Chicken-hating in Rancho Cucamonga :(

[ckseals]

Well, a nosy neighbor finally did it. After 3.5 years with my same flock, a neighbor had the city come out and tell us we have to get rid of our girls. HEART-BREAKING!
We don't have kids...these are our kids!
Municipal code was fine, but found out we didn't check the development code that there must be a 70' distance between coop and any inhabitant dwelling. That's an effective ban on chickens in Rancho!
What a crock!
Began researching and drafting an appeal, but after being laughed at by a coucilman who said, "You're talking about Rancho? Ha!", we've now begun looking at plots of land in other cities
My heart is broken and angry.

 

[elhjones]

i'm so sorry to hear that! i'm heart broken for you!

i've read that a lot of cities are "allowing" backyard chickens but putting those distance restrictions in the ordinance, which is really their way of not allowing them. i'm just getting started with a petition here in Corona to take to the City Council to get our ordinances changed. i will be sure to watch out for those kind of restrictions.

seems that if neighbors and city council were more informed to the benefits and myths they might not laugh it off so easily... but there will always be someone who wants to complain!

i hope your girls could find another good home for now - maybe a petition would be a good place to start to get some local support. perhaps if city council saw that, they would look a little more closely at permitting even on just a case by case basis.

I used signon.org to start my petition - it was really easy and you can send it via e-mail, facebook, and twitter - way easier to get signatures without having to go door to door.

Good Luck!

 

[Halokirbs]

I also live in RC. We are getting hens for our back yard. Many people in RC have hens. The laws need to change. We will be giving eggs to neighbors. Free eggs goes a long way to making good neighbors.

 

[tcstoehr]

If it's just the coop that's the issue, can you do without a coop? Although I suppose the rules also state that the hens must be cooped. But if not, I might claim that I have a tool shed, and my chickens just happen to like sleeping in there. Yeah... I know.

 

[Halokirbs]

There are always ways around big government intervention. I have personal knowledge that many people in RC have backyard chickens. They should be encouraging it rather than discouraging it.