Keeping backyard fowl in Rockingham, NC

I'll look into that. Cause it's so silly that almost every city around us that is far more built up and crowded can have backyard chickens.. shoot one of the larger cities even allows roosters in city limits?! haha... and here I am over in no where land in a tiny city JUST within the limits of the city and not allowed to have 3 ducks haha.
 
I'll look into that. Cause it's so silly that almost every city around us that is far more built up and crowded can have backyard chickens.. shoot one of the larger cities even allows roosters in city limits?! haha... and here I am over in no where land in a tiny city JUST within the limits of the city and not allowed to have 3 ducks haha.
Those cities' ordinances are a good resource if you plan on making a pitch to your city council. I'd look at what their restrictions are and maybe try to make a proposal that falls in line with what the surrounding cities have. A reasonable request is more likely to get heard and considered.
 
Yeah I'm not asking for a full sized flock or coop. Just 3-5 depending on land/plot size. Follow typical noise rules already in place, not let animals on your neighbors yards/destroy things. Etc.

A lot of stuff that I think is common sense but has to be spelled out. I'm more baffled I can't seem to find anywhere in writing that says no fowl or livestock allowed.. I just got someone saying they contacted the assistant to city hall and they said no? But I can't find any documents or rules, laws what have you stating it.. I'm just so confused by all of this haha.
 
Those cities' ordinances are a good resource if you plan on making a pitch to your city council. I'd look at what their restrictions are and maybe try to make a proposal that falls in line with what the surrounding cities have. A reasonable request is more likely to get heard and considered.
^^^ this.

One of the best ways to change an Ordinance is to point at the neighbors and say, "Hey? Why are we the oddity???" It also helps that you are on the border, so to speak - even if you can't get an Ordinance change, possibly you could get a zoning change. I've not looked up your County, or your Municipality, to inspect the zoning closely, but...

Its common in many places that aren't too built up to have a "buffer" zone, not very wide, comprised of lots which are zoned "RA" "Rural Agricultural" or "RR" "Rural Residential" or something similar, which blend the characteristics of both zones.

You might also point out, in your efforts, the fragility in food distribution revealed by the recent pandemic, the resurgence of popularity in home poultry ownership, the economic benefits of cottage industries after the massive business closures we've seen this past year, and even the environmental benefits of a well managed flock - then be prepared to assist in the drafting of model zoning to address concern with noise and odor, if (when) they arise.

Opposing you will be those who have witnessed the meteoric rise in home valuations on their own properties in the surrounding area who worry, rightly or wrongly, that a nearby chicken coop would negatively impact their home value. A concern they might reconsider when they see their new tax assessment...
 
Yeah I'm not asking for a full sized flock or coop. Just 3-5 depending on land/plot size. Follow typical noise rules already in place, not let animals on your neighbors yards/destroy things. Etc.

A lot of stuff that I think is common sense but has to be spelled out. I'm more baffled I can't seem to find anywhere in writing that says no fowl or livestock allowed.. I just got someone saying they contacted the assistant to city hall and they said no? But I can't find any documents or rules, laws what have you stating it.. I'm just so confused by all of this haha.
The thing is, you really might not have a ban on poultry, lots of people on here have found that they'll get different responses if they talk to different people in zoning, city hall, animal control, etc. But you also don't have explicit allowance for it either, so very easy for anyone not in favor to say, "It doesn't say you can have them either." So it'd really be best to try and get it added and allowed in the ordinaces, to take away any gray area.
 
Look to your Ordinances "Definitions" section. Most places define a lot of things early on, then in Zoning, create "Permitted" uses, which require no pre-approval, together with a list of approved ancillary uses, and also "Conditional" uses - things allowed **IF** the zoning board approves. Everything else is forbidden.

One of the ways you can effectively "back door" a zoning change is to alter the definitions. Your zoning might only allow "Farming" in a tiny area of the county. "Farming" might then be defined as the raising of livestock. and "Livestock" might be defined as horses, sheep, goats, cows, pigs, and fowl".

In such a case, altering the definitions to remove "fowl" from the definition of "livestock" and moving it to "domestic animal" could suddenly open up the possibility of limited ownership of chickens on a lot of properties, without altering the Zoning at all...

Not that I've ever helped write legislation {{ahem}} or anything. But it really does depend on the specifics of your code. Each solution is unique, as each code has to be taken as a whole - you can't read one sentence, or one section to exclusion of the rest.
 
oh wow that is all a lot to look into and check over. I know tomorrow I'll be trying to talk to someone in the local police station as well as zoning. I can't call or email city hall as the number/email on their site doesn't go through ... (it's really weird). I tried to call animal control but only seemed to find a dispatch number and the guy behind the number didn't seem to know or didn't care.

Heck even if I can get the process started and it passes and we move or something.. maybe my efforts will help others in the future.
 
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Apparently the guy that managed to contact the assistant of city hall was provided with this from the city ordinance?


"Section 5.04: Keeping of Non-household Animals​

(A) The keeping of non-household animals including but not limited to horses, cows, hogs, and fowl shall be prohibited inside the corporate limits of the City of Rockingham."

But the strange thing is ... all of the online ordinance documents I have found and none of them say this? I'm so bloody confused with this town.
 
Apparently the guy that managed to contact the assistant of city hall was provided with this from the city ordinance?


"Section 5.04: Keeping of Non-household Animals​

(A) The keeping of non-household animals including but not limited to horses, cows, hogs, and fowl shall be prohibited inside the corporate limits of the City of Rockingham."

But the strange thing is ... all of the online ordinance documents I have found and none of them say this? I'm so bloody confused with this town.
No offense to your city, but whoever did the online ordinances... didn't do a great job. Table of contents shows a lot more sections than is available online. So it's probably on paper (literally) in city hall but I don't see it on their website.
 
None taken haha. We moved out here cause the schools were ok and not a huge crime issue. At worse.. we'll be stuck here a few years and we can just buy land and build where we want after that.

But yeah I looked all over for it online, didn't see anything on it. I had to get in touch with the County's agricultural department before I got any official word. Even then they only got up with an assistant.

I don't understand at all haha. But.. for now we're gonna be stuck there as the housing market is completely crazy and we were lucky we didn't have to fight too much for the current house.
 

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