Royal Oak, MI - Suggestions please

[Keleka]

Hi Friends,

I am a long time member of BYC and have been gone awhile due to personal issues. I recently moved to Royal Oak with half of my flock and am running into problems with the neighbors. As far as I knew chickens were legal there, but I received a violation in the mail the other day. Has anyone had to obtain a permit here and how do I do that? We do not have any roosters, just hens for eggs.

Thanks in advance,

Derek

 

[Denninmi]

What was the reason for the violation? I'm going to guess noise or chickens not confined, since it appears it is legal to keep them in Royal Oak?

I didn't see anything about a permit being required, either, but the city offices should be able to tell you if you need one.

Here's a link to your code.

Id=RO2029

I found this on another site:

http://urbanchickens.org/we-need-your-chicken-ordinances

City of Royal Oak Michigan allows chickens:

Must not be allowed to roam "free range" unconfined. Pens/coops must be clean.
No excessive noise.
No limits on hens or roosters.

http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/codebook_frameset.asp?ep=fs&t=ws&cb=2...

ARTICLE I Chickens and Fowl at Large [Adopted 1-27-1919 by Ord. No. 84]
§ 195-1. Running at large prohibited. [Amended 1-24-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-01]

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to permit any chickens or other fowls owned by them or in their possession or under their control to run at large within the corporate limits of the City of Royal Oak.

§ 195-2. Violations and penalties.

Any person violating the provisions of this article shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $25, or, in default of the payment of such fine, the offender shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than 60 days unless such fine is sooner paid.

http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/codebook_frameset.asp?ep=fs&t=ws&cb=2...

§ 484-13. Keeping of pets.

No person shall harbor or keep any animal, bird, bee, or pet, which causes annoyance in the neighborhood either by: A. Barking, howling, braying, crowing, or making other sounds common to its species.
B. Failure of the owner, caretaker, or custodian to maintain in a clean and sanitary condition devoid of rodents and vermin and free from objectionable odor, all structures, pens, coops, or yards wherein any animal, fowl or bee is kept.
C. Failure of the owner, caretaker, or custodian to keep the said animal confined on his own premises.
D. In the case of bees, stinging or molesting any person.

§ 484-14. Keeping of livestock; removal of animals. A. No person shall keep any livestock, or any other animals, in the City in such a manner as to become a public nuisance. No person shall keep any horses, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs or similar animals in the City without first obtaining a permit therefor. Application for such permit shall be made to the City Clerk upon blanks furnished for the purpose. Such application shall state the location where such livestock or other animal is to be kept and describe the conditions under which the same shall be kept. Such permit shall be granted by the City Commission only after investigation and recommendation by the Chief Inspector. No permit shall be issued for the keeping of any such livestock or animal except where it appears that the keeping of such livestock or animals is not likely to create a public nuisance. If at any time it appears that the keeping of any such livestock or animals creates a public nuisance, the City Manager, Health Officer or Chief Inspector may, whether or not a permit has been issued, order the owner or keeper to abate the nuisance or remove such livestock or animals from the City, and if he fails to do so within seven days after he has been served with said notice, the City Manager, Health Officer or Chief Inspector may summarily remove said animals and abate said nuisance.
B. The owner or keeper of any stable where horses or any kind of livestock are kept, or of any chicken house, rabbit hutch, or any other building used for the housing of animals shall keep such stable, hutch, or building in a clean and sanitary condition at all times and shall as often as is necessary remove the accumulations of manure or other excreta in order to prevent the same from becoming a public nuisance in the neighborhood. No stable shall be maintained without concrete floor draining to a sump of a style and character approved by the Building Department with a drain connection to the sewer. Said concrete floors shall be completely flushed and washed at least once each day. Every stable shall have a complete set of screens on all openings for ventilation, or ingress or egress, so that insects may be excluded therefrom. Such screens shall be kept closed at all times except when opened for purposes of ingress or egress.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

"At large" is not the same as "free range." They can free range on your property to the extent you desire. What they cannot do is be at large OFF your property. "At large" is essentially a leash law.

 

[babigyrl22]

what did the violation state you did wrong?

 

[Keleka]

Today we received a notice about this. I have one week to remove all our chickens from the property. This all stemmed from a "complaint" and this is considered a nuisance. I would like to fight the city on this one if anyone has any helpful advice. The city allows chickens here and I applied for a permit, so because of 1 complaint I am forced to remove my chickens? Anyone had a similar situation?

 

[FiFiFeather]

Eek, what a nightmare! I support you over here in A2!

Didn't Royal Oak have the issue with the property owner having raised veggie beds in her front yard?

Michigan is a weird place. I was born & raised in MI, so I know

 

[grammamac]

My son contacted RO code enforcement when he was 9 (several years ago), to raise them for a 4-H project in our porch. They got loose once and neighbors complained (2 mini cochins). The city was good telling the neighbor they were lucky he didn't want a pot belly pig. Those officers are retired and it is getting less free. however, the rule then, if not changed is don't let your chickens run loose, tie their wings back and keep things clean.
The big worry I would have is the rat and raccoon population in RO has gotten so high due to all the restaurants and piles of their garbage that attract them. Check to see any changes in ordinance, and really make sure your coop is clean and rat, predator proof.
Ours overwintered in a three season porch attached to the house. Don't think I want the hassle with some of the neighbors and am looking to move out where houses are not so close. I do know that a woman was given a permit for two pygmy goats a few years ago. A story ran in the RO Tribune.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Today we received a notice about this. I have one week to remove all our chickens from the property. This all stemmed from a "complaint" and this is considered a nuisance. I would like to fight the city on this one if anyone has any helpful advice. The city allows chickens here and I applied for a permit, so because of 1 complaint I am forced to remove my chickens? Anyone had a similar situation?

You need to find out exactly what the complaint was. They may not tell you WHO filed the complaint, but they should be able to tell you the specifics of the complaint. Then you need to address those issues. Anyone can complain about anything, but whether or not the complaint has any true validity of a nuisance is another thing. I can complaint that I don't like the landscaping choice of a neighbor, or the kind of car they drive or that they have a dog, but in and of themselves, those are not true nuisances. Now if that dog barks non-stop for hours on end, or they drive their car through the edge of your yard regularly or that their landscaping choice is state-listed noxious weeds or a lawn of grass that is 3' high, those ARE nuisances.

So, call and ask for a copy of the complaint so that you can verify if there is something you can to to remove the nuisance. If the concern is noise, verify if there really IS any excessive noise from your birds or not. If the noise is flies or rodents, check your coop and make sure it is clean, relatively odorless and dry, etc. Try to work WITH the city, especially if the complain is iffy. Now if you live in a home with a postage stamp sized awn, and have 2000 birds, there probably isn't much you can do, but if the complaint is over a handful of chickens and not readily apparent (crowing when you have no rooster), concern over what MIGHT happen, etc., or is easily correctable (chickens scratching and digging up a neighbor's garden), you should be able to get an opportunity to correct the problem,

 

[mac ola]

hello hello

was your prob resolved
wanted to keep a few hens
but i all ready
having probs with my bees

seems city of Royal Oak says you can keep bees and or chickens

unless some A hole neighbor does not like you
then forget it

just got the letter from city
have ten days to get rid of my bees

thank you
yours truly

mac

 

[wingless]

Hey mac, welcome to BYC!

There are two ways you can go about establishing your right to keep bees (or chickens) in Michigan. One is to fight for these rights at the local level (city or township), and the other is to seek protection from the Michigan Right to Farm Act which DOES protect you if you sell any of your products (honey). Take a look at the links in my signature line, and also the discussion on this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...o-farm-law-what-does-it-mean/900#post_9760110