So, here's the code...
Section 5.02 Keeping of Fowl
A person commits an offense if he:
A. Keeps or maintains more than four (4) fowl on one-half (1/2) acre or less or at a distance closer than fifty feet (50') from any habitation located on another's property; or
B. Keeps or maintains more than ten (10) fowl on more than one-half (1/2) acre but less than one (1) acre at a distance closer than fifty feet (50') from any habitation located on another's property.
C. Keeps or maintains twenty-five (25) fowl or more on one (1) acre or more at a distance closer than fifty feet (50) from any habitation located on anothers property.
D. Fails to keep any fowl of the Order Anseriformes from being at large; or
E. Fails to keep any fowl of the Order Galliformes contained within a coop or pen.
F. Keeps or maintains roosters except in an area zoned as agricultural.
And just for number's sake...
43,560 square feet = 1 acre = 208.7x208.7 (if a perfect square, not likely)
21,780 = 1/2 acre = 147.6x147.6 (if a perfect square, not likely)
10,890 = 1/4 acre = 104.4x104.4 (if a perfect square, not likely)
Okay, so let's stick with the 4 rule, since when I called Animal Control to ask about chickens the man said "All I know is you can have four"
4 hens. Coop and Run must be 50' from ANY dwelling on others' property. Our neighbors' houses start 7' from our property line. So, to be legal the walls of our coop must begin at least 43' into our property. 43' in from the west, to the west wall of the coop and 43' in from the east, to the east wall of the coop. (road in front of house, neighbor in back is over 10' from line, so just talking east and west for now) To house 4 hens, no freeranging since 'at large' is a crime, they need a minimum 4sf coop and 10sf run space, total of 56sf so let's say 8'x8' (64sf) just to keep things square. So, for someone to keep four chickens, with neighbors that are that close their lot would have to be 86' (43' on either side) + 8' coop width for a total of 92'... problem being of course that our lot is only (measured in my steps) 45' wide and 89' long... our lot isn't particularly small, nor particularly large, just average. I know in other parts of town the lots are quite a bit smaller, and in the snazzier places they're a bit larger, but ours is about average for the many subdivisions around here...
Even if we put our coop dead center (that'd be IN the house hallway but for the sake of argument) it would still violate the 50' rule. So... is it just me or has Arlington effectively banned chickens, without actually banning them, since the majority of homes in the city are not on lots wide/deep enough to follow the 50' rule that's in place?
For us to safely house 4 hens we'd need 8'x8' coop/run and then 50' on all sides to property line (figure if it's to OUR line, rather than their house no one can fib the numbers, and property lines are known for being a smidge off here or there)... meaning we'd need 108'x108' = 11664sf which is over a 1/4 acre... yet in their code they state "one-half (1/2) acre or less" as though it's possible to keep them legally. Since our lot (and most it seems) are twice as long as they are wide then to get the 108' you'd prolly end up with a 216' depth lot... 23328sf which is over a 1/2 acre.... which means you could keep 10, rather than four... which is great for the rare lot that IS that size... but, for those of us NOT on a huge lot (huge for city that is) it seems like it's darn near impossible not to break the law?
Any legal eagles want to chime in here?
Oh, side note... square footage wise... if you did manage to keep four on a 1/4 acre it comes to 2722.5 sf per bird, for 10 on a 1/2 it's 2178 per bird, and for 25 on one acre it's 1742.4sf per bird. Just thought that was interesting... they can't even claim that the land requirements are based on a set amount of space per.
Section 5.02 Keeping of Fowl
A person commits an offense if he:
A. Keeps or maintains more than four (4) fowl on one-half (1/2) acre or less or at a distance closer than fifty feet (50') from any habitation located on another's property; or
B. Keeps or maintains more than ten (10) fowl on more than one-half (1/2) acre but less than one (1) acre at a distance closer than fifty feet (50') from any habitation located on another's property.
C. Keeps or maintains twenty-five (25) fowl or more on one (1) acre or more at a distance closer than fifty feet (50) from any habitation located on anothers property.
D. Fails to keep any fowl of the Order Anseriformes from being at large; or
E. Fails to keep any fowl of the Order Galliformes contained within a coop or pen.
F. Keeps or maintains roosters except in an area zoned as agricultural.
And just for number's sake...
43,560 square feet = 1 acre = 208.7x208.7 (if a perfect square, not likely)
21,780 = 1/2 acre = 147.6x147.6 (if a perfect square, not likely)
10,890 = 1/4 acre = 104.4x104.4 (if a perfect square, not likely)
Okay, so let's stick with the 4 rule, since when I called Animal Control to ask about chickens the man said "All I know is you can have four"
4 hens. Coop and Run must be 50' from ANY dwelling on others' property. Our neighbors' houses start 7' from our property line. So, to be legal the walls of our coop must begin at least 43' into our property. 43' in from the west, to the west wall of the coop and 43' in from the east, to the east wall of the coop. (road in front of house, neighbor in back is over 10' from line, so just talking east and west for now) To house 4 hens, no freeranging since 'at large' is a crime, they need a minimum 4sf coop and 10sf run space, total of 56sf so let's say 8'x8' (64sf) just to keep things square. So, for someone to keep four chickens, with neighbors that are that close their lot would have to be 86' (43' on either side) + 8' coop width for a total of 92'... problem being of course that our lot is only (measured in my steps) 45' wide and 89' long... our lot isn't particularly small, nor particularly large, just average. I know in other parts of town the lots are quite a bit smaller, and in the snazzier places they're a bit larger, but ours is about average for the many subdivisions around here...
Even if we put our coop dead center (that'd be IN the house hallway but for the sake of argument) it would still violate the 50' rule. So... is it just me or has Arlington effectively banned chickens, without actually banning them, since the majority of homes in the city are not on lots wide/deep enough to follow the 50' rule that's in place?
For us to safely house 4 hens we'd need 8'x8' coop/run and then 50' on all sides to property line (figure if it's to OUR line, rather than their house no one can fib the numbers, and property lines are known for being a smidge off here or there)... meaning we'd need 108'x108' = 11664sf which is over a 1/4 acre... yet in their code they state "one-half (1/2) acre or less" as though it's possible to keep them legally. Since our lot (and most it seems) are twice as long as they are wide then to get the 108' you'd prolly end up with a 216' depth lot... 23328sf which is over a 1/2 acre.... which means you could keep 10, rather than four... which is great for the rare lot that IS that size... but, for those of us NOT on a huge lot (huge for city that is) it seems like it's darn near impossible not to break the law?
Any legal eagles want to chime in here?
Oh, side note... square footage wise... if you did manage to keep four on a 1/4 acre it comes to 2722.5 sf per bird, for 10 on a 1/2 it's 2178 per bird, and for 25 on one acre it's 1742.4sf per bird. Just thought that was interesting... they can't even claim that the land requirements are based on a set amount of space per.
