visit by police & told to get rid of chickens

[justtoni44]

Please see an attorney.In our state you can ususally find someone who is willing to see you for a small fee for the first half hour..................Trying to interpret it yourself is very complicated. They are counting on your
not interpreting it correctly.
Good Luck

 

[Danaus29]

In Ohio that is pretty simple to find out. How much land do you have? If you have more than 1 acre livestock is ok unless you are in a platted subdivision. State law, look for livestock in Ohio Revised Code.

 

[jaj121159]

I'm a zoning administrator/planning director by trade and can give you some ideas and direction.

Don't hire an attorney yet, most attorneys don't specialize in zoning matters and know little about it. This especially applies to general practice attorneys you will find in most smaller communities.

You should try to find out if someone filed a complaint. This probably happened because most cops don't take zoning or even most local code enforcement matters into their own hands without a complaint. Same goes for the ZA. Keep in mind any complaint filed might not be against you directly if you give your chicken wastes to a neighbor or someone else in town. They may be storing the manure in an offense manner according to their neighbors and they gave you as the source of the manure. If that is the case, definitely stop giving it to whomever was the cause of the complaint and do something else with the manure. If the complainant is doesn't complain anymore, chances are this will go away. I have experienced this many times with many complaints including complaints of stockpiled chicken manure. It was a neighbor that stockpiled the manure and this caused the complaint. The lady keeping the chickens gave the manure to someone that lived out-of-town and the complaint went away. The lady raising the chickens still does.

If your village's zoning code is online read the definitions dealing with livestock, confined livestock, pets ,etc. Next read the residential sections of the code if you don't know which particular zoning district you live in. There will be three main sections in each residential district. One is permitted uses, the second is conditional or special uses and third is accessory uses. If your chickens live in a coop, the coop will be an accessory building provided it means the definition of a building. Many times smaller buildings aren't subject to zoning, so setbacks, building permits, construction to code, etc. aren't required. Many times there is a square foot minimum and 100 square feet is common. This way lawn mower sheds, play houses, tree houses, dog houses etc aren't required to get a building permit, because they aren't classified as a building. If livestock or chickens aren't specifically addressed in permitted, accessory or conditional uses that doesn't mean you can have them. There is normally another chapter or article of the code usually called supplemental or additional or other regulations. Read this section with special attention to livestock and/or chickens or fowl. If you have trouble finding this or get lost in this unexcited reading, please feel free to PM me with a link to the zoning ordinance and I'll go through it. If it isn't listed in the zoning regulations or you are unsure go down to city hall on Monday and visit with the Zoning Administrator. It is also possible, holding chickens are covered in village code other than the zoning code. So get whatever code applies to your particular situation if it isn't zoning. If the rest of the village code is also on the internet, just do a search of the code for fowl, chickens, coops, livestock etc.

If you visit with the ZA on Monday, tell him or her that you wish to keep chickens and need to know the zoning and village code in that regard. This is the person that enforces the code. Police can help the ZA, but zoning violations start with the ZA. First of all you don't have anything in writing telling you to get rid of the chickens. Second of all, the code you posted is a definition only. If the ZA says you can't have chickens, make sure they show you that in writing. If it is their interpretation, then it can be challenged buy an appeal to probably the zoning board of adjustment or something with a similar title in Ohio. Y

Another thing to consider is that you had chickens once before. If you are in violation of the code, see when the code was approved. It was approved after you already had chickens, chances are since you didn't have chickens for a while you are not "Grandfathered in" since you discontinued the use. You can always bluff and say you are grandfathered anyway.

One last thing to look for is many codes say livestock may not be kept in confinement. If that is the case find out the definition of confinement. I consider a chicken coop with a fenced run confinement if there is no grass growing in the coop and the animals or chickens are confined a total of 45 days in a calendar year (Also the EPA definition). Your state or village will use the same definition unless it is even more restricted (can't be less restrictive legally anyway).

The other option is wait until you get something in writing from the ZA or police department. Anything in writing should tell you what area of the code you are in violation, then you can go from there.

 

[jaj121159]

Quote:
If you live in a village, unless you are on the edge of town, chances are real good you live in a platted subdivision. All cities and villages are actually a series of platted subdivisions. If you live on a lot like Lot 1 of Creedy's Addition to the village of ??? you are in a subdivision.

 

[cassie]

I learned long ago that what an official, any official, tells you what the law is and what the law actually is are not the same thing. In many instances it is not even close. In your case, insist that the official show you what law he is citing you under. If the best he can do is what he told you, tell him to try again because he would be laughed out of court on that one and if the powers that be cannot come up with a real law, you will be filing a complaint for harrassment and abuse of process.

 

[theFox]

jaj121159,

I also wouldn't get an attorney at this point. I'd proceed on several parallel paths and the results wouldn't be pretty.

cassie's response would be but one shot fired across the bow, stirring the pot is always fun and I've used that tactic to good effect in the past, actively seeking replacements for the elected officials to grease the skids for a rewrite of the code to specifically allow the keeping of chickens (if it turns out they can not be currently kept) would be pursued (this process can be accelerated under certain conditions), and engaging the press (nothing like a little exposure to rattle the powers that be).

Oh and just so everyone understands, you do not do this with unclean hands, get your laws etc. (ducks) in line before getting the birds, do not get the birds and then attempt to change things.

One other thing you need to be aware of is that just because a jurisdiction has a law on the books it doesn't always mean that that law has any validity.

 

[Penturner]

It has already been said but I will say it again. the portion you posted here is nothing more than the definition of what Harboring means in regard to this section of the ordinance.
It is not even a legal definition. But in a nut shell Harboring means to give refuge to.
Even with that there is nothing in what you put in your post that says you cannot give refuge to chickens. If a cop had handed me what you have written in your post I would have asked him what the hell made him think I wanted a definition of Refuge. I know good and well that I keep chickens. bring me something that says I can't before telling me they have to go. otherwise bring your supervisor over here cause I'm filing harassment charges against you. If my neighbors start complaining about my rooster crowing at 5a.m. there are going to be a lot of dogs going to the pound. I have at least 5 neighbors with dogs that bark as late as 11:00 at night. The pendulum swings both ways.

 

[JasperCountyNative]

City ordinances can be crazy. When we lived in town, our local chief of police informed us that they had received a complaint about our barking dogs. After my wife was finished with him and the mayor, they let it go. Supposedly, there was an ordinance banning dog barking. We pointed out that our dogs seemed to be the only ones in town actually in an enclosure. Everyone else just let their dogs roam free. These free ranging dogs would run up and down outside our fenced in backyard causing our dogs to go nuts. Guess what, there was no ordinance against dogs running loose.

Just a big mess for a little while. We actually considered turning our dogs loose to comply with the "law".