Arroyo Grande, CA

I was greeted this morning by the city code enforcement plus the local police, coming by to tell us we cannot own chickens where we live.
SO we dug further into this claim..and what i've found is according to the municipal codes chickens cannot be kept in city limits where its not zoned Residential Rural, Residential Hillside, Residential suburban... 98% of the city is not zoned any of that (its mainly Residential single family and multi family plus business). Yet the city of arroyo grande is known for its flock of roosters and hens in the village creek area (there has got to be at least 20 of them down there). According to their ordinances, those would not technically be allowed there.
The places where they are allowed, there has to be 25ft from any dwelling. They dont allow it even if its FFA/4H related.

i have many friends within walking distance of my condo that also keep chickens... I also have chose to keep the smaller breeds in my backyard. I keep them as a source of food for my family, i can average 1-2 eggs per day from each hen (and i have 5). with egg prices rising close to $7... i needed another way to provide for my family. i have a nice coop, a pretty good sized yard and i keep my hens contained to my backyard.

What can i do to fight the city on this?

i refuse to give up my right to provide food for my children especially when i have 4 mouths to feed (plus myself and my husband). Its also an educational experience for them to raise chickens... and this city claims to be a farm community... the local farm supply stores even sell chickens!


Also, the sad fact is these rules apply to rabbits too.

Well the good news is that by-laws can be revised. If I were you I would first gather all the pertinent information from districts that have revised their by-laws. You must have a "go-green" group in your area. Join facebook groups and ask for their suggestions. Next try to influence your neighbours. When you are ready to present this information to your city councillors or by-law reform officer you will need local support.

I live in Morro Bay, and I have 7 hens with awesome neighbors who support that I have hens. But I first asked permission to make sure they're cool with it, just like I asked them permission about the beehive box I had with no bees. (However, one became terribly anxious about bees that they dispersed, so I put away the hive, end of story). Though I lived in the outskirts of San Luis Obispo with a dozen hens co-owned with housemates, I moved within SLO city and looked up laws before I acquired my own hens, and looked up the ordinances in Morro Bay before I decided to move if I were to retain hens. was the rule five years ago. Now it's five hens (or rabbits) if other dwelling(such as neighbors) is at least 50 ft away, 20 for if other (neighbor's) 100 ft for the ordinance that just past a couple months ago. The city ordinances change almost every five years, so keep a look out online as to what's current.

I agree that backyard chickens are getting popular and raising your own eggs, as egg prices are getting a lot steeper, makes everyone's ears perk up. Yes, it's part of the farm to table concept too. But keep in mind, we all don't live on farms. If your yard is big enough, then someone in your neighborhood is ratting you out. You can bring it up to your city councilman and get your avid chicken raising friends to change up this ridiculous ordinance.