Lynnwood considers relaxing its rules for keeping goats

LYNNWOOD — If all goes as planned, Anne Smeester might have a goat mansion in her back yard before the year is out.

Smeester, who lives near Lynndale Park in Lynnwood, is one of several neighbors who’s lobbied the City Council to allow pet goats in city limits.

The current rules only permit goats if the owners have nearly a half-acre of land, said Councilman Ian Cotton, who is leading the effort to change the rules.

He’d like the city codes to allow miniature goats, such as pygmy goats, under the same rules as dogs.

“What I saw was a group of Lynnwood residents who were really passionate about sustainability,” Cotton said. “They came to City Council and said, ‘Hey, we really want to do this as part of sustainable living in an urban environment.’”

The idea came up again during a council retreat and is now headed to the Community Development Department, Cotton said. It will have to go through the planning commission, including a time for public comment, before going back to council. He hopes the council can vote on a new ordinance in the next couple of months.

Goats help clean people’s yards because they eat weeds and invasive plants, Cotton said. Some also can be milked, and they provide companionship for people and other pets.

“I think they’re kind of cute,” he said. “They’re not a full-blown piece of livestock.”

Miniature goats are allowed with a license in the city of Seattle. In unincorporated Snohomish County, goats are allowed as long as they’re not running loose. Some local cities, including Edmonds, Marysville and Mountlake Terrace, allow goats if owners follow certain requirements, such as minimum acreage. In Everett, goat owners need a special license that includes an on-site inspection from an animal control officer. Some cities don’t allow unneutered bucks.

In Marysville, it’s against the rules for goats to “be ridden or paraded in the city in a manner that could endanger people or property.”

Smeester, 45, and her husband, Greg, moved to Lynnwood 15 years ago, and raised three children, the youngest of whom is almost grown, she said.

She’s studying sustainable agriculture at Edmonds Community College. She’s kept chickens, bees and ducks, and she tends a vegetable garden. She likes goats for their mild temperament, she said.

“I need goats so I can have milk and complete the cycle of our food,” she said.“They’re so cute.”

Last year, Smeester knocked on the doors of some houses in her neighborhood that had well-kept gardens. She asked the families if they’d be interested in going with her to council to talk about goats. She got a few takers.

Smeester’s husband was on the fence himself until they took a trip to Vashon Island.

“He drank fresh goat milk right there from the jar, and he was totally sold,” she said.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.