No Ordinance. Still told to get rid of them! MICH.

[MaryLang]

What do I do next?
Short story...last Friday our town's police chief came to my door and said I needed to get rid of our 4 hens by Monday because we have an ordinance that said "No Poultry Fowl". It was a warning, so no citation. No ordinance number. I went to a council meeting voiced my complaint about this. I got a 10 day reprieve on the "Ordinance". Didn't matter, I took my girls to my MIL's over the weekend and I'm not carting them back and forth for an extra 10 days and risk stressing them.
After an entire week of asking for the ordinance number, stating my case using MRTFA and GAAMPS. Giving examples of other local towns to change ordinances, I even had the paper out.
Turns out there is no ordinance. Zoning doesn't say I CAN have poultry, so the chief assumed I can't! It's super vague or in my opinion that is no ordinance at all. So now the chief calls today and tells me it's most likely in the councils hands. I called our zoning admin again and am waiting for a call back.
This has all been very stressful on our family as you might imagine and I am due with a baby in a few weeks, so this better get resolved. My first reaction is to go get my girls back from MIL's. They can't make a special ordinance just for me can they?

HELP!

 

[MaryLang]

Oh and here is my FB page if you want to read the whole story.. SaveCapacVillageChickens

 

[BigECarter]

I'm not a legal expert but I believe that with a lack of an ordinance, you can keep your chickens. They can write a new ordinance, but you might still be able to keep them if a grandfather clause applies. (Anyone who has poultry is grandfathered in and can keep them.)

You need to think about how far you are willing to go to keep your chickens. My experience with local governments has not been good. You may have to hire a lawyer to force them to follow the law. I had to do that when rebuilding post-Katrina. There was a change in our foundation and a poorly written code that they said I was not in compliance with. I tried to work with them but there was no middle ground - they would not budge. The modifications would have cost over $10K and would have weakened the structure. I ended up having to hire a lawyer. Once a lawyer was involved, they obviously consulted with their lawyer and immediately caved since they had no legal argument to make me redo my foundation. They subsequently added another poorly written paragraph to the code to keep anyone else from building like we did.

Bottom line, they may try to use their authority to try to bully you. If the law is on your side, don't let them!

 

[MaryLang]

Thanks for the reply. So far I think they put themselves in a bad position. But they do seem willing to work with me a bit. I'm getting the feeling they want this to go away. The chief says it looks like I may be able to get the girls back, but she can't predict what council will do. The person that complained may not even be from the area. The complaint went straight to the outlaying twp., not into our village and was not a neighbor. It was an "ordinance complaint", basically "hey, they have hens and I don't think they're supposed to have them". Can people mind their own business?!?!?

 

[MaryLang]

I just don't know what the next step is here. I guess just wait them out? I feel so violated having an officer come to the door and get angry that I didn't check ordinances first, when there doesn't appear to be one!

 

[cafarmgirl]

Just sit tight. Keep your birds and confront any who question or push you with a simple "Show me the ordinance that prohibits"! Also an officer has no business getting huffy with you about not checking ordinances! I would not tolerate such behavior. His job is to pass on the information, not pull an attitude on you. Especially when he didn't even have correct information! THEY should have double checked the ordinance before they showed up on your doorstep with their attitudes!

 

[BigECarter]

I would bring the chickens back - I have no idea what it takes to get ordinances passed, but if they were able to get something passed, you want to have the chickens in place so that you are grandfathered in.

Good luck!

 

[MaryLang]

Hmmmm. Maybe I will bring them back. LOL! I have a protest sign out front with a big tin chicken that says "SAVE THE CHICKENS!". And the story is going in the paper for Wed. Maybe the town will be more careful about they get themselves into, hopefully we can selvage this and make the town aware and turn this into a very positive thing for the community.

 

[OldGuy43]

My usual response to this kind of thing is to insist that they issue a citation. They always back off. They know they have nothing to base a citation on.

As for your question, "They can't make a special ordinance just for me can they?" If they do pass such an ordinance it wouldn't apply to you. According to Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution, "no State shall pass any ex post facto Law." (An ex post facto law is one that makes it illegal to do something that has already been done.)

 

[sheart]

I am new to this site, and discussion. I live in Flushing,twp. Michigan. I have just a little under 8 acres. Not farmed by any means, just plain ole land. Presently I have plenty of chickens, chicks, ducks, turkey, & and 1 guinea. I think our township "AUTHORITIES" should stick to issues worthy of their pay checks. Pertaning to the lady in Capac,Michigan with issues from the town on her owning chickens, they should back off. They can be opening a can of worms. We the people run this country, not them. Must they be reminded they were elected to these positions. Everyone needs to stand up for their rights as American citizens. Michigan has a wonderful law, they need to be reminded of it. The fear is always about what? Cleanliness---Noise---Predators---.

Well My chickens are on duty 24-7 eating every mosquito they can find.
The only time my girls cluck is when they are as proud as pie telling us they laid an beautiful brown chemical free egg----saying look at what I have done. Preadatory issues, are going to be an forever problem, whether it is a hawk looking to find food, a racoon out in any county, especially road kill versons. They always say that history repeats it's self. So tru, so true! Young lady you calm yourself rite down, and relax. Have your doctor give you an statement about health issues, like needing fresh untainted eggs. It is so relaxing, just watching chickens running around, and doing whatever it is they do. Tell me it does not lower ones blood preasure, that is a major stress releaser. I constantly am having people coming over to look and hold my girls, and baby chicks. I used to let neighbor kids come over and hold the baby chicks in their hands while they were hatching, you never saw such amazemant in a childs eyes watching the process. History can teach so much, and chickens are a huge part of our history. Hang in there girly.