Changing chicken ordinance in Pennsylvania

[crdahlin]

Hello! Is anyone working on trying to change a chicken ordinance in Pennsylvania? Or has anyone successfully done this? I am from Johnstown, PA and the local ordinance currently mandates a very large yard that effectively prohibits almost anyone from keeping chickens.

 

[STACEYH]

Good luck, I hope you find help.

 

[ohevshalomel]

Hi! I’m from Johnstown, too. I didn’t know the ordinance gave even *that* much permission. Even though the stray cats in my neighborhood would make chicken safety dicey, I’d still like to see the ordinance change, too.

 

[AlGaMa]

I am near Harrisburg. Our township recently changed the chicken keeping ordinances (from one acre required to only 1/5 acre) but I am not sure how they did it. I have tried asking about how to make changes to the duck keeping ordinances, which still require 1 acre, on a Facebook group for our township but no luck in figuring out how. Just lots of comments on how messy ducks are and one particularly curmudgeonly comment about how everyone is getting animals and how miserable he is over his neighbors getting Pygmy goats. So I am applying for a variance since I have a chicken egg allergy and we are on a fairly secluded 1/2 acre. Good luck!

 

[jag6847]

Hello, Was wondering the same thing about Franklin County PA. Been looking for answers regarding the ordinances/laws regarding coops and chickens. If anyone knows anything on this subject please lend a hand in pointing me in the right direction. Sorry I don't know anything about harrisburg.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

This comes up all the time. General Advice

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

Same here in southeastern PA, Delaware County. There's some strict rules, or an all out ban on foul/poultry. But also say no more than 2 cats/dogs. So if they're going.to enforce 1 code, they better enforce ALL. I'm ready to petition my borough to make changes, especially with coming food shortages.

 

[WestHanoverHillsPA]

Lower Paxton Township (east of Harrisburg, PA) and the Borough of State College both adopted new ordinances last year. You can find the ordinances by going to each township's website and then looking for their Zoning codes (they both use eCode36) and doing a search for "chicken."
Here's an article about the campaign to adopt a new ordinance in State College: https://www.statecollege.com/after-...proves-ordinance-to-permit-backyard-chickens/

 

[WestHanoverHillsPA]

Here's the new ordinance for State College: https://ecode360.com/CO1052/laws/LF...l9TK_kBJV6EVdOTo2ND-ybK1sqgZdIEmAZzJJurxlwMdY

 

[AlGaMa]

https://www.change.org/p/lower-paxt...accessible-to-lower-paxton-township-residents

This is the Lower Paxton Township change.org petition that apparently got it done. Just don’t forget to include ducks like they did! I created my own petition for another change and we will see how successful it will be.