Whirlwind
MyPTSD Pro
Hi Brat,
It seems you have the law on your side and will deny the neighbors application. If you feel guilty, I'll share my former neighborhood situation.
I lived in an established neighborhood and we all have the same age home/yard set up. Folks moved in had kids, dog, cat and decided to add chickens for eggs and learning experience for the kids. Their adjacent neighbors did not initially protest and waited about a year before complaining to the city and long story due to them having "established" situation the neighbors are now in a 3 yr and counting battle, no one is on speaking terms anymore and tensions run high.
The saga....
Baby chicks grew up. Mom & Dad are busy with a houseful. Kids lost interest early on so cleaning hen house went downhill fast.
Their 3 adjacent neighbors have to deal with ammonia smell from the hen house. Always.
The chickens make noise, so much I can hear it at times
The chickens attracted raccoons. The raccoons occasionally kill one of their chickens but they travel through yards now on the way there and have destroyed neighbors small yard ponds. Killed any fish, dug up landscaping etc. Some of these ponds had been running for decades, they tried covering with wire mesh, and a ton of other solutions nothing worked. Everyone gave up on their ponds and drained them. No point it was just feeding the raccoons and the damage was pretty bad sometimes.
Rats. We never had a problem but rats are now seen near the property and have chewed into/through basement masonry of them and neighbors. The neighbors are also suing the family for property damage as part of the nuisance claim with the city.
Mites. Apparently their kids got mites and this came out when the neighbors who share the fence on the side of the hen house noted they felt bites when setting out on their lawn furniture. They were told chicken mites do not infest pets/people but they do bite. This is now part of the neighbors nuisance suit citing medical bills.
I don't even have all the details but this is a disaster. A private lawyer is involved representing the neighbors etc. Pictures were taken of the yard the hens are in and it was bad, they are birds and they have defecated all over the yard under the swing set, porch etc. during their "free range time". I imagine the family can't use the yard anymore. Its all chicken yard now, LOL
This is now an ugly hostile situation and I do think the adjacent neighbors are going to win their case. I feel for the young family but they dug their heels in and for some reason won't relent. I imagine they regret it, we all used to be friendly, see the new baby etc. I'm not in the fray but now they avoid all of us due to the situation.
I grew up in a farm environment then moved to the city and I see this "urban farming" and it is bizarre to me and an improper environment.
There is a reason barns aren't built as part of a house, LOL. Farm animals need space, they smell, make messes, and do what critters do. They are great but I think folks have no experience and don't get the reality of caring for a flock, getting them to lay, etc. No to mention they attack each other sometimes, die in the heat, other birds compete for their food....I forgot to mention the crows!
It goes on and on....
I love critters but if you are worried about neighborhood feelings.....just wait until it devolves into a situation like my neighborhood.
If I were you I would fight this immediately and make sure other neighbors get on board.
Good luck and don't feel guilty especially if they did not apply for a permit, living in a community we all have to abide by laws for good reason...it is a community and our actions affect one another. Their new hobby has a direct negative impact on their neighborhood, the permit process restricts it for that well known reason.
Btw these folks weren't slobs, normal folks raising a family.
Best,
Whirlwind
It seems you have the law on your side and will deny the neighbors application. If you feel guilty, I'll share my former neighborhood situation.
I lived in an established neighborhood and we all have the same age home/yard set up. Folks moved in had kids, dog, cat and decided to add chickens for eggs and learning experience for the kids. Their adjacent neighbors did not initially protest and waited about a year before complaining to the city and long story due to them having "established" situation the neighbors are now in a 3 yr and counting battle, no one is on speaking terms anymore and tensions run high.
The saga....
Baby chicks grew up. Mom & Dad are busy with a houseful. Kids lost interest early on so cleaning hen house went downhill fast.
Their 3 adjacent neighbors have to deal with ammonia smell from the hen house. Always.
The chickens make noise, so much I can hear it at times
The chickens attracted raccoons. The raccoons occasionally kill one of their chickens but they travel through yards now on the way there and have destroyed neighbors small yard ponds. Killed any fish, dug up landscaping etc. Some of these ponds had been running for decades, they tried covering with wire mesh, and a ton of other solutions nothing worked. Everyone gave up on their ponds and drained them. No point it was just feeding the raccoons and the damage was pretty bad sometimes.
Rats. We never had a problem but rats are now seen near the property and have chewed into/through basement masonry of them and neighbors. The neighbors are also suing the family for property damage as part of the nuisance claim with the city.
Mites. Apparently their kids got mites and this came out when the neighbors who share the fence on the side of the hen house noted they felt bites when setting out on their lawn furniture. They were told chicken mites do not infest pets/people but they do bite. This is now part of the neighbors nuisance suit citing medical bills.
I don't even have all the details but this is a disaster. A private lawyer is involved representing the neighbors etc. Pictures were taken of the yard the hens are in and it was bad, they are birds and they have defecated all over the yard under the swing set, porch etc. during their "free range time". I imagine the family can't use the yard anymore. Its all chicken yard now, LOL
This is now an ugly hostile situation and I do think the adjacent neighbors are going to win their case. I feel for the young family but they dug their heels in and for some reason won't relent. I imagine they regret it, we all used to be friendly, see the new baby etc. I'm not in the fray but now they avoid all of us due to the situation.
I grew up in a farm environment then moved to the city and I see this "urban farming" and it is bizarre to me and an improper environment.
There is a reason barns aren't built as part of a house, LOL. Farm animals need space, they smell, make messes, and do what critters do. They are great but I think folks have no experience and don't get the reality of caring for a flock, getting them to lay, etc. No to mention they attack each other sometimes, die in the heat, other birds compete for their food....I forgot to mention the crows!
It goes on and on....
I love critters but if you are worried about neighborhood feelings.....just wait until it devolves into a situation like my neighborhood.
If I were you I would fight this immediately and make sure other neighbors get on board.
Good luck and don't feel guilty especially if they did not apply for a permit, living in a community we all have to abide by laws for good reason...it is a community and our actions affect one another. Their new hobby has a direct negative impact on their neighborhood, the permit process restricts it for that well known reason.
Btw these folks weren't slobs, normal folks raising a family.
Best,
Whirlwind
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