Dayhoff Soundtrack: Westminster city wants to take away 5-year-old child’s chickens

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Westminster city wants to take away 5-year-old child’s chickens

Westminster man fighting to keep backyard chickens

The City of Westminster, bylaws of homeowners association forbid poultry in residential areas

http://carrollcountytimes.com/article_df021434-ab35-11df-8551-001cc4c03286.html

Thursday, August 19, 2010

By Marc Shapiro, Times Staff Writer | 5 comments

A Westminster resident who has a chicken coop on his property plans to petition the Common Council to let him keep the coop and his 10 chickens.

Westminster City Code and the bylaws of The Greens of Westminster Homeowners Association prohibit residents in city limits and the neighborhood, respectively, to keep any poultry or fowl except on property zoned for agricultural or poultry-dressing uses. Glenbrook Drive resident James Ward was unaware of the ordinance and his neighborhood's bylaws when he acquired the chickens about 12 weeks ago.

"I got enough space, I'm not bothering anybody, you can't even smell them unless you walk up and open the cage," he said. "I don't blame the city for enforcing what's there, but it's obsolete."

The City of Westminster gave Ward until Aug. 30 to get rid of the chickens, said City Administrator Marge Wolf.

He plans to go to the city council meeting Monday night to talk with the council members about possibly keeping his chickens… http://carrollcountytimes.com/article_df021434-ab35-11df-8551-001cc4c03286.html