Citizens Guide to Where Chickens May be Kept in Sarasota County

Can I legally keep chickens in Sarasota County?

 Do Some Research

In order to find out what chicken rules apply to you in Sarasota County, you need to know several things: whether you live in a city or the unincorporated county, and what zoning district are you in. To find out go to the Sarasota Property Appraiser’s website and enter the street address or property owners name. Then click on SEARCH at the bottom of the form. You’ll see a list on the right that describes various aspects of your property, including LAND AREA (area of your lot in square feet) MUNICIPALITY (if you live in a City with its own, separate rules) and ZONING.

 Do you Live in One of Four Cities?

If the MUNICIPALITY says City of Sarasota, North Port, or Venice, you can have chickens pursuant to their rules. Venice is actually silent on the subject, but does say it "is unlawful for any person to allow chickens . . . or other domestic fowl to run at large within the city."  So be considerate -- no roosters and respect your neighbors. If it says Town of Longboat Key, the answer is no backyard chickens If it says Sarasota County you will be governed by Sarasota County rules. Make a note of your zoning code.

                       Do you Live in a Mandatory Homeowner Association Neighborhood?

 Before going further, figure out if you live in community with a mandatory homeowners association (HOA). These are the places that have mandatory annual fees and which can put a lien on your house if you don’t mow your lawn or follow other rules you agreed to. The rules in these mandatory HOA’s take precedence over the County rules and you are governed by them and you need to consult those rules. If you live in a traditional neighborhood with no neighborhood association or a voluntary one, the County or City rules will apply.

 Unincorporated Sarasota County Zones RSF, RE-2, RE-3, and RC 

If your zoning code is any of the following: RSF, RE-2, RE-3, and RC you will now be allowed to have up to four hens. Go forward to the section summarizing the rules that apply. If you are in OUA or OUR you can have more. 

County OUE Zoning

If your property is zoned OUE, things are a little trickier. You need to determine your neighbor’s zoning. Back on the Property Appraiser’s website, click on MAP to see your property’s dimensions and your adjoining lots. As you click on surrounding lots a box will come up with some info, click on the Property Detail Page to see what your neighbors’ zoning is and make a note.

If you have an OUE parcel five acres or greater, then there is no limit on the number of chickens and you have a fifty foot setback for the coop. (To convert your parcel’s area in square feet to acres, divide by 43,560) If your OUE parcel is less than five acres and you are adjoining other OUE properties, then you have a fifty foot setback for the coop. If any adjoining properties are residential (RE, RSF, RH, RMH) then for those parcels you have a hundred foot setback for the coop and the birds when they are out of the coop. You only have to meet the greater setbacks adjacent to RE, RSF, RH, and RMH zoned properties. So if your side neighbors are OUE, use the 50 setback, but if your back neighbor/s is/are RE, RSF, RH, or RMH the coop and hens will have to be 100’ back.

So if you are zoned OUE and your side neighbors are also OUE (and assuming you have a rectangular parcel and your coop is no more than 6 feet wide), any lot wider than 106’ will work. If your have back neighbors zoned RE, RSF, RH, or RMH, the coop and chickens will have to be set back 100’ to be legal.

 More on OUE and RE1

The Sarasota County Zoning Administrator wrote to say: “What we are essentially trying to do is say if you are OUE, RE1, you are not restricted in the number of chickens that you can have.”

Small Non-conforming OUE Lots

If you have a nonconforming OUE lot less than one acre in size, then the verbiage in 5.3.1.a.8 (see Ordinance 2016-044) kicks in and you will be treated as any other nonconforming lot, which means you would conform to the closest zoning district similar in use which will be an RSF lot.

RULES for RSF, RE-2, RE-3, and RC ZONING DISTRICTS

The keeping of chickens is allowed if the following standards are met:

1.   No more than four (4) chickens may be kept, with roosters prohibited;

2. No person shall slaughter any chickens;

3. The chickens shall be provided with a movable covered enclosure (i.e. "hen house/coop") and must be kept in the covered enclosure or a fenced enclosure at all times. Chickens must be secured within the movable henhouse/coop during non-daylight hours;

4. The space per bird in the henhouse/coop shall not be less than four (4) square feet per bird;

5. No covered enclosure or fenced enclosure shall be located in the front yard or side yard, nor shall the henhouse/coop be closer than ten (10) feet to any property line of an adjacent property, nor within twenty-five (25) feet of any adjacent residential structure. [OUE setbacks can be greater – see above] Odors from chickens, chicken manure, or other chicken related substances shall not be detectable at the property boundaries;

6. All enclosures for the keeping of chickens shall be so constructed and maintained as to prevent rodents or other pests from being harbored underneath, within, or within the walls of the enclosure. The henhouse/coop must be impermeable to rodents, wild birds, and predators, including dogs and cats. Enclosures shall be kept in neat condition, including provision of clean, dry bedding materials and regular removal of waste materials. All manure not used for composting or fertilizing shall be removed promptly;

7. All feed and other items associated with the keeping of chickens that arelikely to attract or to become infested with or infected by rodents or other pests shall be kept in secure containers or otherwise protected so as to prevent rodents and other pests from gaining access to or coming into contact with them;

8. The sale of eggs or any other chicken products generated is prohibited.

9. Nothing in this subsection shall affect any homeowner association declarations or restrictions.

10. Chickens that are no longer wanted by their owners shall not be taken to

Animal Control, nor shall they be released. Unwanted chickens may be taken to Health & Human Services Mosquito Control Division for utilization in the Sentinel Chicken Program.

11. These provisions shall sunset on January 1, 2019, unless reviewed and saved from repeal, through reenactment by the Board of County Commissioners. In the event that this ordinance sunsets, the keeping of any previously allowed chickens shall be considered a nonconforming use for five years thereafter.

Herald Tribune covers renewed push for hens

More than a week after the Sarasota County Commission acted the Sarasota Herald Tribune ran a Zach Murdoch story about the renewed push for backyard hens. You can read the story here. 

One part article makes it seem as though there is some question about "whether homeowners' associations and deed restricted communities would be able to adopt rules limiting chickens in their own communities." 

The City of Sarasota ordinance is very clear, CLUCK has been clear, and the Commissioners have been clear that those neighborhoods with mandatory Homeowner Associations (HOAs) will be able to adopt prohibitions on poultry that supersede any County permissions. 

One Commissioner has proven to be a wellspring of objections, concerns, and Rumpelstiltskin-worthy tasks. The other four have voted to move forward.  The article quoted Commissioner Robinson expressing concerns about financial impact, neighborhood impact, and abandoned pets. None of these has been a measurable issue in the City of Sarasota, which as of this posting has allowed chickens for five years, one month and ten days. 

CLUCK's coverage of the commission action may be seen by clicking here. 

Jennifer Schlinger-Ziegler Re-ignites County Chicken Campaign

Jennifer Schlinger-Ziegler lives in a zoning district that allows backyard chickens. But the dimensions of her property don't allow her to meet the onerous (50 foot) setback restrictions. When a neighbor turned her chickens in, she swung into action and, as a result, the Sarasota County Commission will be considering moving forward. Here is the email CLUCK sent to the Commissioners:

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Commissioners: On Tuesday March 8th you will be discussing backyard hens, possibly for the first time in 476 days (the matter of sentinel chickens was a separate, but related, issue).  

At that time a majority of the Board asked backyard chicken advocates to demonstrate that the level of community interest warranted moving forward:

Commissioner Mason: "I'd like to see just how much interest there is out there before asking staff to look into this further."

Commissioner Caragiulo: ". . .we don't want to put a burden of basically get everyone to agree to a point and then bring it back to us."   "I think it's a worthwhile discussion certainly. -- Frankly you do have gauge if there's any interest."

Commissioner Hines: "Before we change our zoning code, I think we ask is there a public interest in doing this beyond, you know,  five, ten, twenty people -- is there a public interest to do this?     And, so, rather than us trying to go out and explore that public interest. . ."  "We asked the folks to go out and maybe get some petitions signed or some information -- not necessarily bring in a bus of two hundred people (interruption)  and public comments to do it and to see if there's interest and that hasn't occurred . . "    "Maybe the timing is right, but if there's only twenty or thirty people in the county that wants this. . . that's what we've not heard". 

Commissioner Maio did not comment during the discussion.  

Tomorrow CLUCK will present additional petition signatures from Sarasota County residents that will bring the total submitted to you to over 1,260, which is 42 times more than thirty people threshold suggested by Commissioner Hines. 

In addition, we have over 900 members of our Sarasota C.L.U.C.K. Facebook group, although we have no easy way of discerning how many live in Sarasota County. 

But wait, there's more! 

I am attaching comments submitted by close to 500 people explaining why they support backyard hens in Unincorporated Sarasota County.

Sarasota CLUCK believes now is the time to act on this citizen initiative. Here's why:

• The experience in the City of Sarasota has been positive. Following the two year trial period the City Commission voted unanimously to make the changes permanent. Although many County residents believe they should be allowed to have more hens than City residents, CLUCK is suggesting the County start with the City approach to facilitate both education and enforcement. 

• Through the collection of signatures, CLUCK has demonstrated significant citizen interest, fulfilling the challenge issued by the Board in 2014

• CLUCK supports the City of Sarasota provision affirming that rules adopted by the boards of mandatory homeowner associations will take precedence over the County changes. In addition, CLUCK could accept a 90 period before any change would take effect to allow any homeowner Boards a chance to amend their rules. 

• Informal conversations with two of the largest neighborhood groups suggest a County approach modeled on the City of Sarasota would not be unduly controversial.

It is our hope, based on these facts, that the Commission will finally instruct staff to propose changes, based as closely as practicable on the successful City of Sarasota experience, that could be brought to the Board for consideration and subsequently advertised for a hearing. 

Sarasota County Commission Re-Engages on Backyard Hens

Nov 18th, 2014  Sarasota County Commission Re-Engages on Backyard Hens

Today four Sarasota County residents addressed the new County Commission regarding backyard hens and appeared to shift the Board's position on the issue. 

In the morning, Tyler Korman explained his family's time-sensitive situation with a Special Magistrate and in the process introduced an aspect of urgency as well as highlighting the irony of his hens serving an important public health goal of the county while being in violation of county zoning codes.  He was followed by longtime CLUCK supporter, Jennifer Cortez, who explained how a few hens would fit in with her sustainable approach to her yard. 

Prior to lunch the new Commission reviewed a prior Board's previous action on this matter (see letter below). Commissioners Hines, Robinson, and Mason remembered the challenge to CLUCK to secure prior approval ("buy-in") from a wide variety of non-govenmental entities and seemed to want to return to that position.
                                                                  --------------------

Backyard hen supporters were flabbergasted two years ago when a group of parents asked the County Commission why their families couldn’t have backyard hens and, instead of answering the question, the Commission directed CLUCK to solicit approval in advance for keeping backyard hens. There were two problems with their direction, aside from not answering the citizens’ questions.

In more than three decades of watching our County Commission, I’ve never seen the commission require a group seeking to initiate a change to secure permission from a wide variety of non-governmental organizations prior to even considering that change.

Not only would their challenge require a superhuman effort, but it was destined to fail for a very simple reason: no group would sign a blank check and a chicken proposal without specifics would constitute a blank check.

How many chickens are we talking about? What kind of setbacks? Basic questions such as these could not be answered because there is no proposed ordinance at this point.

And it would pointless for CLUCK to propose specific language in the absence of 1) any direction from the Board regarding what they might find acceptable and 2) language development and review by County Planning and legal staff to make sure the form and content of the proposal met county standards.

                                                               --------------------

Today, and partially in response to Commissioner Caragiulo’s questioning, the Board’s position seemed to shift a little from requiring prior blank check approval from numerous non-governmental entities to wondering if there was sufficient public interest to warrant committing county resources to exploring a possible change in the zoning code.

SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM THE BOARD DISCUSSION

Commissioner Mason: "I'd like to see just how much interest there is out there before asking staff to look into this further."

Commissioner Robinson: ". . . we got an email (shown below) of an action we took asking CLUCK to start educating the homeowners associations, neighborhood association and community organizations and to obtain community support and then to come back to us with that community support."

Commissioner Caragiulo: ". . .we don't want to put a burden of basically get everyone to agree to a point and then bring it back to us."   "I think it's a worthwhile discussion certainly. -- Frankly you do have gauge if there's any interest."

Commissioner Hines: "Before we change our zoning code, I think we ask is there a public interest in doing this beyond, you know,  five, ten, twenty people -- is there a public interest to do this?     And, so, rather than us trying to go out and explore that public interest. . ."  "We asked the folks to go out and maybe get some petitions signed or some information -- not necessarily bring in a bus of two hundred people (interruption)  and public comments to do it and to see if there's interest and that hasn't occurred . . "    "Maybe the timing is right, but if there's only twenty or thirty people in the county that wants this. . . that's what we've not heard". 

Commissioner Caragiulo: "Input is critical, I just wanted to make sure, you know what the standard was."

Commissioner Maio did not comment during the discussion.  

------------

The four commissioner's questions were partially answered after lunch when Ann McAvoy submitted eight copies of her petition with 270 county signatures and 68 thoughtful text comments from County residents. She was followed by Todd Logan, who moved back to Osprey (from Anchorage!) and was dismayed to find he could not keep chickens. 

CLUCK has been patient and Sarasota citizens have demonstrated that a significant number want the county to consider changing the rules. While we have waited, both Manatee and Pinellas Counties have legalized backyard hens.

So the first step is, and always has been, for the County Commission to vote to direct staff to work with CLUCK and other backyard chicken advocates to draft a strategy for single family residences to have backyard hens. They may want to use the City of Sarasota’s ordinance as a starting point, but that’s up to them. Then that draft language would move through public hearings with the Planning Commission and the County Commission. Once there is a draft approach, CLUCK will undertake an effort to educate the public regarding the proposed provisions, but in the absence of a specific proposal, talking in generalizations about chickens is a futile effort. 

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From: Christine Robinson
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 9:54 PM
To: Jono Miller; Carolyn Mason; Nora Patterson; Joseph Barbetta; Jon Thaxton
Cc: Randall Reid; Robert Kluson; Evangeline Linkous; Laney Poire
Subject: RE: chickens

Jono,

On behalf of the Commission, thank you for your e-mail and for your dialogue on this issue.    Community buy-in is an important aspect of a change like this.  The majority of the Commission would like to see CLUCK educate the HOAs, Neighborhood Associations, and Civic Associations on this issue and also get their buy-in before the county spends time and money to initiate a change in zoning rules.  Some felt it would be difficult to get that through county-held neighborhood workshops and that CLUCK should make these efforts before we start down that path.  

Personally, I thought your editorial was a good conversation piece that can be distributed to these groups to start the discussions.  I also look forward to listening to the community dialogue on this topic absent initial government involvement.      

Thank you for your efforts and for your approach to this issue.  We appreciated each of the speakers and their stories.

Best Regards,

Christine

Christine Robinson

Sarasota County Commission Chair

Sarasota County Government

1660 Ringling Blvd

Sarasota, Florida 34236

941-861-5727

Assisted by Robin Bayus

rbayus@scgov.net

--------------------------------

The editorial Commissioner Robinson referred to can be found here. 

Sarasota CLUCK back in the News

It's been quite awhile, but it was worth waiting for the most recent Sarasota Herald-Tribune article dealing with backyard chickens and Sarasota CLUCK, which occupies most of the front page of the local section. The February 25th 2014 article titled Chickens pass their test by Ian Cummings features longtime CLUCK supporter Fran Tiner and, indirectly, Betsy, Pippy, Rose, and Roz, Fran's four hens.

Jacksonville Planning Staff: Anti-Chicken Speculation Posing as Objective Analysis?

Elected officials rely on their planning staffs for objective consideration of proposed changes to ordinances and codes. Staff are expected to use the best available data and analysis when they issue reports. That's not to say their professional experience should not be brought to bear, but it should be substantiated, if not because elected leaders may be linking their reputation to their reliance on staff analysis, then because government decisions sometimes need to withstand legal challenge.

The City of Jacksonville, Florida has been considering relaxing the rules on chicken keeping. Jacksonville is unique because the City boundary is synonymous with the (Duval) county boundary. Staff was asked to weigh in on the proposed changes, and has done so. [Planning Staff Report 2013-0415].

The question is: does their analysis reflect the best available professional information, or is it really a collection of unsubstantiated and unreferenced allegations that cannot stand up to scrutiny?

Probably the most current and authoritative review of current "backyard chicken" laws is Jaime Bovier's Illegal Fowl: A Survey of Municipal Laws Relating to Backyard Poultry and a Model Ordinance for Regulating City Chickens, which was published by Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. This 33 page report was not produced by a chicken advocacy group, but rather a group that "fosters, innovative, just and practical law and policy solutions to enable leaders across borders and sectors to make environmental, economic, and social progress."

So let's compare just three examples of Jacksonville Planning Staff (JPS) statements with findings of the ELI report:

NOISE

JPS 
While four hens may not sound like much, the peace and tranquility of a single family neighborhood could very well be altered when multiple neighbors introduce chickens. As the hens are treated as accessory uses (due to being placed under 656.403), the setback standards are merely five feet from the nearest side and rear property line. It may well be inappropriate to allow hens so close to a neighboring yard and dwelling.

 ELI 

The most frequently expressed concern is that hens will be noisy. This may come from associating roosters with hens. Roosters are noisy.81 Hens are not particularly noisy. While they will cluck, the clucking is neither loud nor frequent.82 The clucking of hens is commonly compared to human conversation—both register around 65 decibels.83 By contrast, the barking of a single dog can reach levels well over 100 decibels.84

It should also be noted that chickens have a homing instinct to roost and sleep at night. A hen will return to her coop at night and generally fall asleep before or at sundown.85 Thus, there should be little concern with clucking hens disturbing a neighborhood at night.

ODOR

JPS

There are thousands of single-family dwellings, both new and old, with minimal yard space. This could result in the concentration of chicken droppings, possibly leading to odor and health issues. There are no specific rules or regulations regarding the disposal or management of the droppings. Therefore, neighbors would have to rely on Animal Care and Control to enforce Section 462.301(c) . . .

ELI

Many people are concerned that chicken droppings will cause odors that reach neighbors and perhaps even affect the neighborhood. These concerns may stem from publicized reports of odors from large poultry operations.86 While it is no doubt true that the odors coming from these intensive commercial-scale chicken farms is overwhelming and harmful,87 these operations often have hundreds of thousands of chickens in very small spaces.88

Most of the odor that people may associate with poultry is actually ammonia. Ammonia, however, is a product of a poorly ventilated and moist coop.89 Coop designs for backyard hens should take this into account and allow for proper ventilation. And, if coops are regularly cleaned, there should be little to no odor associated with the hens.90

PROPERTY VALUES

JPS

One of the main purposes of the Zoning Code is to provide property owners with a reasonable expectation of how neighboring properties can be developed. A current expectation is that farm animals are not allowed in residential developments. The introduction of hens could have an impact upon the desirability of living in certain neighborhoods, thereby impacting property values. 

ELI

Another common concern is that keeping backyard chick- ens will reduce surrounding property values.108 Several studies, however, have found that agricultural uses within the city actually increase property values.109 Community gardens increase neighboring property values by as much as 9.4% when the garden is first implemented.110 The property value continues to increase as the gardens become more integrated into the neighborhood.111 The poorest neighbor- hoods, moreover, showed the greatest increase in property values.112 Studies have also found that rent increased and the rates of home ownership increased in areas surrounding a newly opened community garden.113

Studies concerning pets, moreover, find that apartment owners can charge higher rent for concessions such as allowing pets.114 Thus, accommodating pets has been shown to raise property values.

As of yet, no studies have been done on how backyard chickens in particular affect property values, but given that communities express little concern that other pets, such as dogs or cats, reduce property values, and given research showing that pets and urban agricultural practices can increase them, there is little reason to believe that allowing backyard chickens will negatively affect them.115

   
The two reports go on in similar veins. The ELI concludes with a model ordinance based on analysis of 100 cities that allow chickens, while the Jacksonville Planning Staff's negative, unbalanced assessment goes on conclude that the proposed changes would be contrary to the comprehensive plan. For instance, there doesn't seem to be much mention of the aspect of Objective 2.2 that calls for "re-emergence of diverse urban neighborhoods."

Bear in mind the Jacksonville Planning Staff report appears to have no citations, no references, and no supporting materials, while the ELI report has 463 citations. And other municipal planners have reached conclusions that differ significantly from Jacksonville. Check out the findings prepared by Springfield Missouri's planner. And if backyard hens were as debilitating and threatening to neighborhoods as the Jacksonville Planning Staff would have you believe: 

• What does that say about Manatee, Hernando, Pinellas, and Orange counties, (not to mention the cities of Tampa and Sarasota) all of which approved backyard hens in the last three years??

• And why, in 2010, would Seattle have voted to INCREASE the number of chickens people could have in the city from three to eight?

• And if Jacksonville's lots are too small, how do we explain the fact that Jacksonville is one of only six of the 25 largest US cities to prohibit backyard hens? The other 19, including New York and San Francisco, allow chickens. 



So what do you think? Does the Jacksonville Planning document reflect the best available data and analysis? Or is it burdened with unsubstantiated speculation that should not be used to evaluate the proposed ordinance?

____________________

Bouvier, Jaime M., Illegal Fowl: A Survey of Municipal Laws Relating to Backyard Poultry and a Model Ordinance for Regulating City Chickens (July 27, 2012). 42 Environmental Law Reporter 10888 (Sept. 2012). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2119494

"A survey of municipal ordinances in the top 100 most populous cities in the United States that concern keeping and raising chickens offers lessons that may be applied to designing a model ordinance. This survey reveals that chickens are, perhaps surprisingly, legal in the vast majority of large cities. The survey also identifies regulatory norms and some effective and less effective ways to regulate the keeping of chickens. A proposed model ordinance, based on the background information and survey results, could be adopted by a city or easily modified to fit a city’s unique needs."

CLUCK asks: Do Backyard Hens or Coops Affect Real Estate Values?

"I won't be able to sell my house!" "Is the government going to pay me for the reduction in value?" These are the plaintive arguments we hear when local governments consider relaxing chicken ordinances - the fear that chickens negatively affect property values. And we hear it from some realtors.

I'm not sure I would say realtors are skittish, but they all probably have a story about a seemingly minor detail costing them thousands of dollars of commission fees when a hot prospect discovers what they think is a fatal flaw.

Photo from Center for Biological Diversity (not a New Jersey deer). 

True Story: My father was an experienced salesman who worked in Manhattan. One summer he thought he would try his hand at real estate after he came home from work. So one evening he was showing an urban couple a new home in a subdivision carved out of former New Jersey farmland. The couple was clearly interested and my observant father, hoping to seal the deal, drew their attention to a magnificent buck standing bathed in the setting rays at the edge of the woods. The woman froze, turned to her husband and demanded to be taken back to the city immediately, opining that she had no intention of living where there were wild animals. The sight of the animal that so thrilled my father, terrified the woman -- so you never know. Probably some people immediately walk out of homes with spas or granite counters.

Consequently, I'm sure that somewhere in the US a modest coop in a neighbor's yard has made a deal head south. There are alektorophobes out there. But that's a far cry from the inevitable allegations that allowing backyard hens will "obviously" depress property values. What depresses property values is the behavior of  irresponsible neighbors that color outside the lines of the neighborhood norms or standards -- and people don't need chickens to do that. There is no dormant irresponsible neighbor gene that only gets expressed when chickens enter the picture. Jerks will be jerks with or without chickens. 

A prominent realtor here in Sarasota told me that if your neighbor paints their house pink or has three lawn ornaments in their front yard, that will affect your ability to get your price more than a few hens in your backyard. For people who don't want to take that risk there are mandatory Residential Community Associations (RCAs) that uses codes, covenants, and other restrictions to enforce standards.

The rest of us live in neighborhoods with no neighborhood associations or voluntary associations that lack the power to enforce. These neighborhoods rely on municipal codes to set limits on what is acceptable so you run the risk of having a neighbor with a pink house, or three lawn ornaments. (You also have a lot more latitude to do what you want on your property.)

As far as CLUCK knows, no one has produced any data that suggests backyard hens lower property values. But there does seems to be some indirect evidence that coops are either neutral or potential assets. One real estate brokerage (Redfin) has named "the top five chicken cities" based on homes recently listed in MLS that mention coops as a feature. These cities are not Camden New Jersey or Detroit Michigan, but places people want to move to and live:

Portland: This graphic may say it all:

This wikipedia graphic shows Portland has a strong housing market
in spite of (because of?) being the most chicken friendly city.

California cities in the top five are Ventura, San Diego, and Sacramento. Seattle rounds out the list.

Some might say advertising a coop is simply attempting to make a virtue out of a necessity, but if coops were clearly deal-killers, they would not be mentioned (or owners would get rid of them before putting the property on the market). And if chickens poisoned the real estate market, would 19 of the 25 largest cities in the US allow backyard hens?

Not only does Redfin identify chicken-friendly cities, they post listings for properties that feature coops. Last time I checked, there were 75 properties FEATURING chicken coops (with photos). Check it out. 

An enterprising researcher, Anna Altic, looked at a 2010 Forbes article profiling the top ten housing markets appreciating in value and found nine allowed chickens. Then she looked at the ten sickest housing markets. Guess what? Only three allowed chickens. Does that prove anything? No, but it suggests chickens need not be a drag on a housing market and than banning chickens is not a key to a strong market. Read her article here.

So what are the top four reasons backyard hens or coops appear to be neutral or assets when selling a home?

1) Some MLS properties are now FEATURING chicken coops. - You don't advertise a problem.

2) Cities with strong real estate markets are chicken-friendly. And places young people want to move are chicken friendly. See also the data in Can Backyard Chickens Make Sarasota Hip?

3) The vast majority of large/major US cities allow backyard hens. If they were deal-killers, this number would not be so high. (This urban reality also punches a gigantic hole in the "farm animal" or "livestock" argument).

4) No one seems to have produced any data (that's different than a random anecdote or supposition) that backyard hens or coops by themselves depress real estate values.

Colbert Comments on Confining California Chicken Cages

One factor driving the resurgence in backyard chickens has been growing awareness of the inhumane conditions that layer hens are subjected to in large commercial layer operations in what are called battery cages.

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act, requiring, among other things, that calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs be confined only in way that allow these animals to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely. 

Stephen Colbert contemplates 200 square inch cage. 

Egg producers were given until January 1, 2015 to come into compliance. 

CLUCK News: Chickens in Orlando, Tampa, Venice!

Three years ago no one probably thought the City of Sarasota, Hernando County, Pinellas County, Holmes Beach, and Manatee County would vote to allow backyard hens. They did and it looks like chickens aren't done. Check out recent developments:

Orange County and Orlando: Move over mouse, the chickens are coming. Orange County is looking at a three hen ordinance that may be approved July 2nd. 

Orange County Ready to Welcome Backyard Chickens After Public Hearing

And after Orlando started with a three hen pilot program involving 25 households, in April they tripled the number of pilot households and bumped the number of birds up to 4. It seems unlikely these changes would have happened if the original program was going astray.

Urban Chickens, Backyard Coops Allowed in Orlando. and More Chickens Flocking to Orlando.

And, that's not all. According to the Orlando Sentinel:

"Maitland is hatching its own ordinance, and Lake County and Winter Park are exploring the idea."

Tampa: After two years of consideration, a measure relaxing chicken rules in Tampa has passed the City Council. The final vote is July 18, but with only two (of seven) City Council members voting against, the change is believed to have a strong chance of passing. Provisions inlcude: hens only, one bird per 1,000 square feet of land, coop no more than 125 square feet and no more than 6 feet high. They will have to be confined to the owner's property by a fence or wall. The Council wisely directed staff to review the City's Wildlife Sanctuary laws to make sure they don't complicate enforcement.

Tampa Bay Times Story

Venice: It turns that what CLUCK has long claimed is true: Chickens are not illegal in the City of Venice. They cannot be "at large" (ranging off the owners property) and are no doubt subject to standard nuisance laws that would make roosters (noise) and large numbers violations, but apparently discreet hen harborers need not fear the man in Venice. 

Sec. 10-4. - Domestic fowl running at large.

It shall be unlawful for any person to allow chickens and other domestic fowl to run or be at large within the city. The term "chickens and other domestic fowl," as used in this section, shall be construed to mean any chicken, goose, turkey, guinea hen, duck, peafowl or other domestic or domesticated fowl.

(Code 1982, § 5-4)