Phoenix, AZ "Residence" Definition

[ejcrist]

I'm planning a small flock next spring and I live in Phoenix, AZ. Per the Phoenix City Ordinance it says, "No poultry or rodents shall be kept in an enclosure within eighty feet of any residence within the City. Poultry may be kept within eighty feet of a residence if written permission consenting to the keeping of poultry less than eighty feet from a residence is first obtained from each lawful occupant and each lawful owner of such residence."

My question - is it 80' from the yard boundary (fence line) or 80' from the dwelling (house/building)? I have an acre so I won't have a problem finding a spot toward the middle of my yard, but if it's 80' from your neighbor's dwelling then I can pretty much put the future coop anywhere since the houses around me are all an acre or more. 80' from a dwelling leaves me a lot more options. I know I can simply get written permission, and I'm pretty sure everyone would be ok with it since I give them produce grown during the year, but it would be nice if I don't have to go asking permission. I was going to call the city today but I figured I'd ask here first in case anyone knows.

Thanks, Gene

 

[cavemanrich]

First lets welcome you here.

\

Now to answer your question. I'M NOT A LAWYER AND I DON'T PLAY ONE ON TV. I would imagine it means residence housing and not property line. I don't live in Phoenix, but have been there before and had family there.. Your 1 acre lot is not your average city lot in Phoenix proper. Most are smaller. You do have a nice size spread where you are. The 80 feet rule is there so when the city dwellers with smaller lots want chickens,, they make sure it is OK with their neighbors. Lot less headaches for the city authorities , and much easier for them to settle disputes if they should arise.


WISHING YOU BEST.

PS. My uncle lived near Central and Georgia. and Son lived in Fountain Hills. And I frequently visited Encanto Park.
Build your coop where it is convenient for you. If the Pride Integrity Guts & Service crowd tells you to move it ... you can do it then.

 

[ejcrist]

Thanks Rich - much appreciated. I agree with your thought process. We're allowed horses on these properties and they don't have to be 80' from the neighbors yards or houses so it stands to reason. Being a dedicated vegetable gardener I value chickens more than any other animal except maybe my dogs. You just can't beat chickens - they give you eggs, the best fertilizer, and shake and bake in the end so they've been high on the priority list. I know I'm preaching to the choir here on this forum but I really do appreciate chickens.

I know exactly where your Uncle and Son's places were. Fountain Hills is a very nice area. I work pretty close to Encanto Park and go over there for lunch sometimes when they stock the trout. It's not the same as the mountain lakes but any fishing is good in my book.

Gene

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It means dwelling, home, occupied place of domicile. If they wanted to say property line they would or state as set back from neighboring property.

That's a good lenient city ordinance to give you distance from actual buildings and not require a distance from your own. And they cover themselves so renters can't give permission without landlord consent.

 

[ejcrist]

Thanks Egghead - that certainly makes sense. I believe you're right on the money because other ordinances I saw state "property line" or similar language when that's what they mean. I'm an ameteur radio operator too and some cities state that any antenna has to be so many feet back from the "property line" so if it falls it doesn't fall on an adjoining property. So I guess I have more chicken real estate than I thought.

Gene

 

[twinbrains]

I live in Phoenix on a 9,000 sf lot off of the 51 and Thomas... so definitely closer to downtown. I have a corner lot home, so luckily, only 1 neighbor that is actually within 80' of my "residence". Yes, the ordinance means from property to property, not property line to property line. We actually got our neighbors signature when we tore the shabby chain link fence down and had a beautiful 6' block wall built in it's place. It saved the neighbor about $1k, so she was happy to sign anything we gave her. Our coop is right up against our house and the block wall that separates our two homes. We've got 6 girls and they are pretty quiet most of the day. They pipe up for an hour or so around egg laying time but other than that, they are not super talkative.

I hope this helps!

 

[ejcrist]

I live in Phoenix on a 9,000 sf lot off of the 51 and Thomas... so definitely closer to downtown. I have a corner lot home, so luckily, only 1 neighbor that is actually within 80' of my "residence". Yes, the ordinance means from property to property, not property line to property line. We actually got our neighbors signature when we tore the shabby chain link fence down and had a beautiful 6' block wall built in it's place. It saved the neighbor about $1k, so she was happy to sign anything we gave her. Our coop is right up against our house and the block wall that separates our two homes. We've got 6 girls and they are pretty quiet most of the day. They pipe up for an hour or so around egg laying time but other than that, they are not super talkative.

I hope this helps!

Thanks Twin. Yes that helps. Glad to hear your 6 ladies are doing well. Just curious but what kind do you have? I'm looking at getting Barred Rocks because I heard they do pretty good here in the heat. I'd also like to get a few Dominiques because I heard they do even better being a little smaller, but so far the feed stores I checked, Gordon's and Western Ranchman, don't carry them as a regular item. Being new at this I'm interested in what works for other people here in the valley. I'm really looking forward to getting the hens.

 

[twinbrains]

Quote:
We have 1 Barred Rock, 1 Americauna, 1 Rhode Island Red and 3 White Leghorns. The Barred Rock and the Americauna are by far the friendliest and most quiet of all of our girls. However, due to their coloration and the heat here, they molt the most, so in the very hot months they lose a lot of feathers. Due to the season changing, we have not had eggs from either of those two girls in about 10 days. We are hoping they acclimate to the weather in the next few weeks because it's really putting a dent in our egg production. Our Americauna also went "broody" this summer and it took her a week to get out of it.. If you are looking to get a Barred Rock, make sure you have the systems in place to keep her cool in the summer as I've known a few people with "Rocks" out here who have lost them due to heat exposure. We have N/S Exposure and our back yard is North facing. The coop is in the s/e corner of our back yard, so it receives a fair amount of shade in the summer. We also have a misting system on an automatic timer, and industrial fan and a sun screen to block a lot of the heat. On a summer day, it's a good 10-15 degrees cooler in their coop than it is in the rest of the yard. Our home will be featured on the "Tour de Coops" this year, Saturday November 14th. If you can, I would HIGHLY suggest getting tickets and going. It is a great opportunity to see what kind of set ups people have, talk about different breeds and the do's and don'ts in our region. Here is a link: http://vpaaz.org/tourdecoops/

 

[ejcrist]

Much thanks for the great info. How has your RIR and Leghorns done here? I'd think the Reds would have a tough time but maybe the Leghorns would do ok being lighter colored. I feel for ya about the other two not laying at the moment. I feel the same way in between vegetable crops whenever we have empty rows in the garden - can't have that (wasted space) so I'll plant cover crops to till in to feed the soil if nothing will be planted there for 2 weeks or more.

That sounds like a great setup you have with the misters and being in a good spot. My location is on the north end of the yard with no shade so that's why I'm planning a large run with a roof made out of light colored corrugated metal that's supposed to reflect heat. The run will be 8'WX20'LX7'H so that should give them a fair amount of shade. We get some pretty good breezes because it's open up here and I'm thinking to put in a couple of low-cut tubs of water with stones in them that they can sit on to keep their legs wet. I'm figuring that'll help some. Now that you mentioned a mister I might incorporate one of those in the set-up as well - that's an excellent idea. The sun screen is an excellent idea too. My wife put one on top a pergola we have in the back and it really cuts down on the heat during the day. Maybe I can attach it to the south facing screen (1/2" hardware cloth) that I'm planning to use. The screen will let a good amount of air through while blocking a lot of the sun. That's good!

I saw the Tour de Coops on the Valley Permaculture site and I'm going to do my best to make it. You can learn a lot from the books but you never get the full picture till you see and do things in person. Hope to see your gals then.

 

[twinbrains]

Much thanks for the great info. How has your RIR and Leghorns done here? I'd think the Reds would have a tough time but maybe the Leghorns would do ok being lighter colored. I feel for ya about the other two not laying at the moment. I feel the same way in between vegetable crops whenever we have empty rows in the garden - can't have that (wasted space) so I'll plant cover crops to till in to feed the soil if nothing will be planted there for 2 weeks or more.

That sounds like a great setup you have with the misters and being in a good spot. My location is on the north end of the yard with no shade so that's why I'm planning a large run with a roof made out of light colored corrugated metal that's supposed to reflect heat. The run will be 8'WX20'LX7'H so that should give them a fair amount of shade. We get some pretty good breezes because it's open up here and I'm thinking to put in a couple of low-cut tubs of water with stones in them that they can sit on to keep their legs wet. I'm figuring that'll help some. Now that you mentioned a mister I might incorporate one of those in the set-up as well - that's an excellent idea. The sun screen is an excellent idea too. My wife put one on top a pergola we have in the back and it really cuts down on the heat during the day. Maybe I can attach it to the south facing screen (1/2" hardware cloth) that I'm planning to use. The screen will let a good amount of air through while blocking a lot of the sun. That's good!

I saw the Tour de Coops on the Valley Permaculture site and I'm going to do my best to make it. You can learn a lot from the books but you never get the full picture till you see and do things in person. Hope to see your gals then.

Good morning! The RIR and Leghorns have both done well. The Leghorns are the most prolific as far as egg laying is concerned but both breeds (for us anyway) are the LOUDEST when laying their eggs.

It sounds like you have a great plan for your coop and run! The low cut tubs will be a hit, I'm sure. We have a little kiddie pool (you know the hard, plastic blue ones) that the girls hang out at all summer long. They drink from it and splash the water on the ground, then they sit in the damp spots to cool themselves down.

Yes, it would be great to see you on the tour! Hope you can make it!! Just mention you are from the BYC site!

- Neema