Busted maybe

[FalcoOat]

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This is great information! We are in a similar situation. The city allows chickens, but we just found out that we had CC&R's, that only allow 'customary household pets (including birds)'. We have no HOA, but did receive a visit from the developer who had received a couple of calls over this. We were in the process of building the coop, and apparently the structure was not in compliance. We are working to make the structure compliant, but we are worried about the chicks that are supposed to come in August. We are hoping no one will want to spend the time or money to fight us, but it does make me very nervous!

 

[FalcoOat]

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This also makes me feel a little better. Is it true though, that they can't succeed if the other covenants aren't being enforced?? That would be good news for us, but I fear this is just wishful thinking. Think it is time to talk to a lawyer.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
This also makes me feel a little better. Is it true though, that they can't succeed if the other covenants aren't being enforced?? That would be good news for us, but I fear this is just wishful thinking. Think it is time to talk to a lawyer.

Be prepared though. If you ignore the Covenants because you want chickens your neighbors have as much right to ignore portions of the covenants they don't like based on your precedent.

 

[FalcoOat]

Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay :

Quote:
This also makes me feel a little better. Is it true though, that they can't succeed if the other covenants aren't being enforced?? That would be good news for us, but I fear this is just wishful thinking. Think it is time to talk to a lawyer.

Be prepared though. If you ignore the Covenants because you want chickens your neighbors have as much right to ignore portions of the covenants they don't like based on your precedent.​

Understood... And to be fair, our covenants are pretty vague for the most part, and mostly for the builders to refer to. Considering we are surrounded by lots of noisy dogs/kennels/plastic outbuildings/various other things I wouldn't opt for, I also am a firm believer that you paid for your property and part of living in a neighborhood means you are going to be around people who have a different 'vision' that you, and as long as it does not pose an obvious threat, I am certainly not one to take issue.

For the record, if i in any way thought th this would impact my neighborhood negatively, I would not pursue it, since i am very interested in a being a good neighbor even if the law doesn't explicitly say i have to be.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

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Be prepared though. If you ignore the Covenants because you want chickens your neighbors have as much right to ignore portions of the covenants they don't like based on your precedent.

Understood... And to be fair, our covenants are pretty vague for the most part, and mostly for the builders to refer to. Considering we are surrounded by lots of noisy dogs/kennels/plastic outbuildings/various other things I wouldn't opt for, I also am a firm believer that you paid for your property and part of living in a neighborhood means you are going to be around people who have a different 'vision' that you, and as long as it does not pose an obvious threat, I am certainly not one to take issue.

For the record, if i in any way thought th this would impact my neighborhood negatively, I would not pursue it, since i am very interested in a being a good neighbor even if the law doesn't explicitly say i have to be.

Good for you!

sheesh some of these people in HOA's think they have the right to dictate to anyone

 

[cindylo]

I live in a neighborhood with a HOA and covenants that has been around for over 40 years. Nobody else has ckickens but us.

Yes, the covenants say no chickens, but the city recently passed an ordinance allowing up to 6 hens per backyard. Nobody's trying to stop me, and the only comments so far are that my chickens are quiet, chickens dont stink after all, they're cute! I did tell folks what I was planning on in advance, and nobody complained then, or now.

I have a next door neighbor who comes to visit them at least once a week, and has volunteered to check on them when we go camping. This is one of the people who I thought might really raise #$%^ over my new hobby.

My old neighborhood also had covenants and restrictopns, and like some of the other posters mentioned, they were heavily related to building and construction. Funny though, the covenants really worked for us as homeowners when the developer wanted to downzone some unsold property for a commercial business use we did not want. The city told us they wouldn't help us uphold the covenants when the developer proposed the downzone. We replied that although they weren't obligated to help us maintain our neighborhood, the developer needed the city to cooperate with him to downzone the land. And, if the city helped him out like that, we would be adding their entity to our civil suit, and we would hold them accountable that way. The city refused to downzone. So yes, it works both ways.