Help!! I was told rid of my hens!

[PoultryPedia]

OK--Just posted summary of laws I was able to find, along with quoted sources at
https://www.backyardchickens.com/laws/display.php?State=CA&City=Chico&actions=search

I see NO mention ANYWHERE of a permit needed for ANY kind of livestock. I looked through all Chico city ordinance sections that seemed even remotely related. I am wondering if they could be trying to bluff to scare you out of keeping your chickens, and there's actually not a legal reason you can't have them???
I would call and ask them for the specific code references for the laws that require you to have a permit. I'm pretty sure they won't be able to provide any applicable ones.

Best wishes! Us fellow chicken lovers and defenders of true rights are standing with you!!!

p.s. The rules regarding appeals are covered in Chapter 2.80 at
http://www.chico.ca.us/document_library/municode/title2.pdf

From brief skim, it looks like if they initially rule against you and you appeal, payments for any fines can be put on hold until after the appeal is over? I'm guessing you could also keep the chickens until the appeal was over?? But you should definitely double-check before relying on those.

You can probably find out more details on how appeals work from the Code Enforcement department at 530-879-6330. You might ask questions in general terms rather than situation-specific if that department is the one saying you are doing something wrong by not having permits??

p.p.s. Please keep up updated!

 

[speakup4kids]

Ummm, in Carmichael, you are only part of Sacramento County... not the city of Sacramento. You are unincorporated and as long as you are on a lot bigger than 10,000 sq ft that is zoned RD-1-7 you can have as many chickens as you want.

Chickens for personal use are allowed on parcels greater than 10,000 square feet in the Agricultural, Urban Reserve, Industrial Reserve, Agricultural-Residential, and RD1-7 zones.(via Sac county)

As many chickens and horses as you are able to maintain in a healthy, sanitary, and nuisance-free condition are permitted, provided the minimum lot size is met.(per saccounty)

Carmichael is a suburb of Sacramento and is unincorporated (not a city). We are part of Sacramento County and governed by a Board of Supervisors. To contact any county office including but not limited to the following, call the county administration and information line: (916) 875-5000 for permits, licenses, assessment, voter registration, etc. You can also obtain information online at: www.co.sacramento.ca.us/

As for Chico, straight from the Chico code-

19.76.040 Animals and fowl.
A. Household Pets. Household pets may be kept as an accessory use of residential property, provided they are kept in a humane and sanitary manner and in compliance with the provisions of this section.
B. Requirements.
1. The area proposed for the animal to be kept is in compliance with Subsection F
(Other Animals), below;
2. Bulls, cows, goats, hogs, horses, pigs, and sheep shall not be kept within 50 feet
of any dwelling or occupied structure on neighboring properties; and
3. Fowl shall not be kept within 20 feet of any dwelling or occupied structure.
Roosters shall not be allowed in the RS and R1 zoning districts or in the TND
zoning district..
C. Dogs.No more than three dogs over the age of three months shall be kept or
maintained at any one place of residence, as designated by a single street address
number in the City
. D. Bees. A use permit may be issued, in compliance with Chapter 19.24, to authorize the
keeping of bees only in the following manner:
1. The parcel on which the bees are kept shall be at least 5 acres in size;
2. The number of colonies or nuclei shall not exceed two per gross acre;
19.76-8 (7/16/09)
Chico Municipal Code STANDARDS FOR SPECIFIC LAND USES
3. The bees are registered with the Butte County Agricultural Commission;
4. An adequate fresh water supply shall be available for the bees on the subject
parcel at all times; and
5. The location of the colonies or nuclei shall not be less than 200 feet from any
public right-of-way or any dwelling or occupied structure other than that of the
property owner or occupant of the subject parcel.
E. Offensive Animals. No persons shall keep, maintain, or have in their possession on
any property owned or controlled by them any household pets or any other animals in a manner, number, or kind so as to cause damage or hazard to persons or property in the vicinity or to generate offensive dust, noise, or odor.
F. Other Animals. Exclusive of the area devoted to residential uses, the following areas shall be required for each animal to be raised or kept on any residential parcel.
G. Calculation of the minimum site area required for animals shall not include any areas within the footprint of a structure used for human habitation, or any areas subject to the setbacks from occupied dwellings which are required by Section 19.76.040B.2.
(Ord. 2223, Ord. 2358 §16)
TABLE 5-10 MINIMUM SITE AREA REQUIRED FOR ANIMALS

Type of Animal Allowed
Minimum Site Area Required
Horses, cattle, or hogs 8,000 sq.ft. for each animal
Sheep or goats 2,000 sq.ft. for each animal
Other allowed large animals 2,000 sq.ft. for each animal
Chinchillas, poultry, rabbits, and other similar allowed small animals 250 sq.ft. for each animal

 

[ShrekDawg]

that ordinance and that fee sounds ridiculus, sorry i am not of more help to you, but i would be willing to bet some (rude/obnoxius) neighbor who probably hates chickens probably turned you in to the city, just for that reason, and the town is just trying to find a reason to support him or her and is probably just bluffing so the neighbor doesnt get po'ed at them and/or so they dont get sued, basically to cover their own behinds. I would check with the town though and check all the local laws and ordinances and everything in that area and ask the city/town to find and prove where in those ordinances it says you need to have a use permit to keepthose birds, from what ive read, from all these other, very useful posters, it sounds like you are allowed to have the birds as long as they are kept within a certain distance (20 ft in this case i believe), from any neighbors or anything and as long as you keep the noise, odor, and dust and everything under control, so it sounds like they are just trying to find a way, any way they can, to back up your neighbor and bluff/scare you into getting rid of your birds, so what i would do, is i would have them prove/show you where it says that you need a permit. it seems to me, you are allowed to keep your birds and theyre just making up excuses for you to get rid of them, ridiculus. i hope you get this sorted out and soon, sorry i am not of more help to you, good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
If you are in an unincorporated area, you would fall under county, not city code and ordinances. You need to verify that you ARE outside the city, and if not, whether the area was annexed since you moved there.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I dont see any requirement for a permit for poultry here, and it certainly seems that they are allowed. You need to call and ask them to give you a specific reference that they say you are violating as (reference the above) shows that they ARE allowed.

 

[thedudeabides]

They are technically allowed but with a use permit...which is $1400+.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
So where is the provision that requires a permit? That is what I did not find in the ordinance you quoted. The only use permit relates to keeping bees.

 

[thedudeabides]

On page 111 of this document http://www.ci.chico.ca.us/document_library/municode/Title19.pdf it shows that my zone R1 requires a use permit for animal keeping, in which fowl are included. It is unfortunate and hopefully the city council will come to their senses soon.
Thanks.

 

[PoultryPedia]

thedudeabides--
There are a number of us who are eager to help you figure a way to keep your chickens!

A lot of knowledgeable people on here have worked around difficult situations similar to yours. If you can post some additional info, people here may be able to help figure out a very do-able solution that doesn't take a lot of expense or work. Hopefully some of us can examine all the rules & exceptions to them, and help you find a way to legally and affordably keep your chickens.

So we can help as quickly and the most possible, please could you post as many of the following as you have:
(or, if it seems best, send info by PM or email to some of the people who've posted on this thread)

1. Code reference #s for the ordinance sections about the required permit,
2. Links to a webpage with permit guidelines and fees,,
3. Quote from regulations handbook about the permit,
4. Quotes from any letter or notice you received,
5. Name and/or department and phone number of who gave you the notice/warning,
6. and MOST IMPORTANT--which kind of zoning area you live in--RS, R1, TND Neighborhood Edge (NE), TND Neighborhood General (NG), TND Neighborhood Center (NC), or TND CORE (most urban)--(If you aren't sure, if you can give name or description of neighborhood area, city office may know).

We know you're facing deadlines, so please post as much of the info as you can ASAP & we'll try to help come up with solid help.

 

[Joz]

Can you lobby to change chickens from "livestock" to "smallstock"? Like, rabbits and pigeons? Or, try to establish that distinction with a reasonable permit fee attached?