yes to noisy dogs, no to quiet chickens

[Fabled frog]

My neighborhood allows loud basset hounds, huge great Danes, etc. but does not allow some hens or even a duck. anyone have any ideas of how i could overcome this or does anyone else have this problem (6th of an acre)

 

[TXchickmum]

This is very familiar. Years ago, I and a group of folks wishing to raise chickens got together and placed this topic on the agenda with our city council. We all attended the meeting, with large amounts of supportive materials, and filed to address the council that evening. The council took a vote, and approved backyard chickens. That being said, none of us were in subdivisions with HOAs. If you have an HOA, then you'll have to address that board, too.

Some folks decide to go ahead with a few hens despite ordinances. That's risky, IMO. If neighbors are all agreeable, you might get away with it. If someone complains, it will be an issue.

 

[Fabled frog]

This is very familiar. Years ago, I and a group of folks wishing to raise chickens got together and placed this topic on the agenda with our city council. We all attended the meeting, with large amounts of supportive materials, and filed to address the council that evening. The council took a vote, and approved backyard chickens. That being said, none of us were in subdivisions with HOAs. If you have an HOA, then you'll have to address that board, too.

Some folks decide to go ahead with a few hens despite ordinances. That's risky, IMO. If neighbors are all agreeable, you might get away with it. If someone complains, it will be an issue.

i have some crotchety old man who hates my guts and literally blows trash into our yard. called the cops on me and my family for outdoor barbecue because our legal fire-pit was a "bonfire". so, i was wondering what legal action i can take for my birds.

 

[TXchickmum]

Oh dear! -sounds like a miserable neighbor. If your town already permits chickens, then you certainly can have that right defended. If they don't, however, you won't have any legal grounds for action regarding the bad neighbor, unfortunately. Check into your ordinances for your town or county (if rural). You'll only be able to legally defend what's permitted.

I wish more people adopted a live and let live mentality, especially when it comes to personal property use. -so sorry that you have a rotten neighbor, and are dealing with this.

 

[DickMidnight]

i have some crotchety old man who hates my guts and literally blows trash into our yard. called the cops on me and my family for outdoor barbecue because our legal fire-pit was a "bonfire". so, i was wondering what legal action i can take for my birds.

like TX said, you’re gonna have to appeal to the town or city that you live in and either get a variance for yourself or if you have a group that wants to keep chickens, hopefully get the law changed in your favor.

 

[Fabled frog]

Oh dear! -sounds like a miserable neighbor. If your town already permits chickens, then you certainly can have that right defended. If they don't, however, you won't have any legal grounds for action regarding the bad neighbor, unfortunately. Check into your ordinances for your town or county (if rural). You'll only be able to legally defend what's permitted.

I wish more people adopted a live and let live mentality, especially when it comes to personal property use. -so sorry that you have a rotten neighbor, and are dealing with this.

my friend who lives just a mile down has chickens and such, but he lives on historic farmland and is exempt. I live in Monmouth NJ were we have lots of little bits of historic farmland. however, i live in one of the more densely populated towns of Wall, so people are bound to notice. i have a miniature homestead in my backyard, with a mini orchard, composters, and such, but even that caused problems with Mr. Cranky next door. we live in a legal gray area for farmland, because of the 1800s farmland the neighborhood lives in.

 

[TXchickmum]

I can see how there could be some "gray" areas with land use pertaining to things designated historic/agricultural if no new applications have been applied. We have a few historic farms that were sold, and neighborhood developments were built. The city code of ordinances applied to the new subdivisions once the zoning designation change was granted by the council. I don't know how things work in your area.
I did find this:
https://ecode360.com/9589227
I think you would have to check the particular zoning for where you are.

 

[Fabled frog]

I can see how there could be some "gray" areas with land use pertaining to things designated historic/agricultural if no new applications have been applied. We have a few historic farms that were sold, and neighborhood developments were built. The city code of ordinances applied to the new subdivisions once the zoning designation change was granted by the council. I don't know how things work in your area.
I did find this:
https://ecode360.com/9589227
I think you would have to check the particular zoning for where you are.

thx a lot for all the help.

 

[Fabled frog]

after searching, i have found that "raising fowl" is a generally prohibited act, but owning a feral animal is not mentioned. any thoughts?

 

[TXchickmum]

I can share what happened here. We and a number of neighbors got chickens prior to having a clear understanding of "land use" zoning. We'd checked about "animals" in the codes. There was no mention of chickens, fowl, or anything specific. There was a reference to loud and disruptive noise which we construed to cover "all" animals (might not want roosters that crow). My neighbor got a notice from the city that someone had complained about their chickens, and they were prohibited by zoning and land use ordinances. The zoning personnel that delivered the citation was pretty cool. He basically said that chickens were already on their radar, and knew people wanted them. -also said that he thought some folks didn't have anything else to do all day but complain about stuff other people were doing. He advised to hold off on getting rid of them (off the record), and get our preference for them on the council agenda.

Again, we had a lot of reading and familiarizing with all of the town specifics. -made me want to move to the country! Anyway, our experience was positive. The council was very open to allowing chickens. The zoning enforcement personnel were also very laid back, and really didn't want to start nit-picking stuff.

I think a lot depends on how aggressive your zoning enforcement is with "interpretations". Ours is pretty laid back, but others are very aggressive. Hopefully, you will be able to have your flock and the neighbor will mind his own business. A lot just depends on your local officials.