MARYLAND THREAD!

[italian chick]

Hi chicken friends,
I live in Annapolis, Maryland. Legislation was passed in 2012 allowing Annapolis residents to have chickens in their yard for fresh eggs. I have two adorable hens
(Lola & Tabitha) my HOA has sent me threatening letters to remove both my hens and their coop from my property. Before I applied for my chicken permit, I read through my covenants and nowhere does it state that I am not allowed to have chickens or a coop. Any help or advice in fighting Hoa's would be appreciated.

 

[Maeschak]

Hi chicken friends,
I live in Annapolis, Maryland. Legislation was passed in 2012 allowing Annapolis residents to have chickens in their yard for fresh eggs. I have two adorable hens
(Lola & Tabitha) my HOA has sent me threatening letters to remove both my hens and their coop from my property. Before I applied for my chicken permit, I read through my covenants and nowhere does it state that I am not allowed to have chickens or a coop. Any help or advice in fighting Hoa's would be appreciated.

I do not have any experience with HOA's (except for reading that many can become very overbearing!) but I would start by communicating the fact that nothing in the covenant states that chickens are not allowed. (Or ask them to show you what the basis for their authority over your chickens is...) In fact, I would have to imagine that since your HOA and its covenants were developed before Annapolis allowed chickens, that there would be NOTHING in the covenants disallowing chickens as it wasnt even possible to have chickens at home at the time the covenants were developed! Your HOA seems to be over-reaching and making up new rules as it goes along. I would have to imagine that they would need to modify their covenants to deal with the new chicken laws there... and it sounds like they have not done so.

I say stick to your guns- show them that they are acting outside the scope of the HOA covenants. Basically, sounds like they are bullying you hoping that you will not go back and read your covenants. If they try to change their covenants now in order to deal with the new chicken laws, you may even be able to be grandfathered in because you got chickens, made a coop, etc (a real financial and personal investment) and now that they want to change all of that and retroactively dispossess you of your property and rights.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Hi chicken friends,
I live in Annapolis, Maryland. Legislation was passed in 2012 allowing Annapolis residents to have chickens in their yard for fresh eggs. I have two adorable hens
(Lola & Tabitha) my HOA has sent me threatening letters to remove both my hens and their coop from my property. Before I applied for my chicken permit, I read through my covenants and nowhere does it state that I am not allowed to have chickens or a coop. Any help or advice in fighting Hoa's would be appreciated.

Did you get an approved "Backyard Chicken Registry and Approval Form"?

http://www.annapolis.gov/docs/defau...cken-registry-and-approval-form.pdf?sfvrsn=24

 

[italian chick]

There is nothing in my by-laws that states I can't have chickens. Apparently the Board of Directors disapproves. I live in a townhouse community. I have an end unit. According to our chicken application from the city I need approval from all neighbors abutting by property. My unit has only one neighbor abutting my home. He signed the approval and enjoys having my hens and their eggs. The other side of my home is next to our storm water management pond. They contacted the
City and claim that I needed approval from the HOA because they also abut my property with the stormwater pond

 

[italian chick]

Yes, I not only got approval I was issued a final permit on 9/13/2016.

 

[sarahandjay]

Hi chicken friends,
I live in Annapolis, Maryland. Legislation was passed in 2012 allowing Annapolis residents to have chickens in their yard for fresh eggs. I have two adorable hens
(Lola & Tabitha) my HOA has sent me threatening letters to remove both my hens and their coop from my property. Before I applied for my chicken permit, I read through my covenants and nowhere does it state that I am not allowed to have chickens or a coop. Any help or advice in fighting Hoa's would be appreciated.

I agree with the advice stated above. Talk to the HOA and have them show them which convent they are using to support their claims that removal is needed.Are they using the bylaws or was it a neighbor complaint that brought this to their attention. They may have something in the convents against out building...sheds etc that need permission or fit a certain standard. Again what is there basis? I have had personal experience with HOAs in Annapolis and they can and will make live unbearable if they feel like they are in the right. Stick to your guns and get all your facts in order. If they decide to change the bylaws you will be grandfathered in but this will not happen without you standing your ground. Good luck

 

[Maeschak]

Hi chicken friends,
I live in Annapolis, Maryland. Legislation was passed in 2012 allowing Annapolis residents to have chickens in their yard for fresh eggs. I have two adorable hens
(Lola & Tabitha) my HOA has sent me threatening letters to remove both my hens and their coop from my property. Before I applied for my chicken permit, I read through my covenants and nowhere does it state that I am not allowed to have chickens or a coop. Any help or advice in fighting Hoa's would be appreciated.

I did not realize that the Annapolis law was created in 2012... so they had plenty of time to try to modify their by-laws if they did not want chickens around.

There are also two other very good arguments to make:
(1) If the City application really says that all abutted "neighbors" must agree to the chickens, you could argue that the term "neighbor" means literally a human neighbor that lives on the property abutting you and not just an owned plot of ground. Because really, the City wants to make sure that real-life neighbors are OK with your chicken choices, not owners of plots of uninhabited land.
(2) Since all townhouses touch the street/sidewalk/whatever and those are most likely owned by the HOA as well, that the HOA is ensuring that NO ONE in your community can have chickens. And we do not allow private groups to effectively outlaw what the legislators have made law. (And if that is the HOA's intention then they need to put it in the by-laws). If, by chance the streets/sidewalks/whatever in front of your townhouses are owned by the city, then surely the city does not want to sign approvals for EVERY person who wants a chicken... it seems to me that the legislation implies that uninhabited plots of land are not considered "neighbors."

Good luck~

 

[sarahandjay]

If you just want the back and forth to stop with the HOA I hate to say it but get a good lawyer to draft a letter to them. Normally when a lawyer get involved they will back down or call a meeting with their lawyer present to answer questions and concerns. This happened in our case and their lawyer told them at this special meeting that we were correct in our interruption of the bylaws etc and that we would need to be grandfathered in if any changes where made to the bylaws. Mind you a few years later we had the new HOA members after us on the same issue and we had to deal with that mess all over again because surprise all those notes from that meeting and with their lawyer were "lost".

In regards to the HOA claiming they own the storm management pond area I would double check. Normally, those ponds are owned and cared for by the city. I would call the city and ask.

 

[italian chick]

There is only one person complaining and he happens to be on the Board. He has tried all angles to get me to remove my hens and their coop. First it was a setback issue that I am not violating, then he said I need architectural approval. But my by-laws indicate I need approval for building and attaching a structure to my home, which I did not. I purchased a tractor (moveable cage) that was delivered not installed on my deck. Now he claims that the HOA is a abutting property owner and I need their permission.

 

[italian chick]

I already checked land records and the city deeded it back over to our community. I already contacted an attorney. I never imagined it would get this out of hand because of one person objecting.