Burlington Vermont Chicken Ordinance
| Are Chickens Allowed in this location | Yes |
| Max Chickens Allowed | Burlington, VT: Up to 3 fowl per household. |
| Roosters Allowed | No |
| Permit Required | No |
| Coop Restrictions | Unknown |
| City/Organization Contact name | |
| Additional Information | http://library4.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=13987&doc_action=whatsnew Under -Definitions Agriculture (See Farm): For the purposes of this ordinance, agriculture shall mean: (a) The cultivation or other use of land for growing food, fiber, trees, or horticultural and orchard crops; or (b) The raising, feeding or management of livestock, poultry, equines, fish or bees; or (c) The operation of greenhouses; or (d) The production of maple syrup; or (e) The on-site storage, preparation and sale of agricultural products principally produced onsite; or (f) The on-site production of fuel or power from agricultural products or wastes produced onsite. Animal: (a) Boarding: An establishment involving any structure, land, or combination thereof used, designed, or arranged for the keeping of five (5) or more domestic animals more than three (3) months of age for profit or exchange, inclusive of equines but exclusive of other livestock used for agricultural purposes in areas approved for agricultural uses. The keeping of four (4) or less such animals more than three (3) months of age for personal enjoyment shall not be considered \\\"boarding\\\" for the purposes of this ordinance. (b) Domestic Animal: Any animal, including, but not limited to mammals, reptiles, birds, livestock and domestic pets, that have been bred or raised to live in or about the habitation of humans, including, but not limited to mammals, reptiles and birds, and is dependent on people for food and shelter. (c) Domestic Pet: Any canine, feline, or European ferret (Mustela putorious furo) and such other domestic animals as the Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall establish by rule and that has been bred or raised to live in or about the habitation of humans, and is dependent on people for food and shelter. (d) Livestock: Cattle, sheep, goats, equines (including, but not limited to, horses, ponies, mules, asses, and zebra.), fallow deer, red deer, American bison, swine, water buffalo, fowl and poultry, pheasant, Chukar partridge, Coturnix quail, camelids (including, but not limited to, guanacos, vicunas, camels, alpacas and llamas), ratites (including, but not limited to ostriches, rheas, and emus), and cultured fish propagated by commercial fish farms. (e) Grooming: Any establishment where domestic pets are bathed, clipped, or combed for the purpose of enhancing their aesthetic value or health. (f) Hospitals: An establishment for the care and treatment of the diseases and injuries of animals and where animals may be boarded during their convalescence. (See Veterinarian Office) (g) Kennel: Accessory building or enclosure for the keeping of domestic pets. (h) Barn or coop: Accessory building or enclosure for the keeping of livestock. (i) Shelter: A facility used to house or contain stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted domestic animals for the purpose of providing temporary kenneling and finding permanent adoptive homes and that is owned, operated, or maintained by a public body, an established humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and human treatment of animals. (j) Store, Pet: A retail sales establishment primarily involved in the sale of domestic pets, such as dogs, cats, fish, birds, and reptiles, excluding exotic animals and farm animals such as horses, goats, sheep, and poultry. Sec. 8-24. Professional architectural and engineering services. (e) Exemptions. Classes and characteristics of structures with respect to which persons performing building design may be exempt from registration requirements. (3) Agricultural structures. Persons not registered under the Vermont architect\\\'s or engineer\\\'s registration law may design farm buildings, including barns, silos, sheds, or housing for farm equipment and machinery, livestock, poultry or storage. ARTICLE 19. POWERS OF CITY COUNCIL § 48. Enumerated. The city council shall have power: (20) To restrain or regulate the keeping and running at large of poultry, cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats and dogs. And in addition to the tax now imposed by the laws of this state upon the owner or keeper of dogs, to impose upon or require of the owner or keeper of any dog or dogs, such additional tax or license fee for the keeping thereof, and prescribe such penalties in default thereof, as may be deemed necessary. And all moneys received hereunder shall be paid into the city treasury and belong to said city. http://www.7dvt.com/2008get-your-goat Burlington has no specific statute regulating animal husbandry, and city officials cant seem to agree on where, or under what circumstances, livestock may be raised in the Queen City. Full article: Get Your Goat Is it time for Burlington to finally regulate animal husbandry? By Mike Ives [11.12.08] David Ferrells studies have a way of getting him in trouble. The 21-year-old University of Vermont agriculture student keeps three chickens and two goats in the yard of his Decatur Street home, in the Old North End. Fresh eggs and milk aside, Ferrells animals are a real-life application of his undergraduate studies and a potential business opportunity: He wants to market the goats as agents of sustainable lawn care. Last month, at the urging of a Burlington animal control [1] officer, Ferrell a skinny guy with a light beard had to give away his chickens. He was also ordered to get rid of his goats. Last Friday, while the animals munched hay, Ferrell said he considered ignoring the order but has decided to send them to a farm. Animal control is forcing us to get rid of the goats, Ferrell said. They said that its against the zoning code, but its weird, you know? With the financial crisis, everybodys looking to be self-reliant and sustainable, and here we have these laws that are, like, kind of prohibiting that. Ferrells dilemma illustrates a legal conundrum for Burlington residents raising livestock within city limits. Burlington has no specific statute regulating animal husbandry, and city officials cant seem to agree on where, or under what circumstances, livestock may be raised in the Queen City. While she declined to comment on Ferrells case, Burlington Animal Control Officer Jodi Harvey told Seven Days that there has been no formal poll of farm animals living in Burlington. Likewise, there is no real legal precedent for regulating farm animals in the city although Harvey recalls that some goats, pheasants and pigs were once removed from a Burlington property that was used as a rescue operation for farm animals. Jane Woodhouse, president of the Vermont Sheep and Goat Association [2], says she has never heard of Vermont goatherds raising red flags with public officials. Then again, this is the first time Woodhouse has heard of anyone raising goats in Vermonts largest municipality. I suppose any town can pass an ordinance against it, Woodhouse said, but it doesnt tend to be a problem because were such a rural state. Harvey said that, under state law, chickens and other farm animals are considered domestic animals, not pets, and are therefore banned in residential areas and other parts of the city that are zoned for nonagricultural uses. However, Article 13 of Burlingtons zoning ordinance [3] seems to allow some keeping of domestic animals in the city. Article 13 allows residents to keep four or fewer mammals, reptiles, birds, livestock and domestic pets for personal enjoyment. City Attorney Ken Schatz couldnt say what the rules are for raising livestock within the city limits. Both Harvey and Schatz, who noted that he has never prosecuted an urban-livestock case, referred questions to the Department of Planning and Zoning. Ken Lerner, the citys zoning administrator, did not return multiple phone calls and emails seeking clarification of the citys ordinances. A call to Kathleen Butler, director of code enforcement for the city, further complicated the issue. Butler said Burlington residents occasionally call her office with chicken-related complaints. She said that, while its illegal to start a chicken farm on land that isnt zoned for agriculture, it is legal to raise chickens provided the operation conforms to the citys definition of accessory use. Butler said shes no zoning expert, but, as she sees it, accessory use allows residents to bend the city ordinance where appropriate. For example, although city ordinance prohibits farming in nonagricultural zones, the accessory use clause permits gardening because it isnt a full-fledged farm activity. According to Butler, the same principle applies to chickens and, she guessed, goats within reason. When a backyard livestock operation begins to look or smell like a farm, disgruntled neighbors could claim it violates ordinances designed to regulate nuisance and exotic animals. Still, Butler said, Up until now, the city ordinances havent really regulated this issue too much. That could change. Butler and David White, the director of planning for the city, have asked the Burlington Planning Commission to consider drafting new ordinances on animal husbandry. Other Vermont cities have already attempted to clarify their regulations on animal husbandry within city limits. In Rutland [4], Vermonts second-largest burg, a public-health ordinance prohibits pigs, cattle, horses and fowls from living within 100 feet of a building or street. In Montpelier, the capital citys Code of Ordinances [5] prohibits domestic fowl, goat, sheep, swine, horse or cattle from roaming at large, loose or unrestricted within city limits. In other words, you can keep as many barnyard animals as you like, provided theyre confined. Butler has heard from Burlington residents on both sides of the animal-husbandry fence. Some think all livestock should be banned from town, she reported, while others, like David Ferrell, insist that animal husbandry is a logical extension of the states sustainable-ag ethos and a sensible way to reduce our collective dependency on fossil fuel. Until his goats ship out, Ferrell and his housemate, Forest Donaj-Keys, plan to keep trading goats milk and kefir for local vegetables and honey. And the local kids will continue to stop by and play. The scene at Ferrells place last Friday looked like a mini petting zoo. Kids from Childrens Space [6], an early care and childhood education program, had come for a visit. Hey, theres hay in the water! one child said, as one of Ferrells Decatur Street neighbors fed the goats a head of cabbage. They definitely spend a lot of time visiting the goats, said Heather Duhamel, program director at the Childrens Space. Her colleague Jackie Reno, whose mother raises mini horses in the New North End, added that the children would be sad to see the goats go. After the kids left, Ferrell milked the goats while Donaj-Keys, a red-bearded environmental studies major with shoulder-length blond hair, explained the pedagogical benefits of goat herding. Donaj-Keys is writing his thesis on guerrilla gardening; while this goat-raising project isnt directly related, he said the experience will inform his studies in a general sense. As Ferrell returned with a pail of fresh goats milk, he recalled how a Montpelier family gave him the goats after he contacted them via Craigslist. Donaj-Keys said, We just put the camper shell on the back of his pickup in order to haul the animals back to Burlington. The young men strolled into a nearby greenhouse, built a few months ago without a permit, where Ferrell is growing kale and spinach. The goats were lying down outside. Its all about community, Ferrell said after inspecting his greens. This is, like, the new push for sustainable agriculture.\\\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source URL: http://www.7dvt.com/2008get-your-goat Links: [1] http://www.police.ci.burlington.vt.us/ACO.html [2] http://www.vermontsheep.org/ [3] http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/planning/zoning/zn_ordinance/cdo_ordinance_toc.html [4] http://www.rutlandvermont.com/ [5] http://www.montpelier-vt.org/docs/regs/index.cfm [6] http://www.burlingtonchildrensspace.org/ |
| Link for more Information | http://library4.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=13987&doc_action=whatsnew |
| Information Last Updated | 2010-03-22 00:00:00 |
NOTE: This information was submitted by a member of our chicken forum. Please make sure to double check that this information is accurate before you proceed with raising chickens. Learn more about local chicken laws and ordinances.
