Spokane's Chicken Rules

[WhySayWhat]

Why would the city go backwards on an already chicken friendly ordinanace?

As I read it, we can have 1 chicken per 2,000 sq ft of property. So, for my lot of just over 10k, I can have 5 chickens. Also, there is nothing I can find against having a rooster, except maybe a few neighbors having an issue with it. I know of several around the city (roos that is) that are leading happy lives....assuming that because they are still crowing.

In fact, a previous owner of my house raised banties and had a roo that liked to chill on the fence and crow at the neighbors, lol.

The only iffy thing in any of the ordinanaces concerning animals is the structures, as it is written, you can't even put a dog house on an average size lot because it can't meet the required 90 (or some other rediculous number) feet from any existing building or property line. According to those I have talked with and others on this site, this is pretty much ignored for that reason, it is an unreasonable distance.

Not that I know everything...but I did do my research on this prior to even thinking about actually getting my girls. So, you can take it with a grain of salt, lol. As I read it many months ago, prior to the Valley adopting a "yeah, chickens!" atittude, I was very lucky to live within the city limits because most if not all of the other areas nearby had ordinances against chickens.

 

[coopkit]

Thanks for the info. This was a great help. I read an article a few months ago in local publication, cant remember which, that mentioned it was a max of 6 pets per household, and that chickens were considered pets, in Spokane city limits. Thanks for the clarification, I was planning on getting 5(have a dog to help with keeping away cats and other dogs

) but now I'll cut that back to 3.

I'm totally new at raising chickens and would welcome the opportunity to see what people in Spokane have done. I did find the tour but I really would like to get started building the coop so its ready this spring. Any guidance is welcomed.

 

[WhySayWhat]

I volunteer with Spokane Humane Society and asked them (they are not animal control so take it with a grain of salt). The gal I talked to said that her understanding is that you can have up to 3 (or 4) of each type of animal, cat, dog, chicken, peacock, etc... So it really falls to whomever is having to make the decision I think.

That being said, I always welcome visitors as long as I know they are coming! My coop is under my back deck and my neighbors have told me (when asked) that they rarely hear my girls, even my Barred Rock who spends hours letting the neighborhood know she's "going to lay an egg today" doesn't make enough noise to annoy them!

 

[mth1978]

Anyone notice that the City of Spokane revised the 90’ setback rule for “Coop’s”? This seemed to be the major hiccup in having chickens in the City limits. It would appear that coops have the same standard setback as any shed or covered accessory structures… looking for feedback and/or concurrence on my interpretation of the ordinance.

http://www.spokanecity.org/services/documents/smc/?Section=17C.310.100

 

[Mom24boyz]

I live on the south hill. I have 10 lots that are beautifully landscaped and adjoining. I have 26 chickens with two roosters. I have nice neighbors and flock is kind of hidden. Most folks are shocked when they realize I have that many. They do not stink, cause noise or ruckus, they are awesome pets and provide my family with healthy eggs. I breed silkies and sell both chicks and eggs. No one has said boo to me, but I tend to ask forgiveness rather than permission!

 

[LeMec]

Back in December I bought my first chicks. I read this article and based on it I have four hens and one rooster. I live in the Indian Trail area and have asked all my neighbors to make sure the rooster doesn't bother them. However, I recently got into a discussion with a friend who was adamant that roosters are not allowed in the city of Spokane. This article says that you can have 4 hens and 1 rooster? Does anyone know if the city has changed the ordinances since this article was written in 2010?


http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jul/15/city-rules-on-chickens-worth-crowing-about/

 

[urbanchange90]

I'll be joining the club here soon enough(spring can't get here quick enough) over In the 5 mile area

 

[LadyMay]

(I've been lurking a while, but jointed to post this...)

Did you see that there is new rules?

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/25/council-oks-urban-farming/

It's now 1 chicken per 1,000 square feet of property, coop 5' from any property line, no roosters in the city.
I'm wondering if I can keep more chickens if I designate any as pets (we have zero pets as it is)... I can't find any information about that. I am sure my crabby neighbor will be counting what I have - we have not had birds until now b/c of this reason (he would have reported us to the city before when they were only enforcing w/complaints). He's a "fun" neighbor.

But yay!

 

[WhySayWhat]

I love the new rules! I'm half tempted to get a goat to control weeds, but I don't want to take on that sort of pet right now. Our hens (2 SLW, 1 PBR) are 3 years old now and are laying less and less every year. One of my SLWs keeps going broody, so that hits our egg counts hard... We are waiting until these girls are gone before adding more hens, but I am getting "chick fever" now that I can add another 7 to my flock (legally)! My current coop is only large enough for 7 though...so I'll need to build a new coop (our run is 13'x15'). We also need to rebuild our back deck (the roof of our coop and run), so a tractor is in our future this summer...I may add more sooner than I'm currently planning with the need to build already.

 

[LadyMay]

That's great you can add more, sounds like good timing also. We are finishing our coop now and we also can have 8 birds. I am quite certain my husband would die if we added a goat (now). Haha! Chickens can be our gateway animal.

Happy remodeling this year! I have seen some pretty nice coops (think I saw a tractor one) on CList, if you don't already have one.