Interested in taking the chicken plunge, but still researching

[JackStevens]

First off, hello everyone, I've been lurking all over this site for the past week, planning and learning about chickens

. Finally, I decided to suck it up and join, and was hoping to get some help deciphering my ordinances. I recently moved to Delano, Mn, and it is a pretty rural-ish town. Our lot is less than half an acre, so we wouldn't be interested in more than a handful of chickens. I have done some research, and called the zoning people, but they weren't very helpful. As far as I am aware of, we don't have a HOA yet, because our development is not yet finished.

These are some documents I have been able to find: (Writing this after typing up the below, but we live in the little hangy downy thing that is coming off the south-west end of Delano)

Zoning Maps
Delano
http://www.delano.mn.us/Maps/ZoningMap_Feb08.pdf
We are inside of city limits, and classified as R-3
Wright County
http://www.co.wright.mn.us/forms/pandz/Wright County Zoning Map.pdf
we are R-2a here it looks like, so Suburban Residential. There is a section keeping us from having livestock or poultry on land less than 4 acres. But, other cities in wright county can have chickens so I don't know. ( Again writing after, Delano is North of the bottom right hand corner, you will have to zoom in (ctrl +)



Residential Districts Ordinances. [/u]

If I'm not blind, looking at the Delano Zoning map it seems pretty clear that we are R-3. Possibly it has been updated since then, but the zoning people told me we are R-1.

R-3 Ordinances
http://www.delano.mn.us/City_Codes_and_Ordinances/zoning_ordinance/Sec_51-09_R-3_District.pdf

R-1 Ordinances
http://www.delano.mn.us/City_Codes_and_Ordinances/zoning_ordinance/Sec_51-07_R-1_District.pdf


The one thing that I have seen that seems helpful is from the SECTION 51.01. TITLE / APPLICATION / RULES / DEFINITIONS Subd A section 6‏ (sorry about caps, I had to copy-paste)

This one says : Uses Not Provided for Within Zoning Districts. Whenever in any zoning district, a use is neither specifically permitted nor denied, the use shall be considered prohibited. In such case, the City Council on their own initiative or upon request, may conduct a study to determine if the use is acceptable and if so, what zoning district would be most appropriate and the determination as to conditions and standards relating to development of the use. The City Council or property owner, upon receipt of the staff study, shall, if appropriate, initiate an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to provide for the particular use under consideration or shall find that the use is not compatible for development within the City.


This is all the information I have found up to this point. Thank you for reading, and for any and all help. Also sorry for not being able to supply much more information, but if you ask for something I'll try my best to find more.(Sorry about the tons of parenthesis and mega post as well)

 

[JohnL11935]

Quote:
Really have to love that last section - "if we don't say you can do it then you can't do it."

Jack - It sounds like you've done your due diligence and there is nothing that specifically precludes you from having a few chickens as "pets."

Three things I would recommend:

1) Drive around the area neighborhoods and see what everyone else is doing.
2) Go to your local feed & seed and talk with management - they should be able to offer some insight into the local ordinances.
3) Since you recently closed on your house, why don't you give your attorney and/or realtor a call and see if they happen to be aware of any restrictions.

Lastly, sometimes its better to seek forgiveness rather than permisson. Get your chickens, build something nice to house them in, put in some nice bushes and such to make it pretty, and keep it clean. Then offer the first couple of dozen eggs to you closest neighbors. And, of course, no roosters.

Best of luck.


.

 

[JackStevens]

Thanks for the reply John; here is some more information to go along with the things you pointed out.

In my neighborhood several people have dogs that tend to roam free. No one else has chickens, but there is a horse farm bordering the development, and we are surrounded by farms. As far as when we moved in, we have been in this house for almost a year, sorry i didn't mention that. We have no immediate neighbors at the moment, but at one point we will have neighbors to the left and right. We do not have nor will ever have a neighbor to the rear, due to a medium sized pond. We intend to make a very nice looking coop, and to make frequent gifts "cough" bribes "cough" of eggs. And definitely no roosters :0

Still though, my understanding of our ordinances seems to point towards us not being able to have chickens, as here they are seen as farm animals by the law.


I just don't want to go to the trouble of building a nice coop just to have it get busted and my chicks taken away. Thanks again John for your advice!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Check to see what the zoning has to say about animals and pets. Specifically look at the definition of "pet."

 

[JackStevens]

From the definitions section :

Agriculture. The production, keeping or maintenance, for sale, or personal use, of plants and animals useful to man, including but not limited to: forages and sod crops, grains and seed crops; dairy animals and dairy products, poultry and poultry products; livestock, including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules, or goats, or any mutations or hybrids thereof, including the breeding and grazing of any or all of such animals; bees and apiary products; fruits of all kinds, including grapes, nuts and berries; vegetables; nursery, floral, ornamental and greenhouse products; or lands devoted to a soil conservation or forestry management program. Agricultural land uses do not include slaughter houses or the processing of crops, produce, animals for public purchase or consumption as to constitute a commercial or industrial land use.
Animal Unit. A unit of measure used to compare differences in the production of animal wastes which has a standard amount of waste produced on a regular basis by a slaughter steer or heifer. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the following equivalents apply. To determine the animal unit measure for any animal not specific below, divide the average adult weight by one thousand (1,000).

Delano Zoning Ordinance Title / Application / Rules / Definitions :

Animals, Domestic. For purposes of this Ordinance, domestic animals shall be defined as house pets such as dogs, cats, traditional and typical animal pets, and birds (not including pigeons, chickens, geese, turkeys or other domestic fowl)
which can be contained within a principal structure throughout the entire year, provided that the containment can be accomplished without special modification to the structure requiring a building permit from the City. In addition, it includes rabbits normally sheltered outside the home.
Animals, Farm. Cattle, hogs, bees, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, horses and other animals traditionally and commonly accepted as farm animals in the State of Minnesota.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Really have to love that last section - "if we don't say you can do it then you can't do it."

Actually, that is a fairly common rule of construction.​

 

[JackStevens]

So I guess by those definitions and the other things I won't be able to have chickens without a lot more work =/

thanks to everyone who replied and helped

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

It looks to me like you can apply for a variance/rezoning fairly easily (last part of your first post). Consider exactly what you are wanting, and the amount of land you have, and write up a proposal to be allowed to keep X number of chickens. Provide an overview of your property, where you would like to place coop/run/etc.

Show distances to neighboring properties, and if you can find or draw a rendering of your plan for the coop/run (include any anticipated landscaping!). Find and mention any noise/odor or other nuisance ordinances and reference that you are aware of them and intend to strictly avoid any related issues. If you have children who may be participating in 4H or FFA, be sure to include that. There are other threads on this forum that list the benefits of raising your own poultry; include the points that apply. Be sure to keep your proposal positive and upbeat.

 

[JackStevens]

Ok, I will look into the variance forms. Thank you for all your advice Sonoran Silkies. I'll be sure to include everything you mentioned!

 

[JackStevens]

Here is the ordinance section on variances:

http://www.delano.mn.us/City_Codes_and_Ordinances/zoning_ordinance/Ad_Subd_D.pdf

I do have a question about this though. It seems to say that you can only try to get a variance if the code at the moment is causing you undue hardship. To me, this seems to rule out just wanting a variance so that I may keep chickens. I just can't seem to find a way to fit it into the listed ways in which a variance would be acceptable. (under finding of facts)