Chicken Laws in Upland, CA?

[Roxy1778]

Hi! I've been doing some research on chicken laws where I live, and was dismayed to find that according to http://www.qcode.us/codes/upland/ I can't keep chickens in a "SFR SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT", but agricultural zones are fine. Does anyone know of a way I can get around this? I have a fairly large backyard, but it's not 20,000 sq ft, so it can hardly count as agricultural.

Edit: Oh, I found most of the information in titles 17 and 18.

 

[WantUplandEggs]

Hello,

Did you have any luck with Upland and the chicken law. Seems pretty sad that they won't allow chickens. We want some and live in Upland, so I was just curious if you took action and the outcome. Any help is appreciated

 

[jfmiroslav]

@jfmiroslav, you can click on a users name to see when they were last active. If they haven't been active for some time, it is not likely you will get an answer. However, there is a forum for the states. Introduce yourself, ask if anyone is in your area. State threads are pinned at the very top - go into that thread and find your state.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/

Thanks!!
great tip!!

 

[jfmiroslav]

Hi Upland Ca residents!

So they finally called me back from animal services.... they said:

"yes and no"

1. municipal code "18.08.060 Prohibited uses and structures" says no poultry allowed for any purpose.

2. municipal code: "17.51.010 Definitions" Animal-Keeping, Non-Commercial Up to five chickens are permitted in single-family residential zone

for the time being they are not acting on any fines; but they were told that the predominant part of the law is to restrict poultry and the law is in the process of being corrected. I was told by the end of the year or next (at the latest) the prohibition will go in place.

in other words, we can get chickens now, but will have to relocate them next year. :_(

 

[Difarmer]

Hi,
Our family is in the process of building a chicken house in back and we live in Upland. We have wanted to do this for a long time and have many friends in surrounding cities that have theirs
set up.
We have not called the city, but after looking online, I could not find a definitive statement
not allowing chickens as house pets. So....... we are going for it.
We have a large garden and having our own eggs is the next step.

What part of Upland do you live in.?
I live close to the Upland City Hall. I too have been researching cannot find a clear answer. So I am also going to start to build my chicken coop. No rooster, just six hens. Good luck to both of us.

 

[trishamil]

Hi Trishamil, How is it going with your chickens?

I live in Upland as well and I am planning to get a few for my kids this spring and have some concerns (same as everyone else):
1. City law (is it allowed? Do I need to vaccinate periodically?),
2. noise level (no rooster),
3. zoning requirements (can I place coop at the end of property line?, Do I need to register animal?)

I called the city, but no one knows anything.... (lol).
I called the police department, they send me to animal control.
I called animal control twice, but they don't return call.....

I also found the zoning code saying "Up to five chickens are permitted in single-family residential zones." But that is vague and incomplete.....

Has anyone had any problems with neighbors or city? any advice?

I LOVE my chickens, and I've never had any issues with any of my neighbors. My coop and run are in the back corner of my property which is also the back corners of my 3 adjacent neighbors. We do live on approx 12K sq lot. I now have 4 girls, no rooster. I'd like to get a couple more. Even though I've never had an issue, I am still very motivated to change the city law...if in fact they are not allowed. I have seen on my Google search too regarding "Animal keeping" that up to 5 hens are allowed, but I can only find that in "Definitions". I'm super motived to see what I can do. I'm going into city hall tomorrow to see what I can find out.

 

[lor1122]

I live in Upland and a year or two ago I sent several letters to the city pointing out that every other city around us allows hens. I would love to see the rules changed here... Especially since I just read an article that even San Merino is considering it. Do you have any ideas? Maybe you could send a letter too and hopefully get more of a response than I did.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

These are the cities I know of.
Berkeley: Unlimited Chickens, 25 feet from neighbors house
Irvine: 2 Chickens
Los Angeles: 1 Rooster, Unlimited Hens, 35 feet from neighbors house
Oakland: Unlimited Hens, 20 feet from neighbors house
San Jose: 6 Chickens, 20 feet from neighbors house
San Francisco: 4 Chickens, 20 feet from any house

 

[Jmibullfrog]

The link doesn't give the answers I was looking for. I was trying to get at what constitutes a "Chicken Run" and how many chickens. It sounds like they are talking about commercial chicken use, not residential "pets". Maybe I'll write them a letter too.

 

[Roxy1778]

I'll definitely send some letters. Even though at this point I doubt my parents would consent to having chickens, there's no harm in making it possible for others here.