Does this allow for pet chickens?

[Sonoran Silkies]

I think one thing the OP needs to do is verify that there are no other ordinances or zoning that specifically relate to animals.

There is a point, as was mentioned, to having the wording vague and broad, as it allows the ordinance to govern a wide variety of situations that might arise in the future. On the other hand, if the wording is TOO board or vague, it becomes meaningless--can be interpreted in far too many ways. I believe this particular wording falls a bit too much into the too vague category. It does not define the amount of dust or odor that is prohibited. If one lined one's property with well-maintained rose bushes that had been selected for strong and lovely fragfrance, one would be violating the letter of the ordinance by placing an odor producing substance within 100' of the property line. For that matter, any property that is not larger than 100x100 cannot even have a rose bush, or jasmine or lilac or any other fragrant plants. Likewise for plowing or rototilling a garden.

I am pretty sure that those uses were not envisioned by the writers of that code, but, rather that they were thinking of things such as pig wallows or feed lots or other unpleasant odors produced by concentrated animals kept in less than ideal housing.

Healthy chickens kept in clean and dry housing do not have any significant odor. I have a fairly strong sense of smell.

Having an attorney review the wording and asking how it pertains to what is wanted (a dozen chickens, 3 layer hens, 50 meat birds, etc.) seems like a wise choice. Quite frankly, more and more CITIES across the country are deliberately making changes to their ordinances to allow various numbers of hens for family use or pets. It is difficult to argue and 3 hens are an agricultural use when many cities define that number as pets or for family use.

 

[Chikndinner]

Quote:
Just because your sense of smell can't pick up the odor is no guarantee that someone else's can't.

This may be true. I'm sure someone can smell better than me. However, maybe our coop is just that clean. We clean it every day...

 

[jaj121159]

Quote:
The first thing I would do is have your friend check the size of their lot or lots. To see if they can put anything 100' away from the property line. Second I would look in the definition section of the zoning ordinance to if "agricultural operation" or "customary agricultural operation" is defined. If neither is defined look for a statement that says, "If words are not specifically defined, the refer to their customary meaning," or something along those lines. As a zoning administrator I would read that statement as a farm including livestock, which would include chickens. You may also want to check the definitions or other parts of the zoning ordinance to see if "pets" are defined. In many cases they are defined and are left to dogs, cats, and fish.

Here are a couple of definitions from my ordinances:
Household Pet: An animal that is customarily kept for personal use or enjoyment within the home. Household shall include and is limited to domestic dogs, domestic cats, domestic tropical birds, fish, and rodents.

Agriculture: The use of land for agricultural purposes, for obtaining a profit by raising, harvesting, and selling crops or by the feeding, breeding, management, and sales of, or the production of, livestock, fur-bearing animals, or honeybees, or for dairying and the sales of dairy products, or any other agricultural or horticultural use. Agricultural use shall not be construed to include any parcel of land of less than twenty acres or any non-agricultural commercial or industrial development.

 

[dsqard]

I would also check what R-1 zoning means. Probably different for every state but from my very limited real estate knowledge that code means residential "R" and at least one acre of land. Is this your friend's situation? Is their lot zoned R-1?

 

[Muggsmagee]

Quote:
R-1 does mean residential...but our village doesn't have minimum 1 acre lot size. The backyard in question is a wee bit bigger than a postage stamp. They are looking for just a few birds.

And jaj121159...great advice, however I was told there was no other paperwork defining this rule. Or anything else with similar wording. The village clerk is relatively new to her job, so maybe she just doesn't know, but she referenced her supervisor in that this was all they could find.

I'll keep digging. The great thing is they are trying to raise chickens legally.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

While I can see the logic of 1 indicating an acre, in some places the numbering is sequential or indicative of square footage or has some other scheme. For example, our residential zoning districts include AG, R-2, R-3, R-3R, R-4. R-5, R1-4, R1-5, R1-6, R1-7, R1-8, R1-10, R1-15, R1-PAD, MHS, RMS & TP. AG & R1-* indicates single family residential with the following number (the *) indicating the minimum square footage of lot size in 1000s.

 

[theFox]

Frequently the number after the R in zoning regs indicated the housing unit density, for example R-1 is usually a single single family residence on a lot. The higher the number the more units on a lot.

It rarely indicates the size of the lots in a zone.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I actually thought mine was sequential until I looked it up. Thr R1-* is based upon minimum lot size: R1-10 requires that lots be at least 10K sq ft, R1-7 requires that they be at least 7K sq ft. The R-2, R-3 etc. are multiple family residential, with increasing numbers indicating increasing density per acre and decreasing lot size per dwelling unit. As best I can tell, it is sequentially designated.

 

[jaj121159]

Quote:
R-1 does mean residential...but our village doesn't have minimum 1 acre lot size. The backyard in question is a wee bit bigger than a postage stamp. They are looking for just a few birds.

And jaj121159...great advice, however I was told there was no other paperwork defining this rule. Or anything else with similar wording. The village clerk is relatively new to her job, so maybe she just doesn't know, but she referenced her supervisor in that this was all they could find.

I'll keep digging. The great thing is they are trying to raise chickens legally.

The rule itself wouldn't be defined, but the words should be in the definition section of the code. The code does have a definition section, typically it's the second chapter of the code. Without definitions, the code wouldn't stand up in court. For instance, if you followed the code under normal usage, then as long as you are 100 feet from the neighbor, you could have cows grazing on your property.

 

[jaj121159]

I did a little research and you need to contact William Brown at 315/841-4221. He is the zoning enforcement officer. Forget the clerk, they always assume they are in charge and know everything.