My heart is broken / Told to get rid of my girls / Resolved!

[jaj121159]

I'm sorry to say that as a Zoning Administrator, I believe they have you over a barrel. The code is very well written and inclusive. First of all your coop is a farm building. From the code you said they provided in the letter, it was for the R-1 Zoning District which is a strict single-family residential district. Also I didn't see any definition of pets.

FARM BUILDING -- Any building used for storing agricultural equipment or farm produce, housing livestock or poultry, or processing dairy products. The term "farm building" shall not include dwellings.

Second they don't prohibit uses they allow them. In other words, poultry is specifically lissted in zoning districts as an allowed use.

ARTICLE IV, RA-1 Residence Agricultural District [Amended 10-2-2001 by Ord. No. 01-13; 5-20-2008 by Ord. No. 08-05]
§ 500-401. Purpose and intent.
The purpose of the RA-1 Residence Agricultural District is to discourage the scattering of commercial, industrial, multifamily residential and other urban type uses throughout predominantly rural areas of the Township; to encourage the continued use of land for agricultural purposes; and to otherwise create conditions conducive to carrying out the purposes of this chapter as set forth in § 500-101.

§ 500-402. Use regulations.
A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:
A. Agricultural uses, including tilling of the soil, nursery and the keeping or raising of livestock, birds, poultry, horses and bees, provided that:
(1) The minimum lot area shall be ten (10) acres.
(2) Any building used for the keeping or raising of livestock, poultry, birds, horses or bees shall be situated not less than one hundred (100) feet from any street line or property line. Etc.

Here are some possible remedies.
-You may appeal the Zoning Officer's ruling by going here and filling out the Zoning Hearing Board application. You can make your case in the hearing that would follow.

-Go to the Township Manager and petition to make application to amend the zoning ordinance to allow chickens. Follow the requirements in Article 32 of the Zoning Ordinance

§ 500-3201. Power of amendment.
The Board of Supervisors may from time to time amend, supplement, change, modify or repeal this chapter, including the Zoning Map. When doing so, the Board of Supervisors shall proceed in the manner prescribed in § 3203 of this article.

§ 500-3202. Who may initiate.
Proposals for amendment, supplement, change, modification or repeal may be initiated by the Board of Supervisors on its own motion, by the Planning Commission, or by petition of one (1) or more owners of property to be affected by the proposed amendment. Each petition by one (1) or more property owners shall be signed and acknowledged and submitted in writing to the Zoning Officer. The applicant(s) for an amendment to the Zoning Map shall submit the information required in § 500-3204, Plan requirements, and

- Maybe your best bet is to pursue a Conditional Use. It sounds like the Board of Supervisors have the power to grant a conditional use if you make your case. Here is part of the ordinance language found on pages 500-253 & 254 of the Township of Middletown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania Codified Ordinances - October 2009 on conditional uses applications.
H. Conditional use applications shall be governed by the following:
(1) The landowner shall make a written request to the Board of Supervisors that it hold a hearing on his application. The request shall contain a statement reasonably informing the Board of Supervisors of the matters that are in issue.

(2) The application shall be accompanied by plans and other material describing the use or development proposed. Such plans and other materials shall provide a sufficient basis for evaluating the applicant's request. Information required by this chapter shall accompany the application.

(3) The Board of Supervisors shall hold a hearing pursuant to public notice upon the request, commencing not later than sixty (60) days after the request is filed, unless the applicant requests or consents in writing to an extension of time. In addition, the Board shall render a written decision within forty five (45) days after the last hearing.

Through whichever process you choose, remember the zoning ordinances were put into place to protect the township resident's health, safety and welfare. Banning livestock of any kind in a Residential zone is common place. How would you feel if your neighbor moved a cow in to get milk every morning? The problems arise from the fact poultry is associated with farms and livestock and this is used in the ordinance creation process. You have to get the process changed and have your township elders think of chickens in a different light. Maybe getting those other chicken owners together to put a amendment petition in would show the township the support having a few chickens has in the community.

Good luck.

 

[redhen]

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Good luck!!!!!!!!!

 

[jaj121159]

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The Township code isn't the type of code that prohibits. It is the type of code that allows. In other words, if it says you can do it, you can do it. If it doesn't say you can do it, you can't do it. It doesn't prohibit strip clubs in residential districts, but it does allow them in different districts. That's the same with poultry.

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

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If you bring a tape recorder. Make sure they know it is being recorded. Some states it is against the law to tape record with out permission.

 

[Buugette]

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The Township code isn't the type of code that prohibits. It is the type of code that allows. In other words, if it says you can do it, you can do it. If it doesn't say you can do it, you can't do it. It doesn't prohibit strip clubs in residential districts, but it does allow them in different districts. That's the same with poultry.

Then if that is the case... RA-1 talks about tilling the land for growing produce... does that mean my garden is illegal as well...?

I'm basically screwed... can they stop me from having them as pets, which is what they are. Can they stop me from bringing them the house or the garage? Can they stop me from taking them in the yard for daily visits?

D

 

[huntercf]

Quote:
The Township code isn't the type of code that prohibits. It is the type of code that allows. In other words, if it says you can do it, you can do it. If it doesn't say you can do it, you can't do it. It doesn't prohibit strip clubs in residential districts, but it does allow them in different districts. That's the same with poultry.

Then if that is the case... RA-1 talks about tilling the land for growing produce... does that mean my garden is illegal as well...?

I'm basically screwed... can they stop me from having them as pets, which is what they are. Can they stop me from bringing them the house or the garage? Can they stop me from taking them in the yard for daily visits?

D

It does sound like no one is allowed to have a garden if they have less than 10 acres, also if that is the whole code than it also leaves out rearing of children, is that banned as well?

 

[theFox]

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Then if that is the case... RA-1 talks about tilling the land for growing produce... does that mean my garden is illegal as well...?

I'm basically screwed... can they stop me from having them as pets, which is what they are. Can they stop me from bringing them the house or the garage? Can they stop me from taking them in the yard for daily visits?

D

It does sound like no one is allowed to have a garden if they have less than 10 acres, also if that is the whole code than it also leaves out rearing of children, is that banned as well?

If that is the case then one should start filing large numbers of complaints, say one for every child and every other critter not specifically allowed, I'd start with every single member of the government as recipients of my first round, always include the lawyers in the town, nothing like getting them mad.

 

[chicnfarmer]

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Then if that is the case... RA-1 talks about tilling the land for growing produce... does that mean my garden is illegal as well...?

I'm basically screwed... can they stop me from having them as pets, which is what they are. Can they stop me from bringing them the house or the garage? Can they stop me from taking them in the yard for daily visits?

D

It does sound like no one is allowed to have a garden if they have less than 10 acres, also if that is the whole code than it also leaves out rearing of children, is that banned as well?

great point.

 

[jaj121159]

Quote:
The Township code isn't the type of code that prohibits. It is the type of code that allows. In other words, if it says you can do it, you can do it. If it doesn't say you can do it, you can't do it. It doesn't prohibit strip clubs in residential districts, but it does allow them in different districts. That's the same with poultry.

Then if that is the case... RA-1 talks about tilling the land for growing produce... does that mean my garden is illegal as well...?

I'm basically screwed... can they stop me from having them as pets, which is what they are. Can they stop me from bringing them the house or the garage? Can they stop me from taking them in the yard for daily visits?

D

You are reading the RA-1 District which says:

§ 500-402. Use regulations.
A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other: ( which means primary use )
A. Agricultural uses, including tilling of the soil, nursery and the keeping or raising of livestock, birds, poultry, horses and bees, provided that: ( which means you can farm the ground and keep livestock, have a tree nursery, etc. as a primary use. A garden can be a primary use in this district. In other words you don't need to have a house on the lot to till it or raise livestock. )
(1) The minimum lot area shall be ten (10) acres. ( In order to do anything listed above you must have at least 10 acres. If you were to create a new lot in this district, you must have 10 acres. )

In your R-1 District, tilling the soil is not listed as a primary use. This means a person can't raise row crops on a R-1 lot as a primary use. A garden on a lot with a house on it is not a primary use, the house is. So gardening is allowed as is having a lawn.

I'm not trying to derail your quest, I am trying to help by telling you the perspective of the Zoning Officer. It is the job of the Zoning Officer to enforce the law (the zoning ordinance). You must realize, in the Zoning Officer's view, you have broken the law. Chances are very high, the Zoning Officer didn't find your chickens on his/her own, but rather through a complaint filed by a neighbor or another citizen. If could be because the complainant saw, heard, or smelled the chickens. The complainant doesn't have to have a valid reason why they are reporting you because it's a violation and the complainant saw it.

As a zoning enforcement officer myself, I personally would work with you to (if possible) to try to make a use like raising chickens work by offering some ways like amending the ordinance or getting a conditional use permit. Many Zoning Officers are going to be hard backsidees and feel you broke the law and so you are going to pay (kind of like a cop that caught you going 37 in a 35 mph zone busted you for speeding instead of giving you a warning).

Your best chance of keeping your chickens in my opinion is acknowledging your guilt and asking for a way to fix things that would allow you to keep your chickens. You could suggest an amendment or a conditional use. If the Zoning Officer is a moron, then amend, appeal or apply for a conditional use on your own, maybe even working with one of the board of supervisors. Don't walk into to your meeting today trying to convince the Zoning Officer that your chickens are not chickens, it is not going to work. Remember all he has to do is show pictures or your actual birds to the judge and you are guilty. You need to get the Zoning Officer on your side so he/she will help you through the correct process. You need to be cooperative and maybe even house your chickens out of town for a while.

Bottom line is you broke the law whether you intended to or not. The Zoning Officer is the cop here and he caught you. Now you have to pay for breaking the law or try to fix the law. Remember it's highly probable somebody ratted you out, and the enforcement officer has to respond to the complainant because it's their job.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

You can try a petition