Chicken Coop in violation.

GAAAAAAAH! We just got a visit from a Code Compliance Officer. Apparently the chicken coop that I'm working on at my in laws' home (fewer code restrictions there) is not as code compliant as we thought. It's not an issue of the chickens but the structure being so near the fence (building on the setback?). I guess a neighbor complained after they found out it was for chickens. They didn't have a problem with it three months ago when they thought I was building a shed and a garden! Now after I've spent long hours and too much money Code Compliance says there is something wrong with it! I want to move way out in the country right about now and have nothing to do with anybody. Okay. I'm done venting.

 

This guy is ready to move into the new digs with all his ladies.

 

That's part of the frusteration. I've spent way too many hours on this thing to make it visually appealing for the neighbor's sake. I've spent a lot more extra work on the run construction to ensure it can be cleaned properly so smell will never be an issue. This is how all the hard work has paid off.

 

I made the mistake of assuming the governing authority shouldn't/wouldn't worry about what we're building on our own property (or in-laws in this case). I thought, being a Police Officer myself, I could decipher the pertinent city ordinances on my own. Now, after reading the sections highlighted (which are hard to find) by the Code Compliance guy it looks like a permit is required at twice the normal cost (cause the building has already started) and either the roof has to be about a foot and a half lower (which would ruin the entire plan for a well ventilated coop) or it has to move about thirty feet.