Mesa tweaking city livestock regulations

Mesa is working to allow more livestock in residential areas, but it is also about to close an obscure loophole that for decades left chinchillas unregulated.

The city is eyeing new livestock rules after hearing that many residents want to have more horses, goats or even llamas in parts of town where those animals are allowed.

The more permissive rules would be important for Lehi, the rural enclave in north Mesa where livestock are common. About a half-dozen pockets of Mesa historically have large numbers of horses, along with some sheep, ostriches, llamas and at least one known zebra.

Residents who live in those areas are eager to have more of those animals, said Gordon Sheffield, a city zoning administrator.

The livestock regulations had initially included the first Mesa chicken restrictions, banning the fowl from any property smaller than an acre. But as the city worked on the rules, officials ran across articles detailing a growing urban chicken movement. That, and a backlash from chicken lovers crying foul, caught Mesa by surprise. The city gave up on regulating chickens.

"We were wrong," Sheffield said. "We were dead wrong on that."

The mishap caused some humor Thursday during a discussion of the proposed rules.

"The chicken lobby is strong and active out there," Mayor Scott Smith said.

Mesa allows two head of livestock per acre now, on lots that are at least one acre. New rules would shrink the minimum lot to 35,000 square feet, or slightly less than an acre. A point system would allow larger numbers of smaller animals, and the city would give allowances for baby animals. The maximum number of livestock would rise from two per acre to as many as four or eight. The city may have a permit or license system for a certain number of animals, though Councilman Alex Finter said he wants responsible owners to have more animals without having to go through the city.

"They should be rights, not privileges," Finter said.

While nobody has complained of chinchillas overrunning parts of Mesa, city officials said they decided to clean up regulations after discovering just the single type of rodent was exempt from any rules. Also, pigeons were mysteriously absent from regulation of birds on residential lots.

The exceptions probably date to the 1950s or 1960s, Sheffield said. Nobody seems to know why the loophole was created for the chinchilla, a creature native to the Andes in South America that has been bred in the United States for its fur but more recently has been prized as a pet.

Once the regulations are finalized, chinchillas and pigeons would face the same restrictions as other rodents and fowl: 10 per half acre.