County wants me to remove my ducks

[SolarDuck]

Any update?

I called on Friday but the officer wasn't in office so I left a message and just am waiting for a call back. If I don't get a call back tomorrow ill call again on Tuesday.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing, Solar! your situation has been on my mind, and I am very hopeful that everything can be cleared up soon

 

[SolarDuck]

I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing, Solar! your situation has been on my mind, and I am very hopeful that everything can be cleared up soon

Thanks for checking in, I was waiting for a call from them all morning, and as soon as I hopped in the shower that is when they decided to call
I called back right after showering, even though she said in her voice-mail she would be in office for the next few hours she did not answer so I left another voice-mail, and haven't gotten another call back yet.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Well, I got a very concerning letter in the mail this morning.

"It has been brought to our attention, and confirmed by a field inspection conducted by this department..............
in that this property which is zoned, Residential, is in apparent violation of;
The keeping and maintaining of ducks within this residentially zoned district.
To correct this violation, it will be necessary to;
OTHER: Remove ducks and coops from the property"



This has put me in a terrible mood, as I tried to find any local laws regarding keeping ducks before I moved here, but was not able to find any at the time.

Let me just say that no matter what, I will not be getting rid of my ducks. If I have to move, that would really suck, but I need my ducks more than anything.

After doing lots of research on local laws and rules regarding fowl and trying to figure out how to make this work. I ended up registering Penguin, Puffin, and Karen with the US Official Service and Support Animal Registration. I had to pay a fee, and talk to a mental health professional, but I was able to get them all certified, and they said that their lawyers will be behind me if I get any more trouble from the city. Their official emotional support cards and certificates will be here within 7-10 business days. The doctor confidently told me to not worry or stress about it anymore because they have my back. After looking into the laws it seems that there is regulations on coops for fowl, and they aren't allowed to be over 6 feet tall for whatever reason...... Mine is 8 or 9 feet tall because I wanted it big enough for me to walk into and clean, but I will probably have to make adjustments to make it cooperative with the code.

Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? I'm trying not to stress too much about it but I really am stressing, it would be very very unfortunate if I had to move due to this.

I don't know anything about the laws surrounding this, I just wanted to say I completely support you! I would be furious (and greatly upset) if anyone removed or tried to take away my ducks.

I would fight this tooth and nail. Your ducks haven't caused anyone harm and you aren't doing anything wrong. Residential laws are always really backwards because of HOAS and nearby people that complain.

I'm very lucky to have a nextdoor neighbor who adores my ducks. Maybe you could go around and get everyone to sign something or say it's okay for them to be there? Just know we all are supporting you!

 

[SolarDuck]

I would fight this tooth and nail. Your ducks haven't caused anyone harm and you aren't doing anything wrong. Residential laws are always really backwards because of HOAS and nearby people that complain.

I certainly will be fighting it as much as possible. We chose this house because it is in an unincorporated part of the town, and there are no HOAs... genuinely no part of me would ever have thought there would be any problems like this.

 

[NatJ]

We chose this house because it is in an unincorporated part of the town, and there are no HOAs... genuinely no part of me would ever have thought there would be any problems like this.

Have you found a copy of the county zoning rules? Unincorporated areas usually have to follow the rules of whatever county they are in. Unfortunately, it is fairly common for zoning rules to forbid livestock on "residential" lots but allow it on "agricultural" lots.

 

[KaleIAm]

Do you think your ducks might have been noticed when the city officials came to look at the tree that fell on your fence?

I'm sorry this is happening. Pets are a wonderful reason to get out of bed and be alive. I wouldn't have made it through the very challenging parts of my life without my pets. Just because you haven't needed to officially register your ducks as emotional support animals before doesn't make them less emotional support animals.

 

[SolarDuck]

Alright, so I managed to speak with the officer today, she just told me that I need to call the department of zoning and apply for a zoning clearance for a non-traditional pet. I left them a message and am now awaiting a call back, I looked at the county laws regarding non-traditional pets and it seems that I likely will have to build them a completely enclosed predator proof area, which is good because I was planning on that anyway, and I might have to get rid of my really nice big coop depending on if I am able to get a permit for that. Also I found out that the inspection wasn't because anyone complained about the ducks, it was actually scheduled by my mom because of an incident with her running over a pole at the end of my neighbors driveway that the neighbor wanted her to pay for even though it was an illegal pole.

Hopefully this all ends up working out, it would really suck to have to get rid of my nice big coop considering it cost like $800 to build, and it is so heavy and sturdy the only way to get it out of my yard would be to completely destroy it with a chainsaw.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Alright, so I managed to speak with the officer today, she just told me that I need to call the department of zoning and apply for a zoning clearance for a non-traditional pet. I left them a message and am now awaiting a call back, I looked at the county laws regarding non-traditional pets and it seems that I likely will have to build them a completely enclosed predator proof area, which is good because I was planning on that anyway, and I might have to get rid of my really nice big coop depending on if I am able to get a permit for that. Also I found out that the inspection wasn't because anyone complained about the ducks, it was actually scheduled by my mom because of an incident with her running over a pole at the end of my neighbors driveway that the neighbor wanted her to pay for even though it was an illegal pole.

Hopefully this all ends up working out, it would really suck to have to get rid of my nice big coop considering it cost like $800 to build, and it is so heavy and sturdy the only way to get it out of my yard would be to completely destroy it with a chainsaw.

I do hope there is a way to salvage materials instead.

 

[McChooky]

I do hope there is a way to salvage materials instead.

If your coop is off the ground you can make it smaller by removing the legs. If not then you can put "fill" dirt all around the sides which will bury it a couple feet in the ground.You may have to make a few modifications with the "People" door .Is it possible for you to post a photo or two of your coop? By doing so someone may be able to offer you a practical solution so you can make your coop smaller. I certainly hope so!