How Do Your City Ordinances Interpret "Residence"?

[babalubird]

Our city ordinance here in Grand Prairie TX says chickens must be kept 150 feet from each neighboring residence. I interpret that to mean the house, in which case it might be doable to keep chickens in our large yard. Ah, but oh no, I asked the woman giving me the ordinances if that meant the house or their entire fenced yard and she said their entire property, meaning house and land area.

Is this the way it is interpreted in other cities or have I been handed a bunch of crapola?

Thanks.

 

[FiveHens]

Just the first thing I thought--I would think it would be perfectly fair to interpret that as "house."

Merriam-Websters' most applicable definition is "a building used as a home." I also think that, law-abiding as you obviously are, as long as your neighbors are not too bothered and your chickens keep quiet and don't cause trouble, nobody will mind if it's less than 150 feet from the edge of a yard. Generally, I would just make a fence to keep them about in the middle of your "large" yard, and keep them away from other neighbors' fences, yards, houses, etc.

Do not know the technical definition in our area--sorry, not much help!

 

[desertdarlene]

Many municipal codebooks give the definition of "residence" in a glossary somewhere in there. In general, a residence is a structure designed to be habitated, or lived in, by people. I would find a lawyer or someone knowledgeable about the law there to ask just to make sure. Also, check around your neighborhood to see what other people do and ask them about it.

 

[jaj121159]

Crapola-
Grand Prairie Zoning Code Defines
Residence: See “Dwelling”
Dwelling: A building or portion thereof which is arranged, occupied or intended for residential use, including facilities for food preparation, sleeping, and bathroom(s), occupied by not more than one family.

So it means the actual home structure, not the entire property. As ask enforcement people for any interpretations.