Chapter 6.2
Food Security and Sovereignty

• ALL
• Remove Code Barriers
• Create Incentives
• Fill Regulatory Gaps

Keeping Fowl in Urban and Suburban Locations

INTRODUCTION

Urban and suburban communities in the U.S. have seen a renewed effort to incorporate fowl—most often, egg-laying hens—into urban and suburban backyard agriculture.[1] Efforts to cultivate agricultural production within denser areas are often intended to bolster the resiliency of food systems and provide environmental benefits by helping mitigate food insecurity, providing a local source of food in the event of a disaster, boosting the local economy, reducing the miles of travel and others.[2] Efforts to responsibly care for fowl raise awareness of “sustainable and economical [i.e. affordable] food practices.”[3] Chickens, especially, are often not just livestock raised for food production, but considered pets by the families and communities that keep them.[4] This may be especially true for immigrant communities that are culturally accustomed to raising fowl and accustomed to growing and producing their own food.[5] To be sure, local governments seeking to allow or incentivize fowl should be aware that the introduction of fowl can lead to challenges, such as an increase noise, smell, and predators and general difficulties required in caring for chickens in a humane way.

Regulations which permit keeping chickens or other fowl in urban communities are not unusual; in fact, out of the 100 largest cities by population in the United States, chickens are only banned in three—Fort Wayne, IN, Detroit, MI, and Yonkers, NY.[6] However, local regulations concerning fowl vary across municipalities, leading to varied outcomes for residents. Some municipalities only regulate the keeping of fowl through Euclidean zoning, without standards for the care of the livestock and regulations to mitigate nuisances, while others outline exact standards of care for keeping fowl.[7] Zoning issues are handled by zoning boards whereas nuisance-centered and animal welfare regulations are often issued by animal control.[8] As for specific regulations, a local government can permit a set amount of fowl, restrict their keeping to various size lots or certain zoning districts that may exclude residents, and require certain types of enclosures.[9] Some codes limit the on-site sale of anything coming from the keeping of fowl;[10] we discuss the sale of agricultural goods in several briefs including Temporary Farm Stands and Farmers Markets in a Variety of Districts. The variations in fowl regulations can lead to the exclusion of individuals and communities from legally raising fowl, whereas carefully designed regulations can benefit the landowner, surrounding property owners, and the community at-large.

EFFECTS

Enacting ordinances that permit fowl may help support the local food system. Permitting fowl, whether it be chickens, ducks, turkeys, or other egg-laying birds, can contribute to food security by providing a local source of eggs.[11] If there is an ordinance in place allowing the raising of fowl, it may also be slaughtered to provide meat.[12] Some studies suggest that when chickens are raised on a small-scale and given the ability to forage for a natural supply of food—as might happen with backyard hens—the resulting eggs are more nutritious than store-bought eggs.[13] When zoning laws permit the raising of fowl, these benefits are more readily available to more people across more communities, although there remain other hurdles, such as economic means to care for the fowl.

The potential benefits of raising fowl go beyond  the food supply. Birds can serve as pest control by eating insects, ticks, small rodents, and even small snakes, potentially making a valuable contribution to protecting an urban farm or garden.[14] Chickens are also known for providing effective fertilizer, and their manure can benefit even a backyard garden in small quantities.[15] Another benefit of raising fowl is that it can help foster and build a connected community: chickens can produce excess eggs, and “neighbors, thus, become the beneficiaries of excess eggs.”[16] Raising fowl can make a valuable contribution to a community, as well by contributing to a community's identity and presenting an educational opportunity.[17] In addition, chickens can provide companionship and are often kept as pets.[18]

Despite the noted benefits of keeping poultry, there are several concerns often raised in urban areas that require careful regulation by zoning authorities. The most significant concerns are public health and hygiene.[19] Poultry are a form of livestock and a potential source of fecal matter and disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.[20] Improper husbandry may threaten human health. Another community concern tends to be noise: while hens do not typically create significant nuisance issues with noise, roosters are typically restricted to less densely populated zones or prohibited outright.[21] Finally, roaming animals have historically created issues in localities by spreading disease and impeding traffic, which disturbs other residents and can cause accidents.[22] Municipal authorities must regulate carefully to avoid the pitfalls of raising local fowl if they wish to reap the benefits.

EXAMPLES

Christiansburg, VA

A town of 22,000 people,[23] Christiansburg, Virginia, enacted an urban agriculture ordinance in 2016 that now serves as a straightforward model for other similar communities seeking to advance individual urban agricultural activities by right.[24] The Christiansburg ordinance allows single family residences to keep no more than six chicken hens or chicks as well as no more than two beehive stands[25] (for more ways to promote beekeeping, see Bees in Urban and Suburban Districts). However, the town also requires that residents receive an approved urban agriculture zoning permit in order to take advantage of the by-right ordinance.[26] Additionally, the ordinance stipulates specific locational and dimensional requirements for chicken pens and beehive stands.[27] For instance, the ordinance requires that all chicken pens and beehive stands be set back at least 15 feet from all property lines and 50 feet from any dwellings on adjacent properties.[28] Additionally, residents must keep chickens in a fully enclosed, secure pen of no more than 128 square feet that includes an enclosed coop providing a minimum of two square feet per hen and an open run area providing a minimum of eight square feet per hen.[29] Subject to inspection by the zoning administrator or designee, the town of Christiansburg holds oversight powers to ensure general compliance, the maintenance of sanitary conditions, and the avoidance of unsightliness.[30]

To view the provision see Christiansburg, VA, Code of Ordinances § 42-663 (2020).

Boston, MA

Boston's zoning code regulates “Accessory Keeping of Hens” as an urban agriculture conditional use.[31] The code establishes limitations on the fowl-related uses of the property and regulations for the facilities in which hens are kept, all of which must be met for a conditional use permit to be issued.[32] Permits are valid so long as the keeping of hens commences within two years of the permit being issued and none of the further conditions are violated.[33] Although a conditional use permit will allow the raising of hens, related uses such as on-site slaughtering are not permitted.[34] To mitigate nuisance issues, the code also regulates and limits the ability to allow hens to range freely, requiring that fowl be supervised and “in fenced yards with consent of all residents and property owners who have legal access to the premises.”[35]

Boston also restricts the scale of any chicken keeping by limiting the number of birds on a lot. Each lot is permitted a maximum of six adult hens[36] and six younger birds that might be raised to replace adult hens, such as chicks and pullets.[37] The code also provides that “roosters are expressly forbidden,” which prevents both noise issues and breeding of chickens.[38]

To view the provisions see Boston, MA, Redevelopment Authority § 89-9 (2018).

Hartford, CT

Hartford regulates the keeping of chickens through zoning regulations of henhouses, as they apply as accessory urban agricultural structures.[39] The regulations impose structural and lot requirements which reduce the burden of a henhouse’s presence upon neighbors, such as screening requirements which require outdoor roaming areas surrounded by “a fence which is 60 percent opaque or year-round landscaping at least 4 feet in height.”[40] Henhouses are also limited to a size of 200 square feet,[41] as well as subject to setback requirements which restrict henhouses to rear yards and establish a buffer between them and adjoining properties.[42] Residential hen owners are also not permitted to sell eggs on their lots; eggs may be sold from farm stands located on urban farms.[43]

To prevent odors and unsanitary conditions, the regulations also contain sanitation-related requirements. Henhouses must be constructed of a “washable and sanitizable material,”[44] and no water or waste from the henhouse may flow out of the lot.[45] Any chicken keeping in a Hartford henhouse must comply with “consistent biosecurity practices as detailed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to prevent the spread of diseases.”[46] There is also a provision declaring “[t]he presence of obnoxious odors or unsanitary conditions which annoy the immediate neighborhood” to be a public nuisance which may be resolved by municipal officials.[47]

To view the provisions see Hartford, CT, Zoning Regulations § 4.20.5(C) (2018).

Cleveland, OH

Cleveland regulates the keeping of chickens through minimal lot requirements, including 800 square feet per chicken.[48] A standard residential lot in Cleveland is 4,800 square feet and this zoning ordinance would allow for six chickens on the lot.[49] Further, chickens cannot be kept in front yards and any coops or cages in the backyard must be set back 5 feet from side yard lines and 18 inches from the backyard line.[50] In non-residential districts, all regulations to residential districts apply except for the number of chickens per square yard: one chicken requires 400 square feet of lot area.

To view the provisions see Cleveland, OH, Code of Ordinances § 347.02(b) (2018).

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES

Oklahoma City, OK, Code of Ordinances § 59-8150.5 (2010) (permitting the raising of domesticated chickens, turkeys, ducks, guinea fowl, and geese in the land use regulations portion of the code).

Spokane, WA, Municipal Code § 17C.310.115 (2014) (permitting the keeping of chickens limited only by lot size and required only to have an enclosure which meets accessory structure setback requirements within the code’s zoning regulations).

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Sarah Schindler, Of Backyard Chickens and Front Yard Gardens: The Conflict Between Local Governments and Locavores, 87 Tul. L. Rev. 231, 231-96 (2012), https://perma.cc/R4PQ-VPGQ (arguing for ordinances that expressly permit backyard chicken coops).

Heather Wooten & Amy Ackerman, Seeding the City: Land Use Policies to Promote Urban Agriculture, ChangeLab Solutions (2012), https://perma.cc/4GF7-MURC.

A Model Township Zoning Ordinance: Raising and Keeping of Chickens, Chester Cty. Planning Comm., https://perma.cc/BV7E-9EAT (last visited June 18, 2020).

Darrin M. Karcher et. al., Suggestions for Ordinances Allowing Backyard Poultry, Michigan State University Extension (2010), https://perma.cc/L93G-QUEB.