Ordinance has changed (for the worse) in Marion, Ohio. Advice?

[BobbleHeadOwl]

After five years of trying to convince my husband that a few laying hens would be an AWESOME addition to our backyard, he finally agreed! Unfortunately, when I received my permit application in the mail I was also informed that the city ordinances had changed. They were not changed on the city's website, which is how I had been duped. The former ordinance permitted chickens in sanitary conditions provided that the coop was at least 30' from any residence/business. The new ordinance, however, requires that the coop be at least 100' from any residence/business. This effectively bans chickens from most of the city, including our property.

The following Rules, Regulations and Permit Procedures have been established by the City of Marion in regard to the keeping of farm animals within the City of Marion, Ohio Marion City Ordinance 618.12

1. Farm Animal Permit Application must be filled out legibly & completely.
2. A schematic of the parcel showing location of the animals to be kept must accompany the application and must be detailed and accurate.
3. There is no fee for the permit or inspection.
4. An on-site inspection must be scheduled with the Director of Public Safety upon application.
5. Permitted fowl & rabbits shall be penned or confined.
6. All pens, kennels, coops, cages, hutches must be 100' from any building used as a residence or commercial use where persons are employed.
7. Prohibited animals are: cows, horses, mules, lamas, minks, ferrets, swine, goats, sheep and roosters. Exceptions are potbelly pigs which is limited to two (2) or less.
8. A clean and dry shelter must be provided with sufficient size to permit adequate bedding and feeding area.
9. The Safety Director shall determine the number of permitted animals on a parcel.
10. The permitted permises shall be maintained in such a sanitary condition that no person will be offended by any odors or pests caused by keeping of such animal or fowl.
11. The permit holder shall permit the Safety Director and/or his/her agent to conduct regular inspections of the area in which the animals are maintained.
12. Upon any finding of a violation of these rules, the permit holder will be notified of the date & time of a hearing with the Safety Director and given the opportunity to respond.
13. The issuance of a permit is subject to revocation based upon determinations made by the Safety Director.
14. Violations of Marion's Animal Ordinance may also subject the owner to criminal prosecution.

I find the arbitary distance restriction to be completely ridiculous and unnecessary. If the city is enforcing their sanitation and noise/offense rules, why should it matter how far away from the house the coop is? A coop can be just as sanitary 10' from a house as it can 100' from a house!

My immediate thought was just to submit the application and all required materials and check the box for "animals being raised for educational purposes" since my children are homeschooled, but I doubt it will fly. Then I thought maybe I'd submit the app. with a short, one page letter detailing my reasons for keeping chickens and the circumstances of my particular situation (willing neighbors on one side and an abandoned house on the other). Neither of these ideas sits completely well with me, so I thought I'd petition the esteemed readers of this forum to gather some more ideas.

 

[JEB NC 10]

Just a thought - but they may mean 100 ft. from neighboring houses/businesses. I read other ordinances (including my own until it was changed) that did have distance requirements but only applied to neighboring structures, not the applicated own house.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

They almost certainly mean from others' homes, not your own. Yes, they are being raised for educational purposes. Enroll your children in 4H if they are old enough. Join a poultry club. Have the kids research raising chickens, and then make posters about different aspects that interest them. Since they are homeschooled, do a unit on poultry. You can do math units about numbers of eggs laid under different circumstances (hours per egg, days being broody and raising chicks, total number of eggs laid in tht time. Or for more high school level math, have them create a feed recipe that has specific ingredients and meets certain protein, carbohydrate, fat, etc. levels. For youner kids, you can do a hatching project, chick development in the egg, All kids of ideas. But you need to incorporate it into a written plan.

 

[BobbleHeadOwl]

Thanks to both of you for the replies!

I specifically asked about the setback distance and was told that it did indeed apply to my own house as well for matters of sanitation, but I've placed another call to make sure I understood correctly and was understood correctly. It doesn't matter much for me personally as my lot is long and narrow, so wherever I place the coop in my yard it will be in violation of the 100' rule for one of my neighbors. I'm hoping they will give me an exception because one of the houses next to me has been abandoned for 2 years and isn't for sale.

I already have my "permaculture curriculum", including chickens, written up. My children are not old enough yet for 4-H. I did sign them up for Cloverbuds (4-H for the under 9 crowd), but our local club has been basically defunct and I've been unable to generate interest in forming a new club.

 

[BobbleHeadOwl]

UPDATE: I spoke directly with the Director of Public Safety for Marion today, and he said that the 100' setback CAN apply to the chicken owner's residence but that he doesn't enforce it that way. Also, in cases where the chickens will be closer to 100' to a neighbor's residence/business, as long as the neighbors don't mind the chickens he doesn't either. If there is a problem with the neighbors though, all rules will have to be enforced as written.

For me personally, he told me to submit my application and it would all be dependent on his inspection. Eek! We'll see. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

 

[Country Parson]

I would go the education route, especially since you homeschool. My kid's school offers several Ag classes, so why can't homeschool? With that said, you should truly (and easily) incorporate it into your homeschool education program. The educational possibilities are limitless.

 

[BobbleHeadOwl]

Quote:
Yes, everything in our homelife gets incorporated into homeschooling. If I'm doing it, the kids are learning about it. I have written up an outline of curriculum incorporating the chickens in case I am questioned about it, but it didn't seem like I would be.

Now I have to figure out the inspection process. There's no list of criteria or anything. I probably should have asked about this when I was on the phone with the DPS, but I had a fussy toddler at the time and was feeling hurried.

 

[Markp1964]

Find a time when you can have an attentive converstion with the Public Safety guy-if there is nothing in writing and it all comes down to his inspection, you need to know wha the looks for or has to see.

 

[BobbleHeadOwl]

Quote:
Will do, thanks. I'm also going to ask the neighbors across the street who have been keeping chickens for years what their inspection experience was like.

 

[Markp1964]

Quote:
Very good strategy-wha the let them do or the procedure he followed with them (or other chicken keepers) sets a precedent. It makes it better for you !