SAN DIEGO -- A City Council committee Wednesday moved forward with a proposal to permit the use of goats in San Diego to remove brush in wildfire threatened areas.

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Municipal law now prohibits the use of agricultural animals or electrically charged fencing in urban areas -- rules that must be amended before herds of goats can be used for brush management.

The Natural Resources and Culture Committee voted to direct city staff to explore the necessary steps to permit the use of goats as a supplement to the existing brush management program and return to the full City Council.

By munching on vegetation, the goats reduce brush and create a buffer zone around homes. The city of San Diego requires 100 feet of cleared land around all residences to provide a defensible space against fire.

Since last October's wildfires, city staff began exploring the possibility of using goats to assist in brush management in certain city-owned space.

The city successfully tested the idea last April when they unleashed a heard of 40 goats on a Tierrasanta hillside.

The pilot project revealed that the goats can perform brush management for about 25 to 50 percent of the cost of a contract crew, although at a slower pace, according to a city manager's report.

Under ideal circumstances, 75 to 100 goats can thin about one acre per day.

Several cities in California already use the animals for brush abatement including Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland and Berkeley Hills.