Are hens allowed by this covenant?

[gg706]

IF I really wanted to keep chickens...I would get my own attorney and pay to have the covenants interpreted and see if an attorney hired by me would have a different opinion. The covenants really sound silly to me! I would probably fight it, as I love having chickens!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Only a judge can truly answer the question posed, but I suspect that chickens are actually still in the running and this is why. At first there is an exclusion for poultry (clearly a chicken), but then makes allowances for pets in cages provided that they aren't ROOSTERS. Now the fact that they specifically exclude roosters, but not poultry in general makes it seem likely that roosters ARE noisy, chickens, not so much. The real problem in these darned things are that the HOA runs up healthy fines (usually on a daily basis) for violations and taking them to courts costs money, potentially loosing huge amounts in fines is a risk and so no one can really take these things on. The fact that the HOA attorney gives an opinion (he's paid by the HOA what opinion do you think he's going to give?)....he probably wrote the provision and the HOA is saying...hey wait a minute...you didn't included chickens? are you nuts? we're going to sue YOU!

Possible, but unless the HOA is very new, don't count on them using the same attorney (unless it is a resident who has volunteered his time). In fact, from the wording of the covenant, I'm not sure it was written by an attorney...certainly not a good one.

 

[Concrete101]

Thats the problem theses days, 99% of the lawyers give the rest a bad name!!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

No. You only hear about the bad ones. There are dozens of good attorneys--you just don't hear about them because they do their jobs calmly and quietly and effectively. My point about changing had more to do with the changing of board members and lack of corporate memory of what the board has done in the past. Speaking from experience.

 

[ljwsav]

In the past year there has been a new County Ordinance dealing with Backyard Chickens. By the new County standards I am allowed to have up to 5 hens and NO roosters. The convenent is for our development and it appears that there are some Board members that do not want chickens in the development (some do think the convenent allows hens). Our development was first subdivided in the 1960's. My guess is the intent was to allow chickens. So I guess the next step is to lawyer up and see what happens.

Thanks for the reponse.