GREAT NEWS in Montgomery County, MD!

[chateau poulet]

We just got through the first step in changing our BYC zoning code, and got a great result!

The old zoning required 100 feet from a house and 25 feet from a property line.
The new code requires the hen-house to be 5 feet from property line and 15 feet from a neighboring residence, and limits us to 8 hens.

This is for our "suburban lot" residential zones, averaging 6,000 sq feet. True back yard chickens!
So exciting! Now we just have to shepherd it through the final steps to official approval.

They had tried to push through 25 feet from property line.
Then 20 feet from property line, but included all fences associated with the hens (the pen).

Finally, they decided that allowing chickens was the modern thing to do, and that making it difficult is out of date with modern desires and values. (cheers from the audience!!) So they switched course and went with our request, of 5 feet from property line for hen house, consistent with the rules for dog houses, sheds, etc.

Woo-hoo!!!

 

[real_redhead]

Wonderful! I hope it gets passed so you can have some chickens, are they allowing Roosters? That is nice about the 5 ft, I live in a city that allows up to 10 chickens but they have to be 50 ft from a neighbors house ( can't remember how far for your own home). my lot is around 50 x 100 I had a perfect spot but it was too close to my neighbors, so I took up space in an area I didn't want to use for a coop but I am thankful I can keep chickens! So excited for you!

 

[Big Bubba]

PastaChickenBoo - there are others who can better answer your question than me. My basic understanding is that it depends. As I understand it there is nothing illegal about having chickens. The problem lies with having a coop. The coop needs to be 100 feet (I'm not sure about the actual distance) away from the neighbor's house. And, believe me, I'm very much simplifying here.

With that said, if you want to have chickens and are unsure if it is legal, get a buy in from your neighbors. I live in DTSS and by what I've read I'm not legal. However, I asked all my neighbors and none had an objection. In fact, they love being able to look out and see chickens and some them throw food out for them. Complaints from neighbors, legal or not, will not go well.

Animal control, I don't believe, actively go out and try to enforce the rules unless there is a complaint. I had animal control come out for a raccoon once and they clearly saw my setup. They didn't say one thing about the chickens and, instead, blamed me for the raccoon because of the wild bird feeder. While you may not be so lucky on getting such an uneducated animal control officer some people have complained about overzealous officers.

 

[ewerbos]

I am pretty sure it is ok; I am also in the RE-2 zone and we have one. I checked the recent version of the Montgomery County code at http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=amlegal:montgomeryco_md_mc and it looks like the only explicit mention of roosters is under "Urban Farming", which does not apply to RE-2. RE-2 has "Farming" as a "Permitted" use, which includes poultry. You just have to obey the 100' from neighbors and 25' from property line rules.

 

[JJ--]

They have not changed. Still 25’ set back and 100’ from neighbors.. with many of the council members now forced out due to recent term limits imposed upon them, many were not in the mood to entertain changing chicken ordinances due to them running for another office. I am waiting for the next crew to be voted in (and a bit more progressive in their thinking) and will start reaching out to them to get the ball going.

However, the county lawyer did write a letter stating that moveable, wheeled, coops are not considered an accessory structure and do not count in regards to the code. So as long as you don’t get a rooster, pick up you poop to prevent smell, and share eggs with neighbors then you will be ok. I eventually even let each house name a chick so they could see the eggs from their babies.

 

[cupcakethechicken]

FYI -

I found this Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services website regarding "Backyard Chickens":
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/Process/zspe/Chickens.html

It contains the following information:

Zoning information

• The zoning ordinance does not prohibit the keeping of chickens; however, 59.3.2.9.B.2 does prohibit Roosters.
• The zoning ordinance does regulate placement of chicken coops: In Montgomery County any accessory building or structure used for the housing, shelter, or sale of animals or fowl other than a household pet must be a minimum of 25' from a lot line and a minimum of 100' from a dwelling on another lot. The structure must be in the rear yard.
• Be sure to check with Animal Control regarding regulations as it pertains to chickens.

Does anyone know if there is any regulations for pet turkeys? I'm entertaining the idea of a pet turkey in Montgomery County. Any advice?

 

[JoeCluck]

Chateau Poulet,

I am a new member on this site and also live in Montgomery County. I was wondering if there was any update to your above post? Is there a place, website, to read about this possible change?

I live in Damascus and have almost 2 acres, but I want to make positively sure that I will be okay with a small coop, possibly 4 hens. Although I live in a neighborhood where all homes have 1-2 acres, I have one particular neighbor that starts trouble with everyone about everything. I have looked at everything I can find on the internet but can't seem to find anything that is completely clear about the laws for this in Montgomery County.

I plan to stop by the Animal Control office to ask in person, but was just wondering if you had made any further progress.

Thanks in advance for any info..

 

[chateau poulet]

Subscribe:
[email protected]

Hello!
So glad to hear from you! I recently started a yahoo-group listserv to help connect all of us Montgomery County (see above). It would be great to have you join, so we can let you know quickly if there are any concerning changes.

Do you know what zone your lot is (R-60, R-90, RE-1, etc.)? If our version of the new code passes the County Council in Feb/March, you can have 8 hens with a coop 5 feet from your property line. And some zones will allow more, if you qualify for the new "farming" piece of the code.

The only residual challenge is that the Animal Control code has a little known bit about AVIARIES that could cause trouble for you if you have a bad neighbor. It says any "aviary" must be 100 feet from a house, and possibly 25 feet from the property line. Once the new Zoning code is passed, we will work with the county to bring the Animal Control rules in line with the Zoning rules.

Please email me directly so we can keep you in the loop! kaverbeck(at)gmail(dot)com

Karin
Kensington

Here's the new verbage which has passed the Planning Board, and is now going to the County Council for final approval.


Animal Husbandry
1. Defined
Animal husbandry is the accessory practice of raising hens, ducks, miniature
goats, rabbits, and bees.
2. Use Standards
Where animal husbandry is allowed as a limited use, it is subject to the following
standards:
a. Any accessory structure used to house hens, ducks, miniature
goats, or rabbits must meet the setback requirements of an accessory
structure for the zone.
b. One miniature goat may be kept for every 2,000 square feet of land area
and one hen, duck, or rabbit may be kept for every 1,000 square feet of
land area. A combined total of 8 animals is allowed per lot.
c. Roosters are prohibited.
d. In the CRN, CRT, CR, GR, NR, LSC, EOF, IM, and IH zones, only bees are
allowed.

 

[lmattke]

Hi, I am also a new forum member from Montgomery County (Silver Spring). I tried to sign up on your MontCo list but didn't quite figure it out. We currently have 4 hens and will soon be adding 4 more. Two other families on our block also have chickens, so in general it is a pretty chicken-friendly neighborhood.

 

[chateau poulet]

Yay! So glad to know another chicken person in the area! I'd love to have you join the local listserv. Have you joined a yahoo group before? If not, you'll have to set up a yahoo account first. Then, once that's activated, you can click [JOIN THIS GROUP] to join ours. If you send me your email, I can send an invite directly to you, or you can click this link:
[email protected]

Right now, our main focus is making sure this new code goes through, but we've also helped to re-home hens, including a temporary placement following a citation from Animal Control for one member. It's great to have a local group to support each other!

Please let me know if you need help getting on.
kaverbeck(at)gmail(dot)com