Chicken Friendly HOA Littleton, Colorado

[darkwolf423]

Finally my husband is getting a job transfer from icky Phoenix, AZ and we're moving to Denver. We want to buy a house in Littleton but I'm having a hard time locating houses that either the HOA allows chickens or is non-covenant. I'd love a non-covenant home however, those seem to be few, far between, and lack other neccessities my family needs.

Anyone from the Littleton area with suggestions on subdivisions to look for or battling HOAs or want to make a new friend when I move? lol We'll be there in about 3 to 5 weeks and I'd love to hit the ground running on making new friends especially with like-minded folks.

PS I don't own chickens yet. But I really want to! <- a little redundant since we're on a chicken forum-...

 

[darkwolf423]

Another thought, through research, Littleton City ordinances previously considered chickens household pets before giving them their own section governing how many can be kept but never renamed them anything other than "household pets". Would an HOA have to abide by that definition of "household pet"?

 

[Kikiriki]

HOA's can have more restrictive rules than city or county ordinances and they are enforcable.
:/
Littleton is a great place! Got sent there for work for a few months and had a wonderful time, plus the very best margarita I have ever had! It is very built up with subdivision's, though, so I suspect you will have a hard time finding chicken friendly places...

Hope you get a response from some locals there.

Plus, do not be in a big rush to get chickens: there is a lot to see and do before you tether yourself to a chicken coop! My favorite thing was to just get on the road and drive into the mountains. Manitou Springs is really charming, and the other little mountain towns are, too!

I have to say one thing I found utterly disappointing was the fact that every single shop was stocked with mementos for Colorado made in freakin China!! Nothing by local artisans! If you are crafty, that could be a real way to make some extra money! Use local materials, and make items that reflect local history and culture. Aspen wood bowls were even carved in China. Little trinkets were the exact same trinkets found in other places, just with the imprinted name changed! It was really crazy...i found one shop in the mountains that had local art, but it was all too pricey for my budget. Really sad...

 

[darkwolf423]

I really loved it when we visited. I hope we can find something that works. I really want my cake and eat it too. We have two greyhounds and a cat. So we're already fairly tied down. lol Chickens probably won't be for another couple years anyways. But we want to invest in a property that will accomodate all our desires.

 

[allieb8228]

We're in Littleton and are new chicken parents. We don't have an HOA so I can't comment on that, but there are plenty of areas where that shouldn't be a problem. What parts of Littleton are you looking in?

 

[jenjohnsonkw]

Hi! I live in highlands ranch. Which is also Littleton. I have four chickens. Highlands ranch allows four. I would love to make new friends also.

 

[Araucana16]

I'm in Littleton, Columbine Valley.

I can tell you to avoid surrounding areas... this area is very scrict on chicken ownership. You simply will not be able to get it past them. I know from experience.

 

[darkwolf423]

We bought a house in Columbine Knolls. The HOA is optional and it's the HOA that enforces the rules. We also got a corner lot and our two neighbors are super cool and extra granola crunchy. So, I think we're going to try. Our house will be between one neighbor and the coop and then 1/4 acre between us and the next neighbor. Plus the coop will be 40 ft off the road and 150 ft from the other road and hidden by my garden to anyone who peeks over the fence, so I don't think anyone will catch on. lol Besides, like I said, the HOA clearly has no power here. I can count at least 40 violations on the street our house faces from one stop sign to the next. I figured I could buy off my neighbors compliance with eggs and free fertilizer for their gardens. lol

 

[Araucana16]

That's great! Our chickens were well hidden, but a neighbor spotted them and reported us... The hoa then trespassed, saying they had reasonable suspicion we were breaking the law, so it wasn't illegal...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

That's great! Our chickens were well hidden, but a neighbor spotted them and reported us... The hoa then trespassed, saying they had reasonable suspicion we were breaking the law, so it wasn't illegal...

Unless they had a legal search warrant, entering your property is generally illegal. Now if you have them in an unfenced area, that might not be the case, and if they are in plain sight from an unfenced area, it might be legal. Now that is for law enforcement, not HOA personnel. For them, trespass is trespass, and that is a criminal act (unless in the CC&Rs there is a covenant that allows the HOA to enter any area of the property upon their own discretion). Breaking HOA covenants is not breaking the law. HOA covenants are not laws; they are contractual agreements between private parties: the HOA and the member.