Chickens outlawed by annex

[Snozzle]

I could cry, I just found out that our area is going to be annexed by the town and therefor making it illegal to keep chickens. The property has been in my boyfriends family for decades and the street is even named after his grandfather. A few years ago they began building sub devisions all around us, so many street lights now I can't hardly see the stars at night and now this. The family has raised cows and chickens for generations. Is there anything we can do to keep our birds, maybe some laws that protect us?

 

[gmendoza]

Maybe a grandfather clause,maybe a farm clause.check with your local ordinace.

 

[urban escapee]

Is it a done deal or is this something you can fight? Gather your neighbors and go to the council meetings, get the ordinance changed, and do what you can to delay the annexation.

 

[Snozzle]

It's not a done deal yet and people are fighting it, but there are only a few elderly farmers, my boyfriends family and us, the rest of the people in this area are the ones that moved into all these new luxury condos in our backyard and they are all for the annexation, they will probably be happy when my rooster doesn't wake them up every morning. We really don't have any say in the community, I'm not even a US citizen and technically it's not our property, it's my boyfriends grandfathers, but we take care of the property and him, because he has advanced alzheimers. The chickens are actually therapeutic for grandpa, he loves watching them and they get him walking around a bit to look at them and he talks to them, maybe we can pass them off as service animals this way.

 

[Snozzle]

The more I read about this the scarier it gets. The city is dead set on taking over this land and the property taxes will double. So pretty much all of the farmers here will lose their land, I know most of them and they are financially struggling as it is, most of them are in their 70's and 80's. This is horrible, just want to move to another county after reading this.

 

[pawtraitart]

I would check to see if the property you live on can be grandfathered in since you already have the birds, there. I've seen this land grabbing happen in other areas and the old timers are often allowed to keep their livestock. Seriously, check into it. This kind of thing really gets my blood pressure up. Sorry to hear about this happening to you.

 

[OldGuy43]

Check out this Tennessee state statute:

Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-208

You do have a grandfather law.

 

[Snozzle]

Woohoo thanks I will sleep much better tonight knowing that I will be able to keep them, well as long as they let me sleep and don't start construction back up on more condos right on our property line.

 

[OldGuy43]

Woohoo thanks I will sleep much better tonight knowing that I will be able to keep them, well as long as they let me sleep and don't start construction back up on more condos right on our property line.

Always a pleasure to deliver good news. Incidentally, knew a family once who had a large chicken ranch right in the middle of a large bedroom community because a a grandfather law.