If you could write the ordinance what would it look like?

[DLMKA]

I posted a thread earlier that didn't get any responses about changing the ordinance in my city. I provided the Director of Planning and Development a list of ordinances around the country that made backyard chickens and bees legal. He said he's got some feedback from local communities and looked through the stuff I provided, they are all over the place. He point blank asked me what I wanted the ordinance to look like to cover what I wanted to do.

Anyways, I come to you guys and gals for advice. I want to get chickens and not be a huge hassle but I also don't want everyone and their brother to go get chickens and cause problems resulting in another change in the ordinance back to what it is now or result in neglected birds when the owners get tired of it.

My ideas:

1 chicken for every x ft^2 of land (help define 'x' for me), maximum 6
must have suitable structure to protect birds with minimum 2 ft^2 per bird
coop must be 30' from houses with the exception of owners

Not really sure about bee ordinances, I'm not a beekeeper and don't know enough about it, I'll post on a beekeeping forum.

 

[Teach97]

my ordinance would read..

I do what I want in my yard, you do what you want in your yard. If what I am doing is causing a problem with what you are doing, we will talk about it and figure something out like adults. Same works for if you do something that is annoying me.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Nuisance laws should be related to the nuisance (noise, odor, etc.), not hte CAUSE of the nuisance. If I can house 100 crowing roosters and 500 hens at my house without violating noise, odor or other nuisances, then I should be allowed to do so. (I do have WAY less than these numbers, BTW.)

My first house had a basement--I know from eperience (VERY loud party) that almost no sound was audible from upstairs and even less from outside.

 

[DLMKA]

That's where we're both at, I want chickens in the city, he doesn't want complaints and have to spend the money and time to deal with a "nuiscance". There are lots of people out there that will abuse an open ended ordinance and pretty soon ability to legally house 3-4 hens is gone because some jackass thought he could make some extra money selling eggs and soon had 30 chickens in a 2000 ft^2 yard and didn't give a dang about taking care of them and keeping the neighbors happy.

I'm asking what regulations can you put on an ordinance that will allow me to keep a few chickens for personal use, help keep the neighbors happy, and discourage the family that buys chicks at Tractor Supply because they are 'so cute'.

 

[Kittymomma]

I'd think 30' from other houses, 10 hen max and no roosters, chickens must be confined to property (they'll tear up neighbors flower beds etc. otherwise) and have shelter that is 4 sq' per LF or 2 sq' per bantam would be a good blend to maximize eggs and minimize issues from irresonsible owners. I don't like the 4 hen max because it's not enough for many families and puts you in a bind if you're trying to raise replacements--might make it 10 adult hens to give a little more wiggle room when raising replacement pullets.

 

[chickenx2]

My ordinance would be: You can have 100 fowl per acre. However, they cannot annoy the neighbors (no roosters) and must stay in your yard. Sounds pretty fair, doesn't it?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I still say that nuisance laws cover nuisances. I disagree with making artificial limits--some people can house quite a few birds without creating a nuisance and others will create a nuisance with just one hen--it depends on how one chooses to house them and care for them, the personal responsibility to clean up after them so as to not create odor or health concerns. The noisiest rooster in the world could have lived in my basement and it would not have disturbed even the lightest sleeper, much less neighbors. By the same token, take a hen and house it outside in a coop with no soundproofing and near something that will act as a sounding board and the egg song could become deafening.

Edited to add: our original zoning code that allowed chickens in all single family residential neighborhoods included stipulations on distance of the coop from lot lines, neighbors' homes etc., but it was amended some months ago to remove those restrictions and note that nuisance laws covered all concerns. No, I didn't have anything to do with the change--others argued for those changes.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
I understand what you're saying, it's one of the reasons why I'm so happy we're lucky enough to live on acreage, but in an urban/suburban enviorment it often comes down to the lowest common denominator. It only takes one clueless person to mess it up for everybody.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

My .6 acre lot is smack in the middle of surburbia. Within a mile I have 3 schools, 4 grocery stores, 2 drugstores, a tire store, an upholstery store, several fast food restaurants as well as several nice restaurants (including one that is fine dining), a couple of bakeries, 2 espresso bars, several boutiques, two dance studios, 5 churches, and a whole heck of a lot more.

My neighborhood is zoned agricultural and as such we have no limits on poultry (although there are limits on livestock (poultry are poultry or smallstock, not livestock) based upon the size of your lot). I undoubtedly have more chickens and roosters than anyone else in the neighborhood, but there are plenty throughout the neighborhood. No complaints, and frequent compliments.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
I don't doubt it, but then I read your posts on here all the time and I'm quite sure that you are no where near the lowest common denominator.

I look at it kind of like when I got my daycare license. You would not believe some of the stuff they make you do and it's frightening when you realize that the only reason that they thought about it is because someone was idiotic enough to put kids in harms way by doing it in the first place.