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Council presses staff on livestock limits as Desert Rural draft proposes larger, exchangeable animal ratios
Summary
Staff told the council a draft standard would distinguish large and medium livestock and proposed a rate roughly described as one large and six medium animals per half acre of dedicated animal area; council members pressed for more data and cautioned about complaint-driven enforcement.
At a Surprise City Council work session, staff presented proposed changes to livestock regulations in the draft Desert Rural zoning text amendment and described a compromise intended to relax what residents called overly strict rules.
"The last ratio we proposed to the community was 1 large and 6 medium animals per half acre of space dedicated to the keeping of these animals," a planning staff member said, explaining the draft would distinguish large and medium animals and use an exchange rate (one large animal equals two medium animals) to calculate allowances.
Council members reacted in two directions. Councilman Judd urged fewer restrictions and questioned the basis for the draft numbers, calling for data from ranching organizations or other authoritative sources. "With the way you explained how you came to the number, it sounds very arbitrary," he said.
Councilman Haney said he was concerned the rules not be used to "weaponize" complaints among neighbors and recommended further resident-led discussion: "I don't want this item to be used almost weaponized against a neighbor that maybe someone doesn't like within the community," he said, urging more resident engagement.
Staff said Maricopa County recently relaxed restrictions and that federal guidance was inconsistent; staff reported using regional comparisons (including Cave Creek) to craft a middle-ground proposal and said they would research additional benchmarks and seek more community input before finalizing language.
On enforcement, staff said animal-control and code-enforcement would respond to complaints rather than proactively patrol rural properties, and that the intent is to allow traditional rural animal keeping while providing remedies when neighbors raise issues.
The council asked staff to gather additional data and continue neighborhood outreach; no regulatory changes were adopted at the session.
