[Vision2020] are you interested in having backyard chickens?

Craine Kit kcraine at verizon.net
Wed Sep 30 10:51:11 PDT 2009


According to Moscow City Code, Title 10 (Police Regulations), it is  
legal to maintain up to 25 chickens on a 5,000 square foot lot.

HOWEVER

Moscow has an exclusionary zoning code. The police regulation ONLY  
applies in zones which specifically state that chickens or fowl are  
allowed.  Those are  the Agriculture/Forestry Zoning District (minimum  
lot size 40 acres) and  the Farm, Ranch, and Outdoor Recreation Zoning  
District  (minimum lot size 3 acres). Keeping chickens in all other  
residential zones is a violation of the zoning code (i.e. illegal).

Kit Craine

------------------------------------------------------
TITLE 10 — POLICE REGULATIONS

Sec. 4-12. Maintaining Certain  Animals Regulated.  A. It shall be  
unlawful to keep or  maintain any fowl, rabbits, horses,  cows, sheep  
or goats within the City,  except as provided in this Chapter.    1.  
To maintain and keep fowl or  rabbits, there must be at least five   
thousand (5,000) square feet of  real property for each twenty-five   
(25) fowl or rabbits, and in no  event shall any person keep or   
maintain more than fifty (50) fowl  or rabbits, and in no event shall   
the fowl or poultry house, rabbit  hutch, fowl, poultry, or rabbit  
run  be less than forty (40) feet from a  dwelling other than that of  
the  owner.

Sec. 4-14. Locations; Structures;  Pens; Enclosures.   Animal  
locations, structures, pens,  corrals, and any other premises or   
structures used for the keeping of and  maintaining of horses, cows,  
sheep, goats,  rabbits, chickens, doves and pigeons must  be kept in a  
clean and sanitary condition,  free from obnoxious odors and  
substances.   All persons who keep or maintain any  horses, cows,  
sheep, goats, rabbits,  chickens, doves, or pigeons shall keep them   
confined at all times in enclosures strong  enough, or staked out, or  
picketed on the  premises, or in such a manner as to prevent  said  
animals or fowl from going upon the  premises or property of another.   
It shall be  unlawful for any person keeping or  maintaining any of  
said animals or fowl to  allow the same to create a disturbance to   
the residents in the particular locality by  creating any noise, odor  
or damage to the  adjacent property, and the keeping and  maintaining  
of said animals and fowl shall  not interfere with the peaceful and  
quiet  enjoyment of such property by such  adjacent owner and residents.


TITLE 4 — ZONING CODE

Sec. 2-2. Agriculture/Forestry Zoning District (AF).
    B. Permitted Principal Uses and  Structures:
        1. Agriculture, including the raising,  harvesting, and  
selling of crops; on-site  storage of grain and seed; the raising  and  
sale of livestock or poultry;

Sec. 2-3:  Farm, Ranch, and Outdoor Recreation Zoning District  (FR)
       B. Permitted Principal Uses and  Structures:
           3. Hatching, raising and marketing  poultry, provided no  
building  pertaining to this use shall be closer  than fifty feet  
(50’) to any property  line.



On Sep 29, 2009, at 7:08 PM, Sam Scripter wrote:

> Really!  I didn't know the City Laws/Ordinances permitted
> keeping chickens in residential zones in Moscow.  Maybe it
> is in small numbers?
>
> Does this mean that I could be treated to the olfactory
> essence of chickens if a breeze blew my direction from
> a neighbor's property, in a Moscow R-1 Zone?  And it
> would be LEGAL?
>
> My, oh my, what is this world coming to?  Talk to owners
> about how to "gather eggs"!  Wow.  I guess I'm just much
> too old.
>
> Hey, if somebody wants to offer me a mocha downtown,
> I'll give them my personal stories about cleaning the
> chicken roost, emptying the "chicken bucket" and watching
> the chickens scurrying to get the best morsels, and,
> actually gathering the eggs. I can add some zest by
> telling tales of fowl slaughtering, dipping carcasses
> in boiling water, plucking feathers, and singeing the
> pin feathers with a burning newspaper.
>
> Now if doing the above suddenly became "way cool" in
> our culture, that would be really interesting, for sure!
>
> Just grousing around, because the weather is getting cold . . .
> MoscowSam I am
>
> Bill London wrote:
>>
>> The Moscow Food Co-op is sponsoring the first annual "Co-op Coop  
>> Cruise"
>> from 4pm to 6pm on Sunday, October 11 to visit 4 backyard chicken  
>> coops
>> in Moscow.
>>
>> The cruise participants will tour the backyard chicken coops, talk  
>> with
>> the owners to learn about the realities of raising chickens and
>> gathering eggs, and have the opportunity to ask questions about  
>> starting
>> their own home poultry programs. Snacks and beverages will be  
>> provided
>> by the Co-op along the tour.
>>
>> The cost of the Co-op Coop Cruise is $12 for adults, $5 for children
>> (children under 3 are free). Tickets can be purchased from any  
>> cashier
>> at the Moscow Food Co-op. Enrollment is limited.
>>
>> The 4 chicken coops on the tour are all located at homes within
>> residential neighborhoods in the city of Moscow. The tour does not
>> include transportation. Participants must provide their own
>> transportation between coops.
>>
>> The Co-op is located at 121 East Fifth Street in downtown Moscow.
>>
>>
>>
>> =======================================================
>>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>                http://www.fsr.net
>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
> =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================



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