$840 fine for 4 chickens in Vacaville CA

[dancingflower68]

Good luck at the meeting!! I signed the petition for ya!

 

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[mama2princesses]

I just found out about this on facebook. It is total baloney!!!! Limits, whatever.... require coops, whatever.. But if they tell me I have to get rid of my girls I will be ******!!! My 4 hens are FAR quieter than the yappy dogs that bark all the time!! My hens are free roaming and have never gotten through or over the fence to affect my neighbors yard. I keep their feeding area (my patio) clean and have NEVER seen a rat or anything funky (thank goodness!!!) , and there is never a smell coming from my house because of them. BELIEVE me, my neighbor would be the FIRST to complain and she has told me many times before that they do not bother her one bit and her dog listens to them and wags his tail when he hears them. I even give her eggs from time to time.

uggh so frustrated!! But from what I understand is that there is conflicting rules so no enforcement can be made?? And they are going to wait till there is money in the budget to re-visit it? Is that correct? So for now our hens are safe???

 

[mama2princesses]

oh and I cant edit to add so I have to make a new post.. When I got my hens in Oct of 2010 I called city code compliance and asked and was told that I could legally have hens on my property. I'm reading now that this was amended not to allow chickens in April of 2011... so seems utterly nuts that they could even enforce it since it happened after the fact. Doesn't make sense at all. Does that mean all owners that legally got backyard hens before 2011 would have to get rid of their hens?? That seems crazy

 

[MsLisaG]

Yes, there is "no money in the budget" to do any research on the subject, so city council opted to not change any of the ordinances at all. I wouldn't necessarily say that our hens are safe because it was (somewhat unoficially) clarified that no chickens are allowed on any property less than an acre in size. This however doesn't change the fact that the code is confusing and contradictory at best. It also doesn't change the fact that the city is so short staffed that it doesn't have the resources it needs to have "chicken police," or that animal control can't enforce a zoning code, as admitted by an animal control officer. So even though the outcome of the meeting wasn't necessarily what we wanted, I would say that as long as a chicken owner is responsible and there isn't an issue with noise or cleanliness, there isn't a ton to worry about in this particular case.

 

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[alicia2364]

I was also at the meeting and it is total garbage and it's not over yet so have faith. If they had presented evidence and facts to make their ruling I would have been upset but understanding, but to say we don't have the money to resolve the conflict which we agree exists therefore get rid of your chickens until we have the money to do a real investigation is a bunch of crap. I suggested a meetup of the Vacaville homestead group to discuss the next action, so we will see what happens.

 

[alicia2364]

The reason we are not allowed to keep our chickens is because at the Vacaville city council meeting in order to save money they chose to use the law which states that in order to have chickens you must at least 1 acre of land and 1000 square feet per chicken and they are ignoring all of the conflicting laws. While they did agree they were conflicts and they were even confused regarding the different laws that permitted chickens, they said they don't have the money to do a true study into the conflicts in order for more clarification. Animal control was all there so I am sure the word went out because that's what they are citing people with. I was at the meeting some I am speaking with first hand knowledge. No it is not fair, and the fight will continue. If you are not a member of the meetup group Vacaville homesteaders or the east bay homesteaders you should join.

 

[MsLisaG]

I was at the meeting as well, and I agree with what alicia2364 is saying. I still believe, however that for those that already have chickens, as long as they aren't reported they are probably safe. Then, even if they ARE reported, someone from zoning has to come out and issue the citation. Animal control only has the authority to enforce animal codes, not zoning issues. Not to say they won't try though.

There are several conflicting codes, and as stated before, the code prohibiting chickens specifically states that it is for the Residential Estates zone only. Like the vice mayor stated, this issue is becoming a larger one and gaining steam. The decision not to research this ordinance (or at least clarify and clean up the ordinances so there will be no confusion in the future,) most certainly WILL cost them more money in the future. In the mean time, my feathered friends aren't going anywhere. If I am ever to be reported, I will fight to the death to keep them. I would never advocate knowingly breaking an ordinance, but when we got our chickens I was told that they were legal. I'm not going to get rid of them.