and charter provisions to the contrary.
5. Defines fowl as a cock or hen of the domestic chicken.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
ˇ Adopted the strike-everything amendment relating to backyard fowl regulations.
House Action
APPROP 4/3/23 DPA/SE 9-6-0-0
3rd Read 5/15/23 31-27-1-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
May 15, 2023
RA/slp