Fewer Restrictions Possible for Backyard Chickens in York

By Sam Thrift Friday, October 28, 2011

Four local chicken keepers helped a special committee from the York County Planning Commission Wednesday to revise suggested zoning ordinance regulations concerning chicken keeping discussed at the last Planning Commission meeting.

During their Oct. 12 meeting, the Planning Commission listened to more than two dozen concerned citizens about proposed zoning ordinance changes that could be recommended to the Board of Supervisors. The residents explained that the new rules would be too restrictive for current and future chicken keepers, as well as residents who want to grow oysters. Read about the four-hour public hearing by clicking here.

The commission decided to form a committee to better understand chicken keeping before recommending the new zoning ordinances to the board. Commissioners Melissa Magowan, Richard Myer and Alexander Hamilton made up the chicken committee, with help from local chicken keepers Carol Bartram, Beth Parziale, Patricia Achten and Dawn Church.

Since chicken keeping has not been regulated in York County in the past, staff said they were being “conservative” when creating the new ordinances. During the meeting the committee broke down the proposed regulations, consulted with the chicken keepers and compared their proposed rules to neighboring communities' current regulations.

According to the standards the staff proposed at the Oct. 12 meeting, based on discussions with the board and citizens, domestic chicken owners would have to have a lot size that is at least 20,000 square feet, have no more than four chickens on property smaller than an acre, and abide by restrictions on how they house the birds. Along with these requirements, staff recommended removing agriculture as a permitted use in the rural conservation (generally, residential parcels of five or more acres) and rural residential (generally, at least an acre for a residential lot) districts, and requiring chicken owners who want to sell their eggs or chickens to apply for a special use permit.

In Poquoson chicken keepers pay a $15 application fee, zoning sends a letter to neighbors – giving them 10 days to comment on the request- and can have up to 12 chickens. Currently, there are 15 applicants that Poquoson inspects every spring.

James City County only allows the animals in certain zones, but chicken keeping is not regulated through an application process, which means the county does not know how many chickens are in residential zones there. Williamsburg is more relaxed, with chicken-related complaints controlled by animal control and few regulations regarding chickens by the county.

Hampton does not allow or regulate chicken keeping, only enforcing their rules on a complaint-based process.

Carol Bartram, a member of the Peninsula Chicken Keepers (PeCK), said people are not used to having chickens as pets and might prefer more regulations because they are nervous about issues they feel might come with the animal.

“I think a lot of people who are afraid of having chickens living next to them think of farms that have diseases and smells,” Bartnam said. “Having four chickens as a pet is actually cleaner than having a 40-pound dog.”

Commissioner Richard Myer mentioned that he spoke with the CDC about diseases chickens might have, such as the West Nile Virus, Avian flu and salmonella.

“There is a minor risk for some disease, but the risk of carrying an airborne illness, if the chickens are maintained in accordance to what the U.S. Department of Agriculture outlines, is very low,” Myer said.

Chicken keepers showed the most concern about how they would have to apply to keep their chickens if allowed to have them residential areas. The suggested methods - a special use permit or an application - have very different costs.

Getting a special use permit is a two-step process that requires a $450 application fee to cover the cost of advertising for the Board of Supervisors meeting. By the end of the process, the board will have met with the applicant, making sure the chicken keeper meets the standards the zoning ordinance set and compromising with applicants who may have unique circumstances that prevent them from getting a permit. The other option is having an application process, with a small fee, which York County Assistant Administrator Mark Carter says may be difficult for chicken keepers who don’t meet regulations exactly.

The two zoning areas the committee examined were R20 (described as a single-family detached home in a medium density residential area) and R13 (a single-family detached home in a high density residential area). The committee decided R20 designated areas will follow the conditions they previously suggested, but will not need a special use permit. Chicken keepers who live in an R13 zone will see the same restrictions as originally proposed, but the commissioners said they would reconsider the ordinance when updating their comprehensive plan next year.

The committee lessened restrictive measures the staff recommended for keeping chickens, but the staff mentioned they had to be careful because of regulations set by the Right to Farm Act.

The next Planning Commission meeting is Nov. 16; watch the meeting online by clicking here. For more information about zoning in York County, click here.