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

[All4Eggz]

Got an email this morning!


“
All hands on deck!

Anyone you know that would like to have chickens can attend the zoning planning and development meeting tomorrow evening starting at 5:30. I believe it's up to the discretion of the chair person to allow comment on something that is on the agenda for that evening. So have something in writing, 3 copies, to submit.

The public hearing for this ordinance timed out so we will have to schedule another one with the planning board and the city council so that is going to delay things a few weeks. Once those public hearings are closed, the public cannot comment anymore. So if anyone wants to say anything about this they need to put it in writing and email the three zoning planning and development members and planning board members.

Below you will find things we will discuss tomorrow and going forward. Please reply to me with any suggestions comments or concerns I really appreciate your input! thank you so much.

If this goes smoothly, best case scenario would be to have a city council public hearing in April as well as the planning board and then in May we would need two meetings to vote on this and pass it so hopefully by May 15th we will have a new ordinance. If not, by June 5th meeting

The ordinance is for chickens only

6 HENS FOR EVERY 7500FT LOT

MAX NUMBER (20?)

INCREASE OF 3 CHICKENS PER 7500 SQ FT (THIS ESSENTIALLY YIELDS THE MAX OF 20 FOR 40K SQ FT AND UP. 1 ACRE LOT

ONE COOP PER PROPERTY

NO ROOSTERS

ENCLOSED, SECURE COOP AND ENCLOSED RUN (OPTIONAL)

All food must be securely stored
(UNNECESSARY?)

15 foot distance from property lines
AND 30 FT FROM NEIGHBORING STRUCTURES. (OLDER PROPERTIES MAY HAVE STRUCTURES CLOSE TO LINE)

Ordinance to be enforced by the Animal control department

Application to be filed with the Animal Control Office with application fee.

Any exceptions would require a special permit
SPECIAL PERMIT ONLY FOR UNDER 7500 SQ FT AND TO ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

Annual inspection by the Animal Control Depatrment for a fee
“

I believe the text in parenthesis are his own ideas about some things that may be brought up.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Got an email this morning!


“
All hands on deck!

Anyone you know that would like to have chickens can attend the zoning planning and development meeting tomorrow evening starting at 5:30. I believe it's up to the discretion of the chair person to allow comment on something that is on the agenda for that evening. So have something in writing, 3 copies, to submit.

The public hearing for this ordinance timed out so we will have to schedule another one with the planning board and the city council so that is going to delay things a few weeks. Once those public hearings are closed, the public cannot comment anymore. So if anyone wants to say anything about this they need to put it in writing and email the three zoning planning and development members and planning board members.

Below you will find things we will discuss tomorrow and going forward. Please reply to me with any suggestions comments or concerns I really appreciate your input! thank you so much.

If this goes smoothly, best case scenario would be to have a city council public hearing in April as well as the planning board and then in May we would need two meetings to vote on this and pass it so hopefully by May 15th we will have a new ordinance. If not, by June 5th meeting

The ordinance is for chickens only

6 HENS FOR EVERY 7500FT LOT

MAX NUMBER (20?)

INCREASE OF 3 CHICKENS PER 7500 SQ FT (THIS ESSENTIALLY YIELDS THE MAX OF 20 FOR 40K SQ FT AND UP. 1 ACRE LOT

ONE COOP PER PROPERTY

NO ROOSTERS

ENCLOSED, SECURE COOP AND ENCLOSED RUN (OPTIONAL)

All food must be securely stored
(UNNECESSARY?)

15 foot distance from property lines
AND 30 FT FROM NEIGHBORING STRUCTURES. (OLDER PROPERTIES MAY HAVE STRUCTURES CLOSE TO LINE)

Ordinance to be enforced by the Animal control department

Application to be filed with the Animal Control Office with application fee.

Any exceptions would require a special permit
SPECIAL PERMIT ONLY FOR UNDER 7500 SQ FT AND TO ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

Annual inspection by the Animal Control Depatrment for a fee
“

I believe the text in parenthesis are his own ideas about some things that may be brought up.

Wow! Great news then! I hope it all goes well for you and that you can get this passed.

 

[All4Eggz]

At the zoning and development meeting, the discussion on amending the chicken ordinance was at the end of the agenda. So I patiently waited 2 hours and finally, they began discussing a proposition for a new ordinance.

The point of this discussion was for the council to figure out a reasonable ordinance that they could put forth in the committee to get voted on *if it gets a yes vote at this hearing.

The city planner was present and discussed with the council on what they could propose. The one I got an the email was a draft, I guess, so that wasn't officially what they were putting through.

Instead of 7500 sq ft for 6 hens they brought it down to 5000, with the required coop distance from property lines at 10 feet and from neighboring structures at 30 feet. This is very reasonable. I liked the initial "draft" or discussion that allowed for an additional 3 hens for every 7500 sq feet but because the city planner wanted to kind of ease it in, he wanted to keep the limit of chickens low. I brought that up but it got shut down quickly. I asked if there could be a possibility for people with more land to have more hens than 6. They decided on 40,000 feet. I said that doesn't make sense... 6 hens for 5,000 square feet and 40,000 for 12?? So someone with 39,000 square feet (still nearly an acre) can only have 6 hens? The council actually considered my input and they changed it to 20,000 square feet. So 6 hens at 5000 sq ft and 12 at 20,000 sq ft. I was happy with even this.

Then came the vote. 3 members of the council were there to vote. I needed 2 out of 3.
And I got exactly that!! They voted in favor which means they put the ordinance proposal into writing, made a petition in the name of the city council, and put it through to be discussed at public hearings.


This is already major. I've been waiting and working hard for over a year on this. Took so long to get it on the agenda to even be discussed, and now it was voted yes to be put into voting.

So, May 1st (in TWO days) there is a public hearing by the city council to vote on the matter. Public input is welcome, and the city councilor asked me to prepare to speak.
May 6th is the second public hearing, and this one is by the planning board. They also allow for public input.

This is so so big. People told me it wasn't possible. I talked to paralegals, councilors, city officials, chicken owners, nearby towns-- and for the last two years I've gathered so much information that debunks chickens being a problem in city limits. I presented information in writing at the hearing last month and the council was impressed.

Thank you for all your support. I'm looking forward to attend both hearings and hopefully they vote yes to put it into law!!!

The councilor that I work with closely says he predicts there's a good chance it will go through!
Every surrounding town allows chickens in all zones with some or no limitations (i.e, number of chickens, no roosters, etc.), and our town is more agriculturally based or farming based compared to most nearby towns.

Looking forward to updating you all with hopefully great news!!

 

[tlcmurphy]

Congratulations, this is huge! Can’t wait for the updates

 

[Iluveggers]

Yay! Good luck & thanks for the update!

 

[cassie]

Some time last year the city came because of a noise complaint, demanding we get rid of almost all the flock and all the roosters. We had almost 10 roosters, had to get rid of all of them.
Had about 60 chickens, they said we can only have 15 so we brought it down to about 20 and the guy let us slide. He’s a nice guy, always is trying to help us and doing everything he can to let us keep the chickens.

That was sometime last year. We’ve had chickens for around a decade so we thought we’re off the hook. City clearly said we are allowed 15 hens because of the size of the coop and property, multiple inspections followed the complaint last year.

Some back story. Fresh eggs are huge in our family. Chickens are a big deal here. We don’t even eat store bought eggs, before they would even make some of our stomachs hurt.
So I am trying to do anything I can to keep these hens. We don’t sell eggs anymore, no profit from them. Just the fresh eggs, and occasionally, meat.

I am just needing help on how I can fight them this time…

It’s the same neighbor complaining this time.
This time there’s rats “coming from the coop and into her garage.” And i don’t deny we have rats, i’ve seen a few here and there. The chickens are close to her property line but we have double fencing to divide both sides.
The guy from the city claimed she provided “evidence” of the rats because she took photos/videos of them in her garage.
HOW is this evidence that they’re coming from our coop, and how is that enough to force us to get rid of all our chickens?

The man mentioned something about other neighbors being involved, so she must’ve got other people on board to fight against us.

I am willing to do what it takes the keep the 15 that we were allowed in the first place.

Thinking of moving the coop to the other side of the property, it would be almost an acre away from the complaining neighbor’s fencing.
I can get an exterminator for the rats if it I find it to be affordable…. I’ll do this if I need to. I’m not going to do it if I have to get rid of the chickens either way.

Please share your experiences if any, and any insight on what to do/how to do it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

First of all, insist they give you the citation numbers if they haven't already. Then go to the local law library and research the law yourself. I have found the reference librarians to be very helpful. What the officials say the law is, is very often not what the law says. Sometimes it is not even close. Research ways to get rid of the rats. You need to do that anyway. Have you thought of getting or borrowing a Jack Russel? I used to work on a dairy that was overrun with rats. My boss got rid of them, and he didn't hire an exterminator either. He used what were called pitch paks. I don't know if they are still available, but they worked. In a very short period of time the rats were gone and they never returned. Your local farm advisor's office should be able to help you with the rats.

 

[All4Eggz]

The hearing went very well. I expected to be one of maybe 2 people that spoke in favor of the ordinance. There were four total from the public that stood up to speak in support, or in favor of the ordinance. No one present from the public spoke in opposition.
We addressed concerns such as waste management, proximity to neighbors, special permits, inspections, etc. The city council seemed to be mostly in favor of moving forward with it- thats what we’re looking for; we need a majority vote. I believe there are 11 or so members. There were some questions and pushback from a couple members of the council, one of which voted no in the March hearing but she was outnumbered by the two other votes. She spoke on behalf of 3 residents who emailed her in opposition to the ordinance- but I told myself, she really should have tried harder and have people come in to state a case. We had lots of public support and I personally had around 15 people come to support- from friends and family, to coworkers and prior teachers. Overall very good turnout and the councilor said he has a good feeling about it.

Next is the planning zoning and development board hearing on the 6th of May. Tuesday. Again, I will prepare to speak and debunk common lies about chickens in city limits.

I’m just saying even if this doesn’t pass, I’m so proud of how far we’ve come and I will never stop fighting.

After the Tuesday hearing, there will be, I believe, two more meetings scheduled to vote on the matter. Both the city council and planning board will have to vote, majority will put it through. That will likely be toward the end of May or even early June.

I was curious to see if the neighbor would show up- the one who complained about our chickens. Nope. I was also shocked that nobody spoke in opposition from the public, at the hearing. I feel as though not many people even knew about the hearing. Which, I guess, was good for me because I was able to get 15 folks to come in support of the ordinance so the council would see that it matters to the public— and nobody spoke in opposition. Basically my idea is that if more people knew about the hearing, more people would have came and that would pose a possibility of negative public input.
Anyways, it went a lot better than expected. Praise God.

I’ll update you all after the hearing on the 6th.

Ben

 

[townchicks]

Good luck. Perseverance pays off.

 

[All4Eggz]

Today was the hearing with the planning board.

It seemed like everyone from the board was in favor. That was reflected in the *unanimous* “yes” vote to bring it back to the city council. So big, big success.
I had another 15 or so people come today. The board was impressed.

The only pushback today was from one resident who spoke out. Her argument was not strong. Thankfully.

Myself along with two others went up to speak in favor and received a good response from the board.


They all voted for it to go back to the council “positively”, I don’t fully understand the wording they used in the process of voting but I believe what it means is that they uphold what the city council put in as a petition, and support another hearing to get input and then eventually get it voted on.

So the next hearing is in a few days or maybe a couple weeks, I didn’t hear about a date yet. Since they left public input open, the public can still take part in the next hearing. That one won’t be official voting as far as I’m aware. Once they close public input they have to schedule two more hearings in which they will vote in real-time if they will put the ordinance into law.
It’s a big process but if I learned anything from this - it’s “don’t give up”. If this is a situation you’re in- do everything you can. If there is no option left- find one. Just so happens that I had to go to the lengths of trying to change the law. For most I hope and pray it’s much easier, if they are ever in a situation similar to me.

But just know, it’s possible.

Thank you all for your kind words and support! Making a city-wide difference one step at a time! I’ll do whatever it takes!

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Just got through the thread, glad to see a happy ending. I was originally going to suggest just breeding and releasing rats to mess with the karens you're surrounded by