to: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from: J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director
Gene Poveromo, Development Manager
Rae Buckley, Housing and Neighborhood Services Senior Planner
subject: Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Non-Commercial Keeping of Chickens in Residential Zoning Districts
date: February 23, 2009
Enactment of Revised Ordinance A would amend the Land Use Management Ordinance in the following manner:
1. A new land use in Section 3.7 Use Regulations, Table 3.7-1: Use Matrix entitled, “Agriculture, Female Chickens.” The proposed text amendment would allow the use of land for “Agriculture, Female Chickens” as an accessory use in all of the residential zoning districts.
2. A new definition in Appendix A. Definitions entitled, “Agriculture, female chickens.” The definition uses the language from the Code of Ordinances Section 4-10 (d) regarding regulations for the keeping of chickens with a modification to the language to reduce the number of chickens that can be kept from twenty (20) to ten (10) and to eliminate the keeping of chickens in the front yard.
Enactment of Revised Ordinance B would amend the Code of Ordinances Section 4-10 (d) regarding regulations for the keeping of chickens to reduce the number of chickens that can be kept from twenty (20) to ten (10) and to eliminate the keeping of chickens in the front yard.
BACKGROUND
On January 21, 2009, the Council held a Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed amendments to the Land Use Management Ordinance and Code of Ordinances regarding the non-commercial keeping of chickens in residential zoning districts. A link to the January 21, 2009 memorandum is provided.
ISSUES RAISED
There were five issues raised during the Public Hearing for the text amendments regarding the non-commercial keeping of chickens in residential zoning districts. These issues are addressed here:
1. Comparison of Fees: Council members requested information about the cost of permits for keeping chickens in other municipalities.
Staff Comment: Communities that require permits for the residential, non-commercial keeping of chickens include Ann Arbor, MI, Madison, WI, and the North Carolina municipalities of Asheville, Charlotte and Carrboro. Please see Attachment 1 for a chart that describes the standards for keeping chickens in these communities as well as the cost of the associated permits.
We note that the permit fees listed in Attachment 1 are associated with the practice of keeping of chickens. We do not propose a permit linked to the practice of keeping chickens. The Chapel Hill Zoning Compliance Permit fee referenced in the January 21 Public Hearing memorandum would be required to make site changes or to add structures. We do not recommend a fee associated solely with the practice of keeping chickens.
2. Fee: Citizens, Planning Board members and Council members expressed concern about the cost of the Zoning Compliance Permit that would be required for site changes associated with the keeping of chickens.
Staff Comment: The construction of minimal chicken coops would be able to receive a Zoning Compliance Permit Exemption. However, in the case where construction of a chicken coop resembled the construction of a shed, or included a concrete pad or a fence taller than 6 feet, we recommend that the chicken coop be required to comply with the application process for a Zoning Compliance Permit.
The Zoning Compliance Permit and fee referenced in the January 21 Public Hearing memorandum are not requirements specific to the practice of keeping of chickens. A Zoning Compliance Permit is required for a change in land use, to make site changes, or to add structures. If a chicken coop was not considered a site change or a structure, then it would be exempted from the Zoning Compliance Permit fee. Please see Attachment 2 for examples of Chicken Coops that would be considered structures, fences, or concrete pads. Please see Attachment 2 for examples of Chicken Coops that would not be considered structures.
The Zoning Compliance Permit application process is intended to regulate issues such as impervious surface area, stream protection, tree protection, easement identification and the location of a project in relation to property lines or a front yard. The permitting process helps to increase the likelihood that new structures are located in accordance with Town regulations.
Examples of smaller scale projects that trigger an Express Zoning Compliance Permit include the construction of a shed, a basketball court, a parking pad, and a fence taller than six feet. However, in the case where a project is not considered a structure, the applicant is provided an exemption from the Zoning Compliance Permit requirement and is not required to pay the associated fee.
In the case where the construction of a chicken coop involved construction elements similar to those of a shed, a concrete pad, or a six foot tall fence, we believe the project should be held to the same regulations and fees as other similar construction. If the application revealed that the proposed coop was not a structure, then the household would receive an exemption from the Zoning Compliance Permit and would not be required to pay a fee. For this reason, we do not recommend a change to the fee chart. We are also concerned that the Town could receive applications for storage sheds or fences under the false pretense of constructing a chicken coop.
Presently, the fee for a Zoning Compliance Permit the fee for an Express Zoning Compliance Permit application is $107.00. Chapel Hill’s fees are intended to reflect the staff time spent for each type of application. To change the fee chart for construction related to the keeping of chickens could be regarded as a public subsidy for this activity.
3. Scope: Council members requested information about the scope of the proposed text amendment with regards to how many households are allowed to keep chickens according to the present zoning regulations and how many households are currently keeping chickens throughout the Town.
Comment: The use of land for “Agriculture, Livestock” is presently permitted in the residential Rural Transition District (RT) and as an accessory use in the Residential-Low Density 5 (R-LD5) zoning district, where there are approximately 140 households. According to the 2000 US Census, there are 7,742 single-family detached housing units in the Town of Chapel Hill.
With regards to a determination of how many households are currently keeping chickens, we are unable to provide the Council with data to make this determination. However, we contacted the Animal Control Officers for the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro to ask if they had any anecdotal evidence about this question.
Both Animal Control Officers noted that their knowledge of households that keep chickens is based on complaints they may receive from residents. The Town of Carrboro’s Animal Control Officer estimated that between 50-75 households in Carrboro currently keep chickens and the Town of Chapel Hill’s Animal Control Officer estimated that fewer than ten households in Chapel Hill currently keep chickens.
4. Justification for the number of chickens that are allowed to be kept: Council members were interested in the justification behind the staff recommendation to reduce the number of chickens that can be kept from twenty (20) to ten (10).
Comment: The keeping of chickens is currently allowed in two of the Town’s rural zoning districts, Rural Transition District (RT) and Residential-Low Density 5 (R-LD5). Because the proposed amendment would allow the keeping of chickens in the Town’s urban residential zoning districts that have smaller lot sizes, we recommend reducing the number of chickens that can be kept from the current number of twenty.
In conducting research and talking to other communities we have been informed that keeping three to four chickens produces the number of eggs that would be used for the personal consumption of a single family household. However, after two or three years, chickens produce fewer and fewer eggs until they don’t produce any at all. The average lifespan of a chicken is 8-10 years.
At a limit of ten chickens, we calculate that a family could acquire three chickens for egg producing purposes every 2-3 years while continuing to keep as pets the chickens that no longer produce eggs.
5. Front Yard Definition: Council members requested information about the space that would be covered by the proposed definition for a front yard.
Comment: The proposal to eliminate the keeping of chickens in the front yard was introduced by the Planning Board on December 2, 2008. The Planning Board drafted a definition for a front yard that was presented in the January 21 Public Hearing memorandum. Since the Public Hearing, we have modified the language to combine the Planning Board definition and the definition for a front yard that is used in the Land Use Management Ordinance regulations regarding front yard parking. The revised proposed text amendment, section (3) of the definition for Agriculture, Female Chickens, reads:
(3) Female Chickens must be kept a minimum of thirty (30) feet from the nearest residence other than that of the owner and may not be kept between the street and a line drawn parallel to the street facing walls of a residence.
The purpose of the definition is to exclude the space between the street and any street-facing walls of a house for the keeping of chickens. The language has been revised to include the space between the street and a parallel line from the walls of the street facing house. Please refer to Attachment 4 for an illustration of this definition.
With regards to the space between properties referred to as a “side yard,” the proposed language states that chickens must be kept a minimum of thirty feet from the nearest residence other than that of the owner. This space is also illustrated in Attachment 4.
We recommend that the Council enact Revised Ordinance A amending the Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance regarding the non-commercial keeping of female chickens in residential zoning districts as well as Revised Ordinance B amending the Town Code of Ordinances to reduce the number of chickens allowed to be kept and to eliminate front yards for the keeping of chickens. Ordinance A and B have been revised to clarify the extent of a front yard.
1. Comparison Chart for the Residential Keeping of Chickens (p. 9).
2. Examples of Chicken Coops that would be considered structures, fences, or concrete pads (p. 10).
3. Examples of Chicken Coops that would not be considered structures (p. 11).
4. Illustration of the Definition for Front Yard (p. 12).
5. Citizen emails regarding the keeping of chickens (p. 13).
6. January 21, 2009 Public Hearing memorandum. See http://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/agendas/2009/01/21/1/