Please sign our chicken petition

[StephanieGreenMusic]

We recently were told by our township in Rural Butler PA, that we are zoned in an area where no chickens are to be on anyone's property. There are no specifications for these "Rules" or "Laws" written down, it just says not allowed. Meanwhile only minutes around us, all around us, everyone else seems to be allowed to have these amazing animals. We received a letter saying that we have 30 days to remove them from our property or we will be fined $500 a day for being in violation of this ordinance. I'm going to print off this petition and take it to the commissioners office to see about how to change this outdated ordinance. If you have a minute to help we sure would appreciate it!

http://chng.it/LP2zFsf8FL

Here is the link for the petition above. Thanks and God Bless!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

that's awful! I wonder why

 

[Brooks_]

I wonder why

Revenue?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Butler PA Zoning Map

Butler PA Zoning Ordinances

The ownership and raising of Poultry is neither a Permitted nor Conditional Use in any zone within the City, and is only temporarily allowed in C-1. Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius

If I understand what you are trying to communicate below, its simply untrue - you just didn't know what to look for/how to read it. You also can't have a nuclear reactor on site, or an aquaculture operation or a movie theater, though those uses aren't specifically enumerated in the Residential zoning, either. What is enumerated is Permitted Uses (allowed without approval) and Conditional Uses (Allowed if approved). Everything else is verboten (forbidden).

"We recently were told by our township in Rural Butler PA, that we are zoned in an area where no chickens are to be on anyone's property. There are no specifications for these "Rules" or "Laws" written down, it just says not allowed."

I wish you luck in your Petition, though I doubt it will go anywhere - the perception is widely held that nearby chickens negatively affect property values, one of the chief reasons for neighborly opposition.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

And if you are in Butler Township, its Zoning map is here.

You can have chickens. **IF** your property is zoned A-1, according to the Ordinances, which consider chickens and other poultry to be "Animal, Domestic Fowl" but not pets or "Animal, Exotic". It also, arguably, considers the typical chicken coop to be a "Commercial Kennel". Ordinance 897, of 12/18/2017 amended permitted uses to include "Farmettes", subject to certain limitations, including lot size.

and by Special Exception, the same is true for R-1 zoning (same Ordinance change).

For the record, a Farmette is also defined in the code -

FARMETTE An accessory use on a lot which does not meet the ten-acre minimum acreage requirements for a farm, where the principal use is a single-family dwelling and the accessory use is limited to activities authorized in the definition of "agriculture," provided that this accessory use does not constitute the principal source of income for the residents of the dwelling and utilizes a minimum of five acres.

The Internet is a sometimes useful thing.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I signed http://chng.it/NvnZj7NKjL

 

[MTR]

We recently were told by our township in Rural Butler PA, that we are zoned in an area where no chickens are to be on anyone's property. There are no specifications for these "Rules" or "Laws" written down, it just says not allowed. Meanwhile only minutes around us, all around us, everyone else seems to be allowed to have these amazing animals. We received a letter saying that we have 30 days to remove them from our property or we will be fined $500 a day for being in violation of this ordinance. I'm going to print off this petition and take it to the commissioners office to see about how to change this outdated ordinance. If you have a minute to help we sure would appreciate it!

http://chng.it/LP2zFsf8FL

Here is the link for the petition above. Thanks and God Bless!

That seems absurd. I live in Montgomery County PA and can have 50 chickens per acre. But it’s actually a Township/boro rule.

 

[Hassantis]

Im very hapy to be there!
I am from Chicago and work on employee time tracking and I have 40 chickens

 

[BlueHorse17]

Signed !