HOA and My Pullets. Need HELP!!! Meeting Will Be Soon

[naznaz11]

Hello everyone, I really need your help regarding HOA (home owners association) If there are any lawyers on here, or if you know one, please help me out.

I will try to keep this extremely short and quick to the point.

The city I live allow chickens and roosters. The HOA allows pets, but does NOT mention which animals are allowed and which arent. Please see the screenshot below.

I have 6 pullet hens and no roosters. 2 of my neighbors complained about them cackling when they lay eggs, but ironically, their dogs are always barking all day long...

I talked to the president of my area and we have agreed to have a board meeting.

I have re-read their ordinance and there is no mention about chickens, so therefore, their policy is very vague...... My chickens have a small coup house (4 feet by 3 feet) and I placed that coup inside a small fence. I am not raising them for meat or commercial purposes. They are simply my children.

The board meeting will be soon, and they will take a vote after I explain my case. So please help me if you can.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm not a lawyer but household pets rarely defines as chickens. Yes, 'household pets' is vague, but it's not vague enough to include chickens. I'm not sure you can play that "they're pets" card here. You can try though, anything is worth trying.
I'd state that they are kept clean and in their in coop and if noise is an issue, I wouldn't point fingers at anyone elses pets. I'd mention that chicken make noise when laying an egg but usually are pretty quiet the rest of the day unless responding to other noises. Maybe find a new home for a few of them, 3x4 is way too small for 6 hens. Chickens can be extremely noisy when laying (I had one that would carry on for hours!), offer to sound dampen their coop (layered towels are great for that).
Good luck!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Short answer, your hens don't have sq footage for their needs, and should be rehomed if more space can not be provided for them, regardless of your HOA rules.

Second, while you are welcome to make your argument, an HOA is a voluntary association of persons who have chosen to restrict one another's permitted land use to create a community of commonality. Don't like it? Don't move there. Nor is ignorance of the HOA rules a defense.

Looks like you are going to claim that "household pets" is somehow ill defined, and thus should permit your chickens. First, you are reading (and presenting) your HOA rules in isolation - a terrible way to read any legal document. Second, you are making that argument uphill... The preceeding line is that "NO ANIMALS OF ANY KIND (emphasis mine) may be raised, kept, or permitted" - this is legal-speak for "NO" to everything you might imagine, no definitions required. It then creates an exception for a reasonable number of "household pets" - setting aside that your chickens do not domicile in your home, and thus are not "household" in the way a dog, cat, fish, snake, or hamster might be - in the absence of a definition found in the HOA rules, the default is to look to the overarcing Zoning for either county or State.

Your county defines chickens as "domesticated fowl" and domesticated fowl are part of "livestock".

Domestic animal means any animal typically kept as a pet, other than livestock.

Livestock means ratites, psittacines, horses, mules, jackasses, cattle, llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, swine, domesticated fowl and any fur-bearing animal bred and maintained commercially or otherwise, within pens, cages and hutches.

Reading further, your county does allow the keeping of fowl for sale, subject to zoning restrictions and special permiting in zones OTHER than your own, which appears to be R-5. Oddly, it seems you are allowed up to three pot bellied pigs...

Essentially, if you want to keep backyard chickens, move and build a larger home for your small flock.

 

[Vickischics]

Hello everyone, I really need your help regarding HOA (home owners association) If there are any lawyers on here, or if you know one, please help me out.

I will try to keep this extremely short and quick to the point.

The city I live allow chickens and roosters. The HOA allows pets, but does NOT mention which animals are allowed and which arent. Please see the screenshot below.

I have 6 pullet hens and no roosters. 2 of my neighbors complained about them cackling when they lay eggs, but ironically, their dogs are always barking all day long...

I talked to the president of my area and we have agreed to have a board meeting.

I have re-read their ordinance and there is no mention about chickens, so therefore, their policy is very vague...... My chickens have a small coup house (4 feet by 3 feet) and I placed that coup inside a small fence. I am not raising them for meat or commercial purposes. They are simply my children.

The board meeting will be soon, and they will take a vote after I explain my case. So please help me if you can.


View attachment 2817914

Where are you at?
What State, or Country?
What is the sq footage of y'all lot/yard?
Is it an acre or are the houses on top of eachother?

 

[Jory]

Which town, there's a couple Oregon towns that have passed blanket laws to supersede HOA action on hens.

 

[Vickischics]

Hello everyone, I really need your help regarding HOA (home owners association) If there are any lawyers on here, or if you know one, please help me out.

I will try to keep this extremely short and quick to the point.

The city I live allow chickens and roosters. The HOA allows pets, but does NOT mention which animals are allowed and which arent. Please see the screenshot below.

I have 6 pullet hens and no roosters. 2 of my neighbors complained about them cackling when they lay eggs, but ironically, their dogs are always barking all day long...

I talked to the president of my area and we have agreed to have a board meeting.

I have re-read their ordinance and there is no mention about chickens, so therefore, their policy is very vague...... My chickens have a small coup house (4 feet by 3 feet) and I placed that coup inside a small fence. I am not raising them for meat or commercial purposes. They are simply my children.

The board meeting will be soon, and they will take a vote after I explain my case. So please help me if you can.


View attachment 2817914

I'm not a lawyer but holy cow! Your in Oregon on one 1 acres! And people c/o your chickens singing the egg song? Its not like all the houses are on top of eachother, You live on 1 acres. Good Grief.
That to me, is a sizable lot not to disrupt anyone. But, I would also include that the City does permit Chickens. If you research the hierarchy of County and City in the hierarchy of rules, I would rather imagine the County and a City ordinance for permitting Chickens does Trump an arbitrary HOA rule that was written by the developer and is outdated.
If your serious about keeping your pullets, it would be worth your money to consult a local attorney to get local legal facts to defend your position. Esp pertaining to the Hierarchy of rules. You may want to consult an Attorney in your area to help you prepare your case. Your day to talk isn't about complaining about your neighbors dog, use the time to convince the HOA you need to keep your chickens. Take eggs to your meeting. Stay factual and heartfelt. Your chickens are emotionally therapeutic and your hobby brings you joy. Esp. During the quanteen for Covid 19.
Also ask, what do you need to do to keep your chickens. Some people enjoy their barking dogs or cleaning kitty litter everyday. You just so happy to enjoy your birds.
I also agree housing 6 Pullets <1 year is too many for a 4x3 coop.
Rule of thumb is 4 sq. ft per chicken in a coop and 8-10sq ft. Per chicken in the run.
This is esp. imperative when the weather prohibits them from going outside.
Please keep us updated.

 

[DatCampG]

As for the neighbor(s) Dracula sucks!
I once lived in a HOA. I know, you sure don't want to do nothin' to rile the neighbors. So, I said suck it losers loose it suckers!! I got tired of it and moved to the country as fast as I could. Best Wishes.

 

[naznaz11]

any1 elese??

 

[naznaz11]

Where are you at?
What State, or Country?
What is the sq footage of y'all lot/yard?
Is it an acre or are the houses on top of eachother?

oregon.

1 acre lot house.

it's an upper middle class area. Mcmansion homes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Everyone has discussed this, but I would like to add something else. The chicken ownership law cannot be challenged by the owner in some counties by the decision of the municipality, so your neighbors are wrong. But it is worth noting that where the local government has not made such a decision, this law can be circumvented with the competent support of medlemskap i bostadsrättsförening. So you have the right to choose, and you have to keep them. I'm on your side because you have that right. If your situation is still not resolved, you can always seek advice from the lawyer I have advised you.

Possibly you meant to post this in response to another thread? It is completely irrelevant to HOA and zoning law in the state of Oregon, the United States of America.