Charlotte County Florida ordinances

Hi,

We're interested in keeping chickens (guess we're in the right place!).

The only county ordinance I could find in Charlotte County is:

http://charlottecountyfl.com/Animal/FinalOrdinanceBooklet.pdf

The only mention of chickens here is that they (poultry) are defined as a domesticated animal. It looks like we'd be OK to keep them unless they were defined (i.e. by a neighbor) as a nuisance animal and enough evidence backed it up.

Some background - We're in Port Charlotte which has no city limits of any kind. We have no deed restrictions. We are in the suburbs but on 1.5 acres, and our property is surrounded by a public paved road on all sides, kind of like a moat. That means our closest neighbors (on any side of the property) are across the street. The land is ringed with heavy woods and palmettos which would be good for keeping the chickens secluded from others, but undoubtedly one would be noticed eventually.

Does anybody have more info on Charlotte County? I once called around to the county offices to check on this, but no one in my area knew the answer. I finally got a "ummm... I don't know... ummm... no" from one guy and that was about it.

From what I could find in the www.municode.com all they care about is any wetlands areas

Sec. 3-9-29.5. - Agriculture conservation (AC).

(a)
Intent. The purpose of the agriculture conservation district is to preserve and protect sensitive wetland systems such as marshes, sloughs, swamps and associated upland buffers in areas designated as agriculture conservation in the comprehensive plan. These areas contribute significantly to groundwater recharge, flood control, and the maintenance of water quality and wildlife habitat. Less intensive agricultural uses that will not adversely affect the long-term functioning of the natural hydrological and ecological systems are intended in this district. This zoning district may exist only outside the urban service area as shown in the comprehensive plan.

(b)
Permitted principal uses and structures. The following uses and structures are permitted in the upland areas of this district. For purposes of this section, uplands shall be defined as those lands not subject to permanent or seasonal saturation of such duration as to support a hydrophytic plant community under normal circumstances.

(1)
Raising of cattle, sheep, swine or other animals, provided no swine shall be kept within one thousand (1,000) feet of a nonagricultural district.

(2)
RaisinAgriculture and agricultural activities are frequently associated with noise, odors, dust, aerial chemical spraying, and other activities generally incompatible with urban-style living. However, agriculture forms a vital segment of the economy of the state, and provides diversity of economic opportunity and life styles for the county. Therefore, it is the purpose of the agricultural districts to provide areas for the establishment and/or continuation of agricultural operations with residential uses being permitted only at very low densities and to accommodate those individuals who understand and desire to live in an agricultural environment.

The primary difference between these districts is that agriculture estate (AE) districts are intended to exist only within the urban service area while agriculture general (AG) districts are intended to exist only outside the urban service area.

(b)
Permitted principal uses and structures. The following uses and structures are permitted in this district.

(1)
Raising of cattle, sheep, swine or other animals associated with or kept in support of agricultural operations, provided no swine shall be kept within one thousand (1,000) feet of a nonagricultural district.

(2)
Raising of poultry.

(3)
Raising of dairy herds and production and processing of dairy products.

(4)
Breeding, training and boarding of animals associated with or kept in support of agricultural operations.

(5)
Harvesting, cultivation, processing and sale of crops grown on premises, including silviculture, aquaculture and commercial citriculture.

(6)
Single-family dwellings, excluding mobile homes, barns, workshops and other structures incidental to agricultural uses.
g of poultry.

(3)
Raising of dairy herds and production and processing of dairy products



Although....they may be like us and only allow chickens on AG land BUT interesting verbage in the following paragraph


(a)
Intent. Agriculture districts are intended to retain the open character of the land. Permitted uses are limited to conservation, agriculture, low-density residential, recreation and other uses consistent therewith.

Agriculture and agricultural activities are frequently associated with noise, odors, dust, aerial chemical spraying, and other activities generally incompatible with urban-style living. However, agriculture forms a vital segment of the economy of the state, and provides diversity of economic opportunity and life styles for the county. Therefore, it is the purpose of the agricultural districts to provide areas for the establishment and/or continuation of agricultural operations with residential uses being permitted only at very low densities and to accommodate those individuals who understand and desire to live in an agricultural environment.

The primary difference between these districts is that agriculture estate (AE) districts are intended to exist only within the urban service area while agriculture general (AG) districts are intended to exist only outside the urban service area.

(b)
Permitted principal uses and structures. The following uses and structures are permitted in this district.

(1)
Raising of cattle, sheep, swine or other animals associated with or kept in support of agricultural operations, provided no swine shall be kept within one thousand (1,000) feet of a nonagricultural district.

(2)
Raising of poultry.

(3)
Raising of dairy herds and production and processing of dairy products.

sorry forgot to add To BYC!! I am in Lee county and we are fighting to get our ordinance changed right now...see the lee county /Lehigh acres thread. Vote in the News Press artical for us please? http://www.news-press.com/article/2...-rules-chickens?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Thanks ChooksinChoppers! I voted for chickens on the link you sent. I hope it is resolved in your favor.

I checked municode.com and we are zoned as residential single family (RSF), not near agricultural areas. There's nothing in the RSF section about animals at all. Only the section under General Ordinances marked Chapter 1-4 ANIMALS & FOWL has anything I can see, and it's the same text as the link I included earlier.

I am mostly hesitant because we eat a lot of eggs, and would likely need between 8 and 12 chickens to cover our needs. I will begin asking the neighbors and see if I get any naysayers.

Forgot to mention... we're the only house on 1.5 acres in this area. It's really suburbs, not an "estates" kind of neighborhood. Most of the houses are on a 1/4 or 1/2 acre lot.

Bumping up with a question... Is it possible or usual to see that there's no specific law on the books about chickens?

In that case, what do people do concerning whether it's legal or not?

Even in this link I couldnt find Charlotte or port Charlotte..closest is sarasota? https://www.backyardchickens.com/laws/search.php?State=FL
So I don't know how to answer you...I guess if you ask all your neighbours and they are ok then you are ok too

Thanks Dianne! Asking neighbors is my next step. Meantime best of luck with your chickens!

Hey! That's great that you want to get chickens in Charlotte county.. we're neighbors. I would say, if your neighbors are ok and there are no specific laws AGAINST having them then GO FOR IT!! When we got our chickens, we couldn't find anything in our codes. But then 3 months after we got the chickens and built our coop, we got a code violation for a code we couldn't find. Now we are in a "chicken fight" as we decided to challenge it with the commissioners. I have organized a petition and contacted the media and everything. We currently have more than 450 signatures and have gotten a lot of positive (and some negative) response. So, if and when the time comes to fight this thing in Charlotte County...let us know how we can help...
People in this hard economy should have the right to grow there own food and supply there own needs for their family. I would think they would rather people do this than completely rely on the government for assistance. PLUS, with the way the government is handling our food supply...we NEED to take back control!!!!

We have our "girls" and they are here to stay. They will start laying soon and the government will have a fight on their hands if they try and take food off my family's table!

I encourage everyone to fight for your rights to take care of your family. The economy isn't going to get any better any time soon...we need to do what we can to take of our family!

Dianna Caminos
[email protected]

Hi Dianna,

Is this battle you're describing the same battle as ChooksinChoppers?

Did you ever find anything in the code that would stop the chickens from being legal?

The only thing I can find for Charlotte Co is that they're not mentioned anywere as illegal and they are listed as domesticated animals. But if you get complaints from neighbors, and the county believes it's enough complaining, they can stop you from keeping them. Not sure what "enough" would be.

I am heartened by the fact I saw a rooster behind a man as he entered his house the other way. In our neighborhood too, within walking distance. Interesting...!