The city of Arroyo grande is violating their own city and county municipal codes by allowing the free range of the chickens in the village creek area ..They are a tourist attraction for the village...even the public bathrooms the Womens restroom has a Hen on it, Mens has a cock on it...

Roosters are/can be a nuisance, they crow, they are loud.

Hens not so much. There are homes near the creek too.... Has nobody complained about that to the city??

Its also a violation to own chickens within the city except in a very few areas (mostly rural...where there is large homes on large lots are..)

I know there are many families in the city who own chickens and are unaware of the cities municipal codes on keeping backyard poultry.... Its only a matter of time before code enforcement comes knocking at your door too...

Code enforcement seems to pick and choose who they want to enforce these codes on, people down the street from me still have their chickens, they live in a single family home...I've heard from a lot of people that Arroyo Grande Care center even keeps chickens at its facility, that's not within a permitted zone either.

I owned chickens, i had 6 bantam sized hens (these are half the size of a normal chicken) in my backyard of my town home. I got approximately 2 eggs from each hen per day... Our backyard is plenty big for the chickens i had. Those chickens were a source of food for my children and they were helping teach my kids some responsibility.

I'm sure many are concerned about smell etc.. there are plenty of commercial products on the market to help keep them cleaner and smell at a minimum...They even make crow collars to help stop roosters from crowing so loud.

Chickens are good for natural pest control, no need for pesticides. Chickens are good for the soil and gardening, they are constantly turning up the soil....

I have been down to city hall to appeal the city code and the decision against us, but they wont allow it (or don't know what to do..who knows)...They don't seem like they want to change.

We need to make change!

Grover Beach does not have these same codes, they are allowed in their city according to them.

AG supposedly prides itself on being active in the farming community, yet these sorts of ordinances exist which doesn't sound very supportive of the farming community..

-Jennifer Colman

Municipal codes: (these apply to RABBITS too!...)

6.12.050 - Animals and poultry at large.

No person shall allow or permit animals or poultry they own to run at large upon any public street or place or to trespass upon the property of another. This provision shall not be construed as permitting the running at large of any household pets who are restricted by the provisions of this title or by any law applicable thereto.

**City of arroyo grande has chickens FREE ranging in the village creek area, this is PUBLIC property...there are two coops built out there also for these chickens.**

16.48.040 - Animal keeping provisions.

The keeping of animals is consistent with the rural lifestyle emphasized in low density residential development districts, and can enhance the small town, rural charm of these districts. To permit the keeping of animals and assure that their presence does not create an undue burden on neighboring residents, the following standards will apply, unless otherwise provided in the applicable zoning district.

B: For noncommercial purposes, the keeping of the following animals shall be permitted in districts zoned RE, RH, RR, RS. No commercial slaughtering or processing shall be permitted in these zoning districts. The minimum site area of the parcel shall be as specified and the number of animals allowed is subject to the requirements of subsections D and E of this section.

2.Small animals: twenty thousand (20,000) square feet.

**these named zoning districts are very few within the city of arroyo grande**

C. All animal enclosures, including corrals, pens, feed areas, paddocks, uncovered stables and similar enclosures are subject to the following setback requirements. Setbacks shall be measured from the nearest building used for residential purposes on adjacent property.

2.Small animals:

a.Poultry twenty-five (25) feet.

**my home has a setback of 20ft from my fence to the property behind us if from my back door to their property its 25ft, i live in a residential neighborhood**

D. Animal units are described in this subdivision to further define the relationships among animals of various sizes and to determine the number of animals allowed on a given parcel.

2.Small animals:

a.Ten (10) poultry equal one animal unit;

b.Ten (10) rabbits equal one animal unit;

3.The keeping of specific animals is subject to the following special standards:

b.Poultry: all poultry shall be contained in coops or pens and not be allowed to run free on any site. The maximum number of poultry allowed is twenty (20) (two animal units).

16.32.040 - Use regulations for residential districts.

according to this table, there are 4 districts that allow light farming aka keeping poultry according to code enforcement (residential estate, residential rural, residential suburban, residential hillside)

https://www.municode.com/library/ca/arroyo_grande/...

Zoning Map for reference to above table http://www.arroyogrande.org/DocumentCenter/Home/Vi...

Most of the city of AG is Single Family/Multi Family/PUD or Village. The only permitted districts are where the multi-million dollar homes are within the city.

These city ordinances come off as discriminitory against minorities..basically if your wealthy you can have backyard poultry, the zones were they are legal, is parts of town where homes are multi-million dollar places on land.

Its not even OK to have poultry for kids in FFA and 4-H in AG....

(this picture on this petition, is one of the Roosters in the village)