San Francisco BYC regulations: enclosure question.

[GiosChickens]

Hi,

I've had chickens for years here in San Francisco (and Daly City). I keep them free range in my backyard (two of them) and they go into their coop at night. I have a dog that protects my chickens. Chickens, dog, and cats all are great friends. Chickens are good layers. They love getting bugs, etc, in the backyard. Never had any problems before but a neighbor is telling me they can't be free range, as that is against the rules.

SF allows back yard chickens, but I thought the enclosure requirement could be interpreted as meaning fenced off area of the back yard (or a fenced back yard itself?)--which does not need to be full enclosed, as in also covered?

Here is the SF regulations on it: https://sfenvironment.org/chickens
Its unclear. I will call them but maybe others here will know the answer.

It says, "must be kept in coops and enclosures approved by the director of Public Health." But what types of enclosures are approved by the director? Where can I find the legal requirements that meet the definition of this type of approved enclosure? I have not been able to find the answer yet online, but since it doesn't say covered specifically, I think a fenced in area would suffice, or no?

Thanks in advance,
Gio

 

[DobieLover]

Hi,

I've had chickens for years here in San Francisco (and Daly City). I keep them free range in my backyard (two of them) and they go into their coop at night. I have a dog that protects my chickens. Chickens, dog, and cats all are great friends. Chickens are good layers. They love getting bugs, etc, in the backyard. Never had any problems before but a neighbor is telling me they can't be free range, as that is against the rules.

SF allows back yard chickens, but I thought the enclosure requirement could be interpreted as meaning fenced off area of the back yard (or a fenced back yard itself?)--which does not need to be full enclosed, as in also covered?

Here is the SF regulations on it: https://sfenvironment.org/chickens
Its unclear. I will call them but maybe others here will know the answer.

It says, "must be kept in coops and enclosures approved by the director of Public Health." But what types of enclosures are approved by the director? Where can I find the legal requirements that meet the definition of this type of approved enclosure? I have not been able to find the answer yet online, but since it doesn't say covered specifically, I think a fenced in area would suffice, or no?

Thanks in advance,
Gio

I agree with you. A fence is absolutely an enclosure. The regulations are ambiguous and I think you are not in violation of them. However, you now have a neighbor prepared to make things difficult for you. You definitely need to go pay the Public Health director a visit (don't just call) and be prepared to pucker up. Explain how you keep your birds, bring pictures, explain how long you've kept them without issue or complaint. Then state that you are confirming that your setup is legal, and oh, by the way, will you please provide me with written documentation to that effect? A simple sentence or two on DOH letterhead would suffice.
I would imagine that the fence that contains your flock meets the "must be 20 feet from any door, window or human habitat" criteria. But what if the director says they are too close to YOUR door, window and human habitat??
Good luck.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I would ask the neighbor why do they care? Are the chickens bothering them any more than a barking dog or traffic noises? What is the issue they have with your chickens? I would be nice as can be, I just want to be sure there is not a problem. Make them explain it to you. They will not be able to, nosy neighbors are the worst.

Gary

 

[GiosChickens]

I would ask the neighbor why do they care? Are the chickens bothering them any more than a barking dog or traffic noises? What is the issue they have with your chickens? I would be nice as can be, I just want to be sure there is not a problem. Make them explain it to you. They will not be able to, nosy neighbors are the worst.

Gary

They are not nice people. They took down a portion of our fence in the back that shares their property, and put up a wall wooden structure, but left gaps in the chain fence that was there. Its not properly done. Then they complained about the gaps, where the chicken and dog could get into their yard. The original fence was fine, and they did not ask us before.

We were going to just fix it with our contractor, however, he informed us that the work they did was not safe, and done correctly (they glued a wall to a cement retaining divider) so its a risk and we have kids. So we informed them of this, and their need to fix it. This is when they instead raised the with the "no free range chickens allowed" argument. They don't want to talk about the fence. He said he will kill the chicken if it goes into his yard and call the police. I want to fix the fence, but in the meanwhile I'm gong to fence in my chickens closer away from that fence, until that is resolved. But I also want to make sure Im legal with my pet chicken's enclsoure since they are now loudly claiming that my "free range" chickens are not legal. He posted large noticed on the front of the house citing the regulations--the same ones I cite above. I guess in his mind enclosure means covered up.

 

[Steven Bussell]

I'm here in Vallejo Ca...
City requires that I keep my coop and run no closer than 15 feet from a neighbor house...but we are also allowed to have roosters but they can cause trouble because of noise.
Sorry to hear about your neighbor. That's a drawback of being a home owner. Makes packing up and moving a little harder

 

[pennyJo1960]

They are not nice people. They took down a portion of our fence in the back that shares their property, and put up a wall wooden structure, but left gaps in the chain fence that was there. Its not properly done. Then they complained about the gaps, where the chicken and dog could get into their yard. The original fence was fine, and they did not ask us before.

We were going to just fix it with our contractor, however, he informed us that the work they did was not safe, and done correctly (they glued a wall to a cement retaining divider) so its a risk and we have kids. So we informed them of this, and their need to fix it. This is when they instead raised the with the "no free range chickens allowed" argument. They don't want to talk about the fence. He said he will kill the chicken if it goes into his yard and call the police. I want to fix the fence, but in the meanwhile I'm gong to fence in my chickens closer away from that fence, until that is resolved. But I also want to make sure Im legal with my pet chicken's enclsoure since they are now loudly claiming that my "free range" chickens are not legal. He posted large noticed on the front of the house citing the regulations--the same ones I cite above. I guess in his mind enclosure means covered up.

You need to gi into the city in the morning as Dobie suggested make sure you get him or her to help you

 

[Aunt Angus]

If you're paying a San Fran mortgage and Cali propertytaxes, you should be allowed to keep a fricken elephant! Lol!

(I'm a Bay Area refugee, so I speak from experience)

Seriously, though. I like your idea of fencing them away from their mutual property line. You can check with the city about the ordinance, but I'd do it hypothetically, if you catch my meaning. You might also ask them about permits for constructing out buildings and what constitutes proper fencing. Might give you some leverage when dealing with that lousy, unreasonable neighbor.

I wish you luck. I am definitely pulling for you. I am soooooo grateful all of my neighbors are kind and don't mind chickens.

 

[Steven Bussell]

I just want to keep a goat to maintain my hill side....Maybe I should look into having it as my therapy pet