Need Help - Torrington Connecticut

[Katelyn768]

Calling all chicken raisers. I am in need of help. My a-hole neighbors has called the cops and zoning on me for having a pre-built chicken coop on my property and for having BABY chickens (I don't even have a pen built yet). Zoning said that I illegally erected a building without permits and that there are NO chickens allowed in my city. I am looking for the U.N. right for every citizen to farm.

If anybody has any information I can use to keep my babies it would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, my neighbors complaint is that my chickens are preventing him from selling his house, what a load of poop! they aren't even outside yet.

 

[danagasta]

I spent a while looking through their zoning regs...not only was I unable to find anything about chickens in the PDF file, but also small buildings (ex. the size of a playhouse or shed) are most assuredly allowed without a permit.
http://www.torringtonct.org/Public_Documents/TorringtonCT_Planning/Zoning Regulations

Unless they can provide you with the exact wording, you have grounds for a lawsuit.

 

[danagasta]

Also, if they think chickens cause a problem, they're more than welcome to come to our West Haven neighborhood, where 2 of us side by side happen to have 3 little birds each. Everyone loves them and even the cops in the area stop to see them or show their kids.

 

[Katelyn768]

I don't see where it says anything about chickens, and I'm not a farm. Zoning even said that if I re-purpose the coop into a dog house that it will have to be removed from the property because it still a "coop." She told us that we were lucky that she didn't write down it was a coop and that she didn't fine us for a couple tires in our back yard. WHAT A JOKE, but the neighbor that complained is okay to have a large pile of dog feces along the property line.....sigh

 

[danagasta]

I would definitely go above the inspector's head. In this case, there is nothing in the zoning regs stating you cannot have either chickens or a coop on the premises. The burden of proof is now on them to show that you did something against their regs. If the reg doesn't exist, they can't get you for it. Sounds like Torrington wants its money...but that's nothing new.

 

[Marianne25]

Hi I know this was a few years ago, but am wondering how it turned out? I just looked it up and it looks like the regulation is that you must have three acres in Torrington in order to keep chickens.