HELP! Need help with ordinace change!

[Go Eggs Go]

Hey everyone! I need some help! I have been reading all the posts on BYC since we got our girls in May. We have been good chicken keepers and our waiting on our girls to give us some eggs.

Today we recieved a letter from our city police dept that someone called us in for having chickens! (I had no idea it was against the city ordinace)

We have until next week to send our girls packing!

I am going to fight this and try to get the ordiance changed! By the looks of it this has been done before (good for all of you that got it changed! )

Is there some good pieces on urban sustainability/green living or letters that people have written so I don't have to start out from scratch!

I don't want to loose my flock and my 4 year old daughter will be crushed!

Thanks in advance!

Paul

5 Black Aus, 5 BR, 3 PR, 1 BSL, 1 Polish, 1 Silikie

 

[huntercf]

Have you checked your city ordinances and zoning codes? Sometimes code enforcement and/or police officers don't fully know all the laws (because there are thousands of them) and they will write up a notice and hope you get rid of the chickens just to please the complainer.

 

[JulieZ]

I agree with huntercf. Go to your local courthouse, ask for a copy of your covenant rules for your lot. It cost me $1 per page ($5 total). Read them over completely. Then ask if there is anything else that has been documented through the years about not having chickens. I found out yesterday that there are NO RESTRICTIONS in my area for having chickens BUT there are restrictions according to the covenant filed by a bunch of losers. The clerk told me that can cause a "loop hole". And if it says "No livestock" ... make them classify (at the court house) what that consists of. From what I'm learning ... it's not chickens.

Keep us updated. I'm praying.

 

[Go Eggs Go]

I meet with the city admin and police chief today. They are going to put me on the agenda for the planning commission for monday night (first step). I have 15 mins to do a presentation to the comission on backyard chickens. So I am going to start to night with a handout and a presentation. Any ideas? I have a bunch of stuff put together, but any ideas would be great. I will copy how the ordinace is written in my city. Wish me luck!

Paul

Subd. 3: Prohibited Animals. The ownership or harboring of the following animals
within the City is specifically prohibited.
a) Farm animals, including but not limited to, cattle, horses, hogs, chickens, geese,
sheep, goats, ducks and turkeys.
b) Predatory animals usually found in the wild, including but not limited to lions,
bears, wolves, tigers, cougars, bobcats, alligators, crocodiles and members of the
monkey family.
c) Animals, the importation or sale of which as a pet, is prohibited by state or federal
law.
d) Minnesota animals found in the wild, the hunting or trapping of which is totally
prohibited or which requires a big game license.

 

[Rozzie]

x

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Differentiate between "farm animals" kept as livestock versus those kept as pets. Identify current nuisance laws that would cover any nuisances they might create. Identify how small storage sheds and dog houses are dealt with under current development codes. Chances are that all or most concerns are already covered in one place or another.

 

[wsdareme]

Quote:
QUICK, take a look at the links in this post -- maybe they will help you!!!!! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=379456

 

[trinityphoto225]

Check out youe STATE laws. In Michigan is is LEGAL, but in my village it is not... State trumps all! You may have to "sell" your eggs, but just say you sell them to your friends. Good Luck!

 

[PhilErvin]

Where I live they have outlawed roosters. My neighbors have all approved of my rooster (I give them fresh eggs) so I figure if I get caught I too will go to a council meeting and argue that I am raising these girls to give me offspring withwhich I can feed my family and I need a roo to do that. I will take a letter signed by all my neighbors and ask them to be there to authenticate their signatures. I will ask that they not necessarily change the ordinance but simply give me a variance.
Good Luck to you.

 

[freelancer79d]

check out my post i am doing the same....before i get caught...lol
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=375738