A long-running backyard chicken setup in Connecticut is now at risk after a town moved to apply a zoning rule enacted years after the flock was established.
Homeowner Richard Carlon said the change could force him to give up most of the hens he has kept for more than 20 years, including birds whose eggs he shares locally.
Unless town officials back off, 20 chickens from his flock of 30 may have to be removed by an August deadline.
What happened?
According to Fox affiliate WTIC, Carlon, who lives in Suffield, said he was notified by the town's planning and zoning department that he needs to reduce his number of hens.
He told the outlet he has kept chickens for 22 years and estimated that the flock lays about three dozen eggs per day. Carlon sells most of the eggs his hens produce and donates the remainder to a nearby senior center. At the heart of the conflict is a 2015 rule limiting residential lots to five hens per half acre.
Why does it matter?
Carlon has said Connecticut's non-conforming property use law should allow him to continue because his chickens were already there before that standard was adopted.
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"With the regulations and the old zoning officer, as long as I made corrections to whatever my neighbor complained about, I was good," Carlon explained, per WTIC.
Backyard chickens can help cut grocery costs, provide a dependable local food source, and support nearby residents through egg sales or donations.
In Carlon's case, losing most of his flock could mean a steep drop in daily egg production and the loss of eggs he donates to a local senior center.
While local zoning laws are often a culprit in scenarios like this, homeowners associations are notorious for putting the kibosh on cost-saving, environmentally friendly upgrades. However, it is possible to work with HOAs and push for rule changes that better support cost-saving home improvements.
What's being done?
For now, Carlon is seeking a change of heart from the town before Aug. 10. Without one, he will be forced to remove 20 birds to comply with the rule.
The town, however, says the zoning standards leave little room for interpretation. Officials said Carlon should not have been allowed to keep the chickens on the property in the first place.
"Suffield adopted specific Zoning Regulations in 2015 that allow the keeping of chickens on residential properties of less than five acres, subject to certain standards," the department told WTIC.
"Prior to 2015, a property generally needed a minimum of five acres to qualify as a farm under the Zoning Regulations, which was the circumstance under which chickens could be kept," a representative added.
A dismayed Carlon said, "This time, looks like it's over with. It's kind of sad. I've got to pull them off the roost when they're sleeping and put them in the crates."
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