Can a rural village ban backyard chickens? Serious answers only please.?
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Question by : Can a rural village ban backyard chickens? Serious answers only please.?
I recently moved to Wisconsin with my family. The property we purchased has a chicken coop standing in the back yard, and we (as well as our realtor) assumed this meant we would be able to have chickens. It is, after all, a rural town surrounded by farms, and the person next to us has horses in the back yard. After several neighbors made a point to tell me the previous owners had difficulty with the town officials due to their chickens, I went to the town clerk to inquire about the local ordinance regarding chickens. Apparently, the ordinance was revised in 2004 to ban any “livestock” except for ponies and horses within the village boundaries. Being located at the outer boundary of a rural town, on almost an acre of land, I find this odd; especially if one considers the growing number of cities that allow backyard chickens. I am hoping there is some kind of loop hole that will allow us to have chickens, and if anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. The ordinance goes so far as to specify that even a single “banned” animal can not be kept as a “pet”.
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5 Responses to Can a rural village ban backyard chickens? Serious answers only please.?
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Everything is possible ,especially considering the fact that you live in Wisconsin with an insane governor.
Steve O returns
August 21, 2012 at 9:30 pm
yes. It is actually very common. Many communities ban agricultural animals in city limits.
The Dude
August 21, 2012 at 10:21 pm
That’s the problem with assuming but it was a natural assumption. It seems to me that the previous owner should have had an obligation to advise you that chickens weren’t allowed. It sounds like you would be in violation of the new ordinance. Can your neighbors see the chicken coop or would it be possible to have it hidden from view of the neighbors and city officials? If you get caught what are the consequences? I guess the only thing you could do would be to consult a real estate attorney for possible loopholes to see if the revised ordinance has any loopholes or if your property could be grandfathered in. Or contact the previous owner and ask them if they are aware of any loopholes.
ZonieGirl
August 21, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Are you sure they allow horses? I’ve never heard of an ordinance that approves horses, but bans all other types of livestock. Maybe the certain horses were ‘grandfathered’ in for people in town who already had horses.
Anyway, I live in a rural area in Michigan & within the city limits of our town, livestock is prohibited. We live about a mile from the city limit, with the same city’s mailing address & ZIP code, but b/c we are outside the city limit we are able to have livestock. I own chickens.
In town they can own rabbits. And there are 2 or 3 areas in the city limit still deemed ‘agricultural’ therefore they can own chickens & ducks & turkeys–not sure about horses or cows, etc., though.
You could try to get a variance from the city council. But in rural areas, they have the mindset that ‘if you allow a variance for one person, everyone else will want a variance’ (stupid, I know).
I still don’t get how some can own horses–much more stinky–but not chickens.
J
August 21, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Don’t know why not. People who have chickens often have a rooster. Noisy creatures. Bothers neighbors. Doesn’t matter if village surrounded by a moat. Can ban whatever they like.
People who sold you the property should have taken the damn thing down. Or told you that chickens are banned. But no law requiring them to do so. Good neighbors. You should thank them because they saved you a lot of money and grief.
Judith
August 21, 2012 at 11:42 pm