I didn't take this picture, Mark Koltz posted it on Flickr. And man, am I glad he did! Chickens love beer. And we love beer. A match made in heaven.
I have today off (extending my birthday celebration - it was supposed to last all week, but Chris has to travel, so it only lasted 3 days)...I've been catching up on reading blogs as well as looking into if chickens can be kept in Folsom. All signs point to >>>no<<<. Darn.
It began with our CC&Rs (Covenants, Codes, and Restrictions). Basically, these are rules that are written for each subdivision of a community ON TOP OF the city rules. These firmly state that poultry cannot be kept on our premises.
Then I searched the Folsom Municipal Code and came up with this:
7.08.030 Restrictions on domestic animals. Turkeys and geese shall not be kept within any zoning district of the city other than agricultural and agricultural combining districts. Additionally, not more than any combination of two chickens, ducks, pigeons and rabbits shall be kept within any zoning district of the city other than agricultural or agricultural combining districts; and said animals shall be kept or maintained at least twenty feet from any property line. (Ord. 371, 1978)
We do not live in an agricultural district. Although where we'd keep chickens at our house is more than 25 feet from any neighbor's property line....
Basically, I can't figure out how our CC&R's are enforced (everyone has sheds ("not allowed"), parks on the street ("not allowed"), and have barking dogs ("must not ruin other's peaceful enjoyment of their own property."). But chickens are worse than this? PLEASE....
But the city code IS enforced. Drat.
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12 comments:
To chicken! Just do it...lol. Lots of our Hispanic neighbors keep (as in keep, I mean feed them) their own chickens. They just walk around the neighborhood like they own the place. lol. I don't think chickens are allowed here, but people around here rarely follow rules, a lot of our neighbors probably don't even get permits when they put up a fence or roof or something.
The CC&R's are just there as you most likely already know for the possibility of a spying/complaining neighbor. As long as you keep them in your own yard, keep them from shanking neighbors, and if they don't make too much noise, I don't see it to be a problem. Keeping a few wouldn't be too much trouble. Here, we use the we wont tell on you if you don't tell on us system, it usually works. *evil laugh* If a neighbor complains about your future chickens, find something they're not supposed to have and make them aware that you know or are unhappy with it. "I notice you have a shed, well...we have chickens, lets keep it that way." lol.
That sounds...frustrating! I read a comment recently where someone was hiding their chickens in their house, pending the outcome of some sort of municipal bylaw thing that'd determine whether they could actually keep chickens. That sounded funny for a minute, harboring a chicken, but really... First they come for your chickens, then they come for your books,...
Maybe CHICKENS are the line in the sand? ;)
I couldn't agree more. We would LOVE to keep chickens, but we're not allowed either.
Now that's a law that needs to be changed. Chickens are the best, most earth friendly slug & bug control ever! If you just kept two hens, no roosters, you could probably skirt the laws. I AM a law abiding citizen but this is pretty dumb. How much healthier for your yard and the neighborhood to have chickens (and their poop for fertilizer) instead of chemicals!
Bummer! Matt and I have dreams of chickens, ducks, and goats... for eggs and milk. And companionship, too, of course. So sorry about the darn law. That sucks!
Btw, is beer *good* for chickens? I'm thinkin' maybe some (local & organic) microbrew, but Dos Equis? LOL.
There was just an article last Wednesday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Home & Garden section about people having chickens in urban areas. In Minneapolis itself (and several burbs), you can apply for a permit. Awesome!
Happy Birthday - late, but heartfelt just the same! Sounds like you've had a nice celebration.
Katie -
Am I reading that wrong? It sounds like you can keep 2 chickens - just need to be 25ft from the property line. If you don't have a rooster, then they shouldn't be loud.
Go for it!
-Jason
You'd better plan on putting chicken wire around every moist patch of garden dirt that you have....anywhere, if you get them. My spring garden is surrounded by a 3' fence and is now pretty much ruined. Even with one wing's feathers clipped, our Sarah White and Tall, laughed gleefully at me as she bounded over it and dug up most of my spring garden.
Oh...I found our code stuff:
Ord. 1_A, 2007 Silly code wankers and their enforcement lackeys shall remove the loud barking rottweiler next door and his owner whenever barking or yelling at girlfriend by either party occurs. Additionally, the drunken, drug dealing construction flunkies and ex-cons inhabiting the adjoining property shall be subject to visits from the Tucson Police Department whenever the noise level exceeds the level of one quacking hen.
Addendum 1_A Sub. 1 Any and all infractions or interloping involving said chicken owner's property shall be handled by TPD or the above mentioned chicken owner at the ugly end of a fully loaded Remington Model 1200, thus leaving said interloper five chances to leave said chicken owner's property.
Back to being serious: We're supposed to have 50' of space here in T-Town, but the folks here would rather worry about weeds exceeding 17.5" or west nile virus in an abandoned pool.
Garrett - One vote for the chickens. But I don't think we'll let ours roam the street. But who knows.
Mike(tfb) - I may have misinterpreted the code, meaning we can have 2 chickens, as long as our neighbors don't sue us. Then we'd have to keep them in the bathroom...
Melinda - Organic microbrews might be better for chickens than Dos Equis. But I'm not a chicken....couldn't tell ya!
Kim&Victoria - What would the "authorities" do if EVERYONE decided en masse to raise chickens?
kris - Thanks for the birthday wishes. Too much cake + beer and now I have a beer belly. Just from one weekend! I had too much fun.
Jason - You had the same reaction Chris had - technically it says we can keep two chickens at least 25' from the property line, as long as our neighbors don't sue to enforce the CC&R's, we ought to be ok....
amorris - that is my one worry with chickens - that they'll ruin my entire yard!
Nice ghetto code! Is your neighborhood *really* that bad? Sounds like the first place Chris and I lived where the best neighbor we ever had was a drug dealer....
The guy next door was selling weed pretty heave there for a while. Broad daylight and right in the street. T-town is an interesting place. I think that the realtor's term "hit or miss" must have been coined here.
The chickies will totally eradicate most small green things. We had grass and a few weeds in the yard at one time.
amorris - Never would have guessed Tucson was so ghetto. Realtors are full of shit, but I'm sure you already know that!
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