Laguna Niguel reviews municipal code updates; resident asks council to allow backyard chickens and bees

Laguna Niguel city staff on Monday evening presented updates to the city’s municipal code, including modest editorial changes to Title 10 (animals) and substantive clarifications to Title 13 (parks and recreation), and heard a public request to allow backyard chickens and honeybees.

Assistant City Manager Martin told the City Council that American Legal Publishing and staff had completed a technical and editorial review to align the code with current city practices and state law. "These particular updates focus on clarity and consistency, and they do not represent a comprehensive policy rewrite," Martin said, noting changes that remove references to beaches, update references to the Parks and Recreation Department, add drone and e-bike terminology, and clarify rules around fires and smoking in parks.

The recodification presentation included both non‑substantive editorial edits and targeted substantive updates, Martin said. For Title 10, which covers animals, staff described minimal edits to terminology, chapter numbering and editorial formatting. For Title 13, staff proposed striking beach references, expanding the definition of city facilities to include parks and recreation facilities, removing references to recreational camping, and updating position titles to match current city structure.

During the public comment period that followed, resident Paul Woodhouse urged the council to consider changing the animal ordinance to permit the "responsible keeping of backyard chickens and honeybees on residential properties." Woodhouse said such changes could promote "food security, environmental stewardship, and local education," and suggested regulatory guardrails including limits by property size, hens only (no roosters), predator‑proof coops, setback requirements and routine waste management.

Council members thanked staff for presenting the code changes in a tracked‑changes format. One council member suggested minor clarifying edits to a separate provision prohibiting feeding wildlife, noting that the phrasing—"feeding of animals including but not limited to wild raccoons"—could be tightened to avoid implying domesticated raccoons. No ordinance change on backyard livestock was acted on at the meeting; staff indicated the recodification will proceed in phases and return to council for further review.

The recodification item was presented as part of an ongoing, citywide project to modernize Laguna Niguel’s municipal code; staff said future meetings will include additional titles for council review.