The Zoning Board of Review has unanimously rejected a Middlebridge woman's request to build a chicken coop in her front yard.
"It goes against my individual Yankee spirit to deny this, but I feel it could be an impact on the neighbors' property value with a chicken coop in the front yard," said Zoning Board member Robert Toth.
Katherine Fotiades, of 766 Middlebridge Road, had argued that she had no other options for the structure, because much of her yard floods from water runoff.
"There is no other place to put this run," Fotiades told the board during its July 20 meeting.
After the rain on June 23, she took photographs of water pooling in the yard, which she showed to the members.
"It helps to prove the hardship case this really is," she said.
She has had the yard re-graded but can do only so much without sending all the water to her neighbors' yards, she said, adding she needs to keep the trees in the backyard to soak up water.
With the backyard too wet for a structure, Fotiades hoped to build the chicken coop in the front and side yard. But the zoning ordinance requires an accessory structure that houses livestock to be set back at least 40 feet from the neighboring properties. Fotiades's plan for a fenced area covered by a chicken wire roof called for setbacks of only 3.5 feet and 6 feet from the side and front lot lines.
At least one neighbor, Ellen Rogers of 754 Middlebridge Road, objected to the proposal.
"This is not something that belongs in the front yard," Rogers said. "When there were three [chickens] it was not a problem. But now they are laying eggs, and it's unattractive."
Gerralyn Perry, of Biscuit City Road, a former School Committee member, also objected.
"Based on the research I have done, this is an extraordinary request," Perry said. "Three feet from the front line is really too much. It couldn't be closer to her neighbors – they sit down to have breakfast and that structure is the first thing they see."
"If it was somewhere not in the eyesight of the neighbors,By Alex Lippa Close-up of solar panel in Massachusetts. it might be a different story – I don't want to take away the ability to have animals – but this is a tough location," said Zoning Board member Robert Cagnetta.
"The intent of the ordinance is to avoid conflicts with the neighbors," said Chairman Ernest George. "She has a 100-foot lot and has 40 feet on both sides. She could fit a 20-foot run in there, though I know it's wet."
The Zoning Board voted unanimously to deny the request.
The issue of chickens in residential neighborhoods will be reviewed over the coming months.
At the June 28 Town Council meeting, Perry asked the town to consider following the town of Barrington's lead in restricting roosters and limiting the number of chickens that a homeowner can keep in residential areas.
"It seems silly,Als lichtbron wordt een Projector Lamp gebruikt, but we have lived with chickens in our neighborhood for four years, on a half-acre lot. It's just awful – they smell, they attract animals, they create noise," Perry told the Town Council. "A part of me understood people want these for food. I am not saying take them out of neighborhoods completely. But maybe [limit the number] to six – enough for food for a family – and ban roosters."
The council agreed to review the matter, and the Planning Board began preliminary discussions about the ordinances at its work session on Tuesday.
"It goes against my individual Yankee spirit to deny this, but I feel it could be an impact on the neighbors' property value with a chicken coop in the front yard," said Zoning Board member Robert Toth.
Katherine Fotiades, of 766 Middlebridge Road, had argued that she had no other options for the structure, because much of her yard floods from water runoff.
"There is no other place to put this run," Fotiades told the board during its July 20 meeting.
After the rain on June 23, she took photographs of water pooling in the yard, which she showed to the members.
"It helps to prove the hardship case this really is," she said.
She has had the yard re-graded but can do only so much without sending all the water to her neighbors' yards, she said, adding she needs to keep the trees in the backyard to soak up water.
With the backyard too wet for a structure, Fotiades hoped to build the chicken coop in the front and side yard. But the zoning ordinance requires an accessory structure that houses livestock to be set back at least 40 feet from the neighboring properties. Fotiades's plan for a fenced area covered by a chicken wire roof called for setbacks of only 3.5 feet and 6 feet from the side and front lot lines.
At least one neighbor, Ellen Rogers of 754 Middlebridge Road, objected to the proposal.
"This is not something that belongs in the front yard," Rogers said. "When there were three [chickens] it was not a problem. But now they are laying eggs, and it's unattractive."
Gerralyn Perry, of Biscuit City Road, a former School Committee member, also objected.
"Based on the research I have done, this is an extraordinary request," Perry said. "Three feet from the front line is really too much. It couldn't be closer to her neighbors – they sit down to have breakfast and that structure is the first thing they see."
"If it was somewhere not in the eyesight of the neighbors,By Alex Lippa Close-up of solar panel in Massachusetts. it might be a different story – I don't want to take away the ability to have animals – but this is a tough location," said Zoning Board member Robert Cagnetta.
"The intent of the ordinance is to avoid conflicts with the neighbors," said Chairman Ernest George. "She has a 100-foot lot and has 40 feet on both sides. She could fit a 20-foot run in there, though I know it's wet."
The Zoning Board voted unanimously to deny the request.
The issue of chickens in residential neighborhoods will be reviewed over the coming months.
At the June 28 Town Council meeting, Perry asked the town to consider following the town of Barrington's lead in restricting roosters and limiting the number of chickens that a homeowner can keep in residential areas.
"It seems silly,Als lichtbron wordt een Projector Lamp gebruikt, but we have lived with chickens in our neighborhood for four years, on a half-acre lot. It's just awful – they smell, they attract animals, they create noise," Perry told the Town Council. "A part of me understood people want these for food. I am not saying take them out of neighborhoods completely. But maybe [limit the number] to six – enough for food for a family – and ban roosters."
The council agreed to review the matter, and the Planning Board began preliminary discussions about the ordinances at its work session on Tuesday.
