City Issued a Citation and claims we aren’t allowed to have chickens due to neighbor’s complaint. What are my options?

[All4Eggz]

Can’t do anything about it.

 

[CharlotteBEe]

Can’t do anything about it.

Are you Rehoming your chickens ??

 

[All4Eggz]

So the guy arrived today. It was two of them.
He seems really genuine. Introduced himself as the city’s code enforcement officer, we’ve met him before from last years incident.

Talked and talked.
So I asked, was it the rats the brought the initial concern this time around? And he replied yes. And I mentioned how can it be proved it is coming from the chickens.
He responded it’s not a matter of that anymore. He said the reason he allowed us 10-15 hens last year was because it was under his discretion. He wanted to help us, and he still does. He had chickens and had to deal with this. He said it’s higher now, he doesn’t have control over it now and it escalated to the point where it is no longer under his discretion. City council members demanded mail be sent and he come to our house to inform us of this news. Within 7 days the chickens need to be off the property.

We complied last time and got rid of all the roosters and brought the number down. So he said we did everything right.
Now it’s the rats and the “smell” from the chickens.

I asked if at this point if there is absolutely anything we can do. He said he’s done everything in his power, and that anything we would be able to do would be quote “a waste of time”. He is really sympathetic. Because we are in a certain residential zone, we are not allowed chickens because we have under 5 acres of land. You need 5 to have chickens. He said because we have an acre, he allowed us the few last year. I asked again why we were allowed last year and no longer are. He repeated because it was
up to his discretion, it is no longer in his power to allow anything, it is because the problem escalated concerning the rats and such.

 

[All4Eggz]

Are you Rehoming your chickens ??

For now yes.
The fight isn’t over.

I asked the guy about one of the city council members who has been known for fighting the right to backyard chickens for people in our city. I asked if it is worth it to get in touch with him and he said yes. That’s our only chance right now. We can’t fight this any other way but to change the zoning laws.

I will be rehoming my chickens hopefully to relatives so that in the slight chance that we may be able to take them back again, we can do so without issues.

Seems like this is hopeless.

but I’m not giving up just yet. Still a little bit of faith left in me.

 

[CharlotteBEe]

So the guy arrived today. It was two of them.
He seems really genuine. Introduced himself as the city’s code enforcement officer, we’ve met him before from last years incident.

Talked and talked.
So I asked, was it the rats the brought the initial concern this time around? And he replied yes. And I mentioned how can it be proved it is coming from the chickens.
He responded it’s not a matter of that anymore. He said the reason he allowed us 10-15 hens last year was because it was under his discretion. He wanted to help us, and he still does. He had chickens and had to deal with this. He said it’s higher now, he doesn’t have control over it now and it escalated to the point where it is no longer under his discretion. City council members demanded mail be sent and he come to our house to inform us of this news. Within 7 days the chickens need to be off the property.

We complied last time and got rid of all the roosters and brought the number down. So he said we did everything right.
Now it’s the rats and the “smell” from the chickens.

I asked if at this point if there is absolutely anything we can do. He said he’s done everything in his power, and that anything we would be able to do would be quote “a waste of time”. He is really sympathetic. Because we are in a certain residential zone, we are not allowed chickens because we have under 5 acres of land. You need 5 to have chickens. He said because we have an acre, he allowed us the few last year. I asked again why we were allowed last year and no longer are. He repeated because it was
up to his discretion, it is no longer in his power to allow anything, it is because the problem escalated concerning the rats and such.

Before you do anything I would contact a lawyer. I found this on another thread. I took a screen shot just so I could keep it for my own records.

 

[NatJ]

Ok, so who understands all those numbers and symbols in the above letter from Officialdom ?

They are citing specific parts of the zoning ordinance, or the city code, or the law of the state, or something of the sort. It means that people can go check for themselves what it really says, kind of like footnotes in a book or people giving chapter & verse from the Bible.

I think they are specifically citing a zoning ordinance (the one that also mentions "Residential A District") about whether chickens are allowed, and I think the M.G.L. is probably laws of the State of Massachusetts that allow the city to hand out fines and penalties. (I haven't looked up the citations to be sure, and I'm not a lawyer, but that's what would make sense given the context, and it lines up with the way I've seen things cited in other places.)

 

[All4Eggz]

This has been difficult as it is.
These are our pets. Our food source.

We had to remove multiple roosters last year. Multiple pets. Pets that would run up to us and jump on our shoulders and crow. Feed them by hand. Fathered numerous generations of little baby chicks. The hatching stopped. And then came the getting rid of pet hens. Hens that would lay on our lap and sleep in the sun.

I’m so angry and sad with this. A decade of our way of living— gone. Disappeared.
because of ONE neighbor. One. What have we ever done to them??? Free plumbing, free eggs. They’ve had access to this for years .

Ugh this is going to be a hard fight.

 

[NatJ]

I will be rehoming my chickens hopefully to relatives so that in the slight chance that we may be able to take them back again, we can do so without issues.

That sounds like a good strategy. That way the city won't be fining you every day for having the chickens, while you are working on what it takes to be allowed to have them again.

We can’t fight this any other way but to change the zoning laws.

That sounds like a big job, but very worthwhile if you can manage it.
I hope it works out

 

[goats-n-oats]

Two thoughts:
Quail
Lawyer

 

[Mygooseandrooster]

Poison isn’t an option because we free range the chickens, but we have been using traps ever since we discovered the rats. We do catch a few every now and then but it just seems like there is so many of them.

We live sort of near a river, rats live near rivers so maybe that will help in defending the possibility that these rats aren’t here because of the chickens..

Is your property big enough for electric poultry netting?