Fairfax County, VA

[MD MPH]

I saw a sad state of affairs this weekend that I assume must be at least partly due to the ban--there was no chicken competition at the Fairfax County 4-H Fair. They had cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits, and cavies, but no poultry. We moved here from Alameda County California, hardly a rural county (It includes Oakland, Pleasanton, Hayward, Fremont, Livermore, and several other cities.) Households were allowed 6 hens, irrespective of lot size. There were scores of chickens being shown competively at the Alameda County Fair.

This needs to be fixed for our children's sake. 4-H is a great learning experience for kids. When I was a 4-H'er, I did cattle husbandry, but we had 100 acres. Raising chickens gives kids with just a tiny patch of yard a chance to experience the satisfaction of raising a "blue ribbon" farm animal.

 

[MD MPH]

I do buy cage free eggs but have no idea where those eggs really come from.

They come from the chickens' butts.

 

[thlynch3]

The Fairfax county laws about poultry are ridiculous, and they're more neccesarry so they can take your chickens away if someone complains. I know plenty of people that have chickens here and they are just fine. I would certainly sign any petition though.

 

[GA41]

Hello, I live in McLean on 0.3 acres and am being challenged by my neighbor (who is a retired zoning lawyer!) to ensure I get a permit. I wonder if I'm fighting a losing battle trying to apply for one. Can you write more about your situation and if you successfully got a permit from Fairfax County? Thanks

Adchick,

I live on 0.5 acre in Lorton. From my conversations with the zoning department if you fill out all the paperwork, pay the fee, and your property is well suited for chickens it shouldn't be a problem. Everyone I have spoken with has been helpful and encouraging. Do know if you have any other possible "issues" with your property that the zoning board would view as infractions they will require you fix those issues which may require additional paperwork and fees.

For instance, the shed on my property is too close to the lot line based on current zoning laws. The zoning employee told me I had to either reduce the height of my shed, move it, or apply for a special permit (and pay a bribe...er...um...a fee) for it to "be ok". However, later they realized the shed has been on the tax record since the home was built in the 70's and therefore I'm exempt from this zoning ordinance since taxes have been paid on it for over fifteen years (insert eye roll here). A minor annoyance for me but you may run into issues that aren't as easily fixed.

Here is the link for the special permit webpage on Fairfax County website for more info.

Here is the special permit application packet. You do NOT have to fill out the entire packet. Only certain pages are required for the "modification of the restriction for keeping animals" on your property.

Review the application and the website info and if you have additional questions I'd be happy to help. My application has been "accepted" which just means I met all the paperwork requirements (step 2). There's still more government nonsense to go through but the zoning employees indicated the application is the most difficult part and the rest is mostly just waiting from my end.

Cheers

 

[moonsafari]

Fairfax County needs a relaxation of chicken and livestock laws. I would suggest the following points:

1) All changes should be relaxing the laws without any new restrictions on what is currently possible. For example, chickens aged 2 months and younger are allowed on an lot because they are considered to be commonly accepted pets. Technically, you can raise those modern fast-growing crossbreed meat birds in 2 months--although not old enough to lay eggs.

2) A good argument to justify a relaxation of the laws for smaller lots in Fairfax County is the fact that the land has been so subdivided, and the property values have gone up so much that it is nearly impossible for anyone to afford a 2-acre property in order to raise birds. All of the 2-acre lots continue to either be subdivided or they build mansions that are unaffordable to all but the wealthiest residents.

There is thus a good "equity" argument for enabling access of chickens to low- and middle-income families by reducing the lot size for chickens, and possibly even allowing some smaller birds like quail, etc. in townhomes or in indoor (garage) facilities.

At the minimum, we should be able to get chickens down to 1/2 acre lots where zoned R-2--still complying with the bird unit limit or some maximum number, whichever is less. Maybe no roosters, but don't volunteer restrictions, use that as a concession in the negotiation.

Think about whether we just want to do chickens, or whether we want to do all fowl and livestock. We could propose animal and bird units that would be acceptable on lots down to 1/2 acre, such as one miniature pony, small goat breeds, etc.

I completely agree, especially with your second point. I find it ridiculous that many of us cannot afford to purchase properties > 2 acres, yet we can't keep hens when the neighborhood dogs are barking all night long. My lot is 15k, and I do not see why I can't keep hens.

 

[Acre4Me]

Hi there!

I have chickens in my backyard and someone just called the ffxc code zoning people on me. Just trying to figure out what to do.

:/

not in VA, but some tips:

go to BYC forum “Social” > where am I, where are you?” > pinned post on top contains a state threads. Find your state snd post there bc you might get more local responses there.


On this thread, you can click on a user name to see when last active. find others on this thread that are active and you can tag them like this @Super fresh, just by using the “@“ before their user name. Then you may get additional replies.

good luck with yourfight!

 

[GA41]

I have just started filling out my Fairfax county Special Permit application. It seems daunting but I am determined. What did you write for your justification? How detailed was your Plat plan? You can reach me on here or at jimbgator at G Mail dot com

Unfortunately the plat needs to be very detailed. We had recently purchased our home and therefore had an extra plat from the survey. I had to add additional measurements to the plat. Be warned though, the county used the information on my plat to evaluate my property for other code violations. So if you're deck is too high or your shed is too close to your fence they'll try and make you submit another application for those items. Good luck.
Justification isn't too bad from what I remember (my application was two years ago). Just include the articles you're applying to be exceptions. At the time of my application the main one was article 2-512 paragraph 3(b). Be sure to tell them what you're going to do with the waste and where the coop will be. Before it went to the board a county employee worked with me to get it all straightened out so you will have some assistance. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Nisorat]

I looked up the full code:

The keeping of livestock or domestic fowl shall be allowed as an accessory use on any lot of two (2) acres or more in size. The keeping of such livestock or domestic fowl shall be in accordance with the following:
The number of domestic fowl kept on a given lot shall not exceed the ratio of one (1) bird unit per one (1) acre, with a bird unit identified as follows:
32 chickens = 1 bird unit
16 ducks = 1 bird unit
8 turkeys = 1 bird unit
8 geese = 1 bird unit

So, it's ok to have 64 chickens running around 2 acres, but 3 on half an acre is a no go... interesting.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Look up the definition of pets, check on the availability of a variance, check out the Washington Post--there was an article on urban chickens in the DC area just a few days ago.

 

[Nisorat]

I checked out the pet angle - no cigar. Even though you could consider chicken's pets, you still have to abide by the original zoning rules.

I called zoning enforcement and was told that the ONLY way to have chickens was to buy 2 acres of land. And, also that there was absolutely no possibility that the ordinance was going to change, nor was there anyway for an ordinary citizen to try and change it.

Ok, sure.... I'm thinking about writing the county commissioner next, but does anybody else have good ideas?

Thanks!