Simi Valley City Council Takes Our Neighborhood off the Chopping Block

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Renee

Renee

Songster
11 Years
May 7, 2008
1,048
15
169
CALIFORNIA
Hi all,
In our small rural pocket (about 350 homes) in the middle of Simi Valley, we still enjoy the right to keep livestock, including chickens. However, in their twenty-year revision of the City's General Plan, the local Planning Commission had recommended our neighborhood for rezoning to high-density (18-30 units and acre) multi-family dwellings, since they consider our lots "underutilized."

Last night our politicians responded to us, and unanimously voted to take our neighborhood off the rezoning map! Over 200 residents packed the City Council Chambers, and spoke (sometimes less than eloquently) about their love of the area as a rural eden in the city. We can keep our chickens! And our goats!
Thank you to the Simi Valley City Council! Hooray for democracy!
 
Quote:
Congratulations! I love it when governmental organizations use a little "common sense"!
smile.png
 
Western Civilization and World History. Not quite as interesting as Exotic Animal Training...

For those of you interested in a career working with animals, Moorpark has a fantastic program. Very tough to get in, even tougher while you are there, but worth it.

Thanks for all the feedback! We spent the last month organizing the neighborhood- walking each street and knocking on doors, organizing a Yahoo! group, sending out mailers and petitions... I'm tired. And happy.
 
Hi Renee!
I'm also from Simi Valley and was hoping you'd be able to point me in the right direction. We're getting ready to buy a house and I wanted to have a couple of chickens (maybe 3-4, not a bunch) but I'm unable to figure out what and where the ordinances are that state whether I can or cannot have them. Would you be able to shed any light on the subject?
 
Hi

I live in Simi as well. This is what I found....To find out if you are zoned for chickens go to the zoning map - found here

http://www.ci.simi-valley.ca.us/index.aspx?page=257 (click on the green hyper link titled Zoning maps)

Look at the first high level map and find your street (similar to a Thomas Guide), go to that map, find your property. There is a translation for the zones at the VERY bottom of that document. In order to be ZONED for chickens you will need to have an animal overlay that shows as an (A) on the map next to zoning code. You can read more about the animal overlays and animal keeping in the municipal code here: (code 9-28.030 explains the animal overlays, 9-44.060 is Animal Keeping):

http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=16629


I am currently in an RM zone, which is NOT zoned for chickens But I talked to my neighbors before setting up the coop, ok'd it with them, was sure to give them lots of fresh eggs and I never had a problem.

My concern is, I am moving in a couple of weeks. My new property is also zone RM. It's 2 acres, and I would have NO problem keeping the coop in the middle of the property (far from neighbors), but I am going from having 3 neighbors touching my property to 12 neighbors touching my property. The closest neighbor has already proven to be a jerk. He has called the city and complained at least a dozen times for anything from kids skatboarding in the pool on the abandoned lot, generator running after 7 pm, the possibility of a trench not being filled to code etc, etc. Can anyone tell me if it's better to move the coop and deal with complaints IF they arrive, or should I go to the city to try to obtain an exception BEFORE I move in?

Thanks!!

Kathy
 

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