Union Township chicken laws

I live in Union township in Clermont County Ohio. Does anyone know if you are allowed to keep backyard chickens in this area? I have been researching for days now and I am not getting anywhere. Thanks for the help.

Check your city/township ordinances.

If there is no rule against, there is no rule against.

I found the ordinances. You must have more than one acre and the coop must be 200' from any property line. I have just over an acre but my lot is only 100' wide. Is it worth the risk?

I think your decision depends on your outlook.


Under the description in the Union Twp ordinance you described (coop 200 feet from a property line), you would be in violation anywhere on your property.

That being said, you are going to have to ask yourself: "Do you own your property or does Union Township actually "own" it?"

You are going to have to decide whether you have property rights or not and whether you are going to stand on your principles or not.

In my situation, the city encroached on us five years ago (no vote for those of us affected). They have an ordinance against keeping roosters. I have several anyway and have ejected their code enforcement people from my property on multiple occasions under threat of having them arrested by the county sheriff for trespassing. It took them about three times to figure out that I was dead serious. The end result was that their supervisor ordered them to never step foot on the property again. (That was after I informed him that if his agency continued to try to exert such nonsense, I would not only sue them, but also him. They got the message and found an easier "mark" to try to revenue from).

This much I can say, much of it will probably depend upon your relationship with your neighbors. Bad neighbors can give you many headaches, while good neighbors will protect you.

If you are on good terms with your neighbors, it can't hurt to go to them and explain your intentions and concerns.

Offers a few fresh eggs sometimes help!

That great information. Thank you.

popcorn13 said:

I found the ordinances. You must have more than one acre and the coop must be 200' from any property line. I have just over an acre but my lot is only 100' wide. Is it worth the risk?

Click to expand...

Do you live on a platted subdivision lot or in an area of 15 or more lots approved under subdivision law that are contiguous to oneanother, even if divided by a road?

If you do not live on one of those types of lots, read this info to see the restriction on the township's ability to prohibit you from agricultural uses:

https://ohioaglaw.wordpress.com/201...ties-in-ohio-can-be-exempt-from-local-zoning/

http://aglaw.osu.edu/sites/aglaw/files/site-library/OH Zoning Law & Ag PPT.pdf

If you do live on a platted lot, the legalities are different.



ETA: URLs

Just curious. Did you ever get your chickens? I live in union township as well. I just got some chickens. If they give me any trouble I'm moving.

Did you ever find a direct answer to this? I currently live in Miami Township (next to Union) and I am considering purchasing a property in Union Twp. Miami twp has ridiculous ordinances, but I've been under the radar with my chicks after knowing that neighbors on either side were cool with my chicken pursuits. The property that we're looking at in Union twp.is over 1.5 acres, but I'm hesitant to move anywhere with less than 5 so that it could be considered agricultural and untouchable by silly ordinances (I also want to keep a rooster and don't want to be a nuisance to my neighbors).

My question is, how do we change this ordinance? We all have seen people raising chickens on rooftops in big cities. In back yours in cities. If I want to raise laying hens with no rosters I should be able to do this. Is this something that would be put to the voters of Union TWO?

Clermont County? Off-topic but ever run into this guy at church or a Country Club or maybe Pompilio’s? He was a big wheel in Clermont County, (according to him), before his bust.