Just talked to our code enforcement officer

[MN Chicken]

I just talked to our code enforcement officer for our city about applying for a variance etc. He said they do not allow variances for chickens in our city, BUT he said he personally thought the law was outdated, and was originally meant to keep roosters out for noise. He likes the idea of chickens being kept, and though it would be an excellent idea to try to get the code changed. He even joked that he would be hard pressed to take someone's "poor pet hens away" and would allow for them to be kept until the issue was at least heard by the city council.

He even said that he was aware of chickens being kept in our city, but has never had a complaint, or had to enforce the zoning codes. So...I wrote a letter to our local council member asking them to change the code.

I hope it works! They have their next meeting and vote in 3 weeks.

 

[theFox]

There is a process that they will have to follow and it will start only if the council member you wrote to makes the request. I wouldn't expect it to show up on the next meeting's agenda. It might, just don't be surprised or overly concerned if it doesn't.

It will also likely wind up going to a committee first so that any change to the current laws is put in the "proper" form etc...

The wheels can grind quite slowly at times.

 

[MN Chicken]

At least there may be wheels now

I plan on calling the council member this morning to follow up. I plan on clucking, just not so loud that it is a nuisance.

 

[theFox]

Yes there may be wheels, the only problem I can see is the fact that you may end up on the unclean hands side of the ledger I alluded to when I mention how your request might be handled in light of the fact you are mocking their current ordinance.

Believe me that does happen.

I worked for a municipality many years ago, so I've seen it from the inside as well as from the outside.

 

[MN Chicken]

I do not feel that I am approaching it in a mocking way. The letter I wrote was very concise, and fact based. I pointed out that there was a lot of provisions for pigeons that could easily be modified for chicken keeping, and also added a lot of local articles about how and why other suburbs changed their laws. I purposefully left all emotion out of my letter.

It was the code enforcement officer that was mocking the law, as he thought it was outdated and its purpose was never to keep people from keeping hens as pets. He also said that I am not alone in my efforts, by any means, and my letter would only help the process along. Our city council doesn't have many thngs come up on the agenda typically, so the code enforcement officer said it wouldn't take long for it to be brought up. The pigeon issue that brought forth the code regarding them took 2 months start to finish, and the guy was allowed to keep his 100 pigeons in the mean time.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I'll be interested to see how your situation pans out as I have a similar story. Except my story involves a rooster that we didn't anticipate raising. The neighbor "inquired" at the zoning department about chicken keeping laws and that inspired a "you're in violation" of current laws requiring that you have at least 5 acres to keep chickens (we have 2.17 acres). The Zoning Enforcement officer said he doesn't care about the chickens, but has to act when someone complains. We discussed the matter with the neighbor (and asked her why she didn't just CALL US FIRST?!). She said she didn't care about the chickens so much as she was concerned about POTENTIAL noise from Petunia (our BR rooster).
We got her to sign an agreement that we all signed and faxed to the zoning officer in which she states that she retracts any "perceived or real complaint" and we agree that we will set our Automatic Pop Door opener to let the chickens out no earlier than 7:30am. We have since gotten rid of our rooster and I fully intend to let the girlz out as soon as it is daylight from now on.

I haven't mounted a full-fledged campaign to re-write the ancient zoning code (which does NOT specifically address the keeping of chickens on residential property) in part b/c I'm busy raising two small children and in part because I worry that they could possibly re-write the code with restrictions that are absurd (like limits on the number of chickens). We live in a community that was settled on an agricultural platform and is primarily farmland, so it's nutty to think that people could possibly object to homeowners keeping chickens.

Keep us posted on your status and good luck!! Fight the good fight!

 

[theFox]

Quote:
The mocking is the fact that you already have chickens.

That will come to light and depending upon the mindset of the councilers (and not the CEO) will strictly determine what will happen.

I truely wish you the best.

 

[MN Chicken]

Quote:
The mocking is the fact that you already have chickens.

That will come to light and depending upon the mindset of the councilers (and not the CEO) will strictly determine what will happen.

I truely wish you the best.

I have chicks, no coop yet. I am really going to try my best to be at code, and not just go outlaw. It won't come to light that I have chickens because if I do not have the okay by the time they are coop ready, they will stay with my mother a few blocks outside of the city. I am even going to build the coop with a permit, as a garden shed so I can use it is case I cannot have chickens.

 

[amsunshine]

MN, GOOD LUCK!! I am rooting for you! I am in a VERY similar situation. I live in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois, and did not find any laws prohiting chickens...until I came home with my 3 new pullets today and found a "love letter" from my next door neighbor in my mailbox. The neighbor who, when I checked with him, had said it was fine with him and his wife that I keep chickens. Sounds like he has some connections with the county and "encouraged" me to apply for a variance.

My boyfriend is coming in for a week from out of town and we will be building a shed, regardless of whether I "can have" chickens, or not. For now my girlz are in my huge stock tank in my family room, quite happy under a warm light and eating and drinking their little hearts out.

I figure if worse comes to worse, I'll get 2 more stock tanks, and keep them inside.

I got a pet duck in college, and had her for 6 years as an INDOOR pet (built a cage for her out of discarded pallets and hardware cloth). She was a happy little girl and laid over 360 eggs in her lifetime. Not the ideal way to keep poultry...but I don't want to give up my new girlz!

 

[MN Chicken]

That is exactly what happened. The laws were not clear at all, and there are chickens in a lot of yards, so I got my chicks, and only found out yesterday that they are illegal. I will move them to my mom's farm if I have to, but I want my chicks here!

Thanks for the support!