City Issued a Citation and claims we aren’t allowed to have chickens due to neighbor’s complaint. What are my options?

[All4Eggz]

Well, not really much updates about amending the ordinance.
I am consistently reaching out to the council member who said something should be done by the end of May.
He told me it was delayed to sometime in June. So MAYBE this month.



The letter said no chickens, right?
What about..

View attachment 3851461
DUCKS?
Absolutely. I got 5 little around 2 week old muscovy ducklings. A friend said his ducks hatched too many ducklings and he wanted to give me a few so I took them.

View attachment 3851463View attachment 3851464View attachment 3851465
View attachment 3851467
I don’t know how long I will have them, but I have people who can take them in a heart beet if need be.
They are not very loud so I’m not too worried about neighbors hearing and reporting, but even if they do, city needs a warrant to get on my property, and they need proof where in the letter it says I can’t have ducks. Then they’ll send a letter which will typically give us another week to get rid of them.

So we’ll see how this plays out I’m just happy to have these right now it brings me joy. They’re the cutest thing ever when they splash in their little pool and stay in there for hours.

Also something worth noting is that it’s my first time having ducklings!!

So we actually did get another complaint, another call today from the city saying we need to get them off the property, move the coop, and fix a few other things in the yard, or we’ll get fined.

So I brought the little ducklings to my cousin, he has a few toddlers who will take good care of them and they have a little pond they are working on so they’re going to have a great home.

I’m in the process of getting a lawyer, the city cannot tell me to move my EMPTY coop away from the property line as far as I’m aware. They also mentioned things like the parts car needs to be removed, shed needs to be brought farther from the line. Those are some things he mentioned from the original visit, but this time he wants the coop moved even though it’s EMPTY. That’s new.
(this was just over the phone, they didn’t come to the house or on the property).

 

[All4Eggz]

Here they are at their new home.

 

[EdgeC]

I would start with trying to control the rat problem. That may require the help of a professional.

professional rat terrior, CAN kill 2,500 rats over 7 hours (single dog). That's ofc with high rat density.

 

[Nym]

So we actually did get another complaint, another call today from the city saying we need to get them off the property, move the coop, and fix a few other things in the yard, or we’ll get fined.

So I brought the little ducklings to my cousin, he has a few toddlers who will take good care of them and they have a little pond they are working on so they’re going to have a great home.

I’m in the process of getting a lawyer, the city cannot tell me to move my EMPTY coop away from the property line as far as I’m aware. They also mentioned things like the parts car needs to be removed, shed needs to be brought farther from the line. Those are some things he mentioned from the original visit, but this time he wants the coop moved even though it’s EMPTY. That’s new.
(this was just over the phone, they didn’t come to the house or on the property).

Someone is out to make your life difficult. If your shed etc conformed to code at the time of build, you don't have to do anything. Car parts etc are your property and unless they are out front blocking pedestrian access etc, there is nothing anyone can do.

 

[NatJ]

Someone is out to make your life difficult. If your shed etc conformed to code at the time of build, you don't have to do anything. Car parts etc are your property and unless they are out front blocking pedestrian access etc, there is nothing anyone can do.

Some of that depends on how the rules are written in that area. In some places, if the car parts are visible from the street, they CAN do something (examples: charge a fine if the homeowner does not remove the items. Or pay someone else to move them and then send the bill to the homeowner.)

I’m in the process of getting a lawyer, the city cannot tell me to move my EMPTY coop away from the property line as far as I’m aware. They also mentioned things like the parts car needs to be removed, shed needs to be brought farther from the line. Those are some things he mentioned from the original visit, but this time he wants the coop moved even though it’s EMPTY. That’s new.
(this was just over the phone, they didn’t come to the house or on the property).

I agree that getting a lawyer is a very good idea at this point. That can help sort out which things you can be required to do, and which ones someone demands but cannot actually enforce.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Some of that depends on how the rules are written in that area. In some places, if the car parts are visible from the street, they CAN do something (examples: charge a fine if the homeowner does not remove the items. Or pay someone else to move them and then send the bill to the homeowner.)

Exactly this. Depends totally on where you are. Where I am, they absolutely can and have done this. I filed complaints and the county followed through. The person had to take down a shed and other outbuildings. This is Riverfront, very strict rules, but the sheds were to close to the road, not the River.

 

[Klutch]

View attachment 3853530View attachment 3853531View attachment 3853532View attachment 3853533
Here they are at their new home.

Nice muskies

 

[Missflo40]

I would start poisoning the rats right away. In my neighborhood, I have a neighbor who is getting similar complaints. Everyone, including myself, has seen rats in her woods and around her barn, and last year, our neighborhood got overtaken by rats. Our neighbors had a legit reason to complain about my neighbor with the farm, but to some of us, the blame for the rats shouldn't only be on her. We live in a trailer park, and there's a lot of people here who have overflowing dumpsters, trashed yards and houses. So as far as she getting all the blame, some of us agree that the rats are coming from all the trash- not just the chickens.

I've been raising chickens for nearly thirteen years, and only in the past couple of years, I've been dealing with rats. This I blame entirely on a nearby neighbor who often has an overflowing dumpster (this dumpster has even called in vultures). As soon as I see new rats moving in, I put out this one-bite poison screwed to a board in a fully enclosed run that's attached to my chicken coop. The rats will eat it all within a couple of nights, and because they live under the coop itself, they're having minimal access to predators who might eat them afterwards.

• Kill off the rats.
• Ensure your neighborhood is clean, and if not, move some of the blame to that.
• Know your town/city's ordinance on chicken keeping, right to farm, and possibly food sovereignty as well.

 

[EdgeC]

Exactly this. Depends totally on where you are. Where I am, they absolutely can and have done this. I filed complaints and the county followed through. The person had to take down a shed and other outbuildings. This is Riverfront, very strict rules, but the sheds were to close to the road, not the River.

Im bias and a bit of a Ahole... sounds like liberal city problems. Build a wall, around all of these places and keep the people who voted and pushed for these laws/restrictions don't expand. I know I know... what about those people who had nothing to do with it and just moved there or something? I refer to them, the story of Icarus and inform them, that they in fact flew to close to the sun.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Im bias and a bit of a Ahole... sounds like liberal city problems. Build a wall, around all of these places and keep the people who voted and pushed for these laws/restrictions don't expand. I know I know... what about those people who had nothing to do with it and just moved there or something? I refer to them, the story of Icarus and inform them, that they in fact flew to close to the sun.

I wish I understood what you're saying here, I just don't. Building a wall around a River is not a thing for both liberal and conservative cities so you lost me....