Posted on 09/19/2012 6:54:43 AM PDT by JoeProBono
BLUFFTON, S.C., - A South Carolina woman said she will argue in court her family should be able to keep a chicken because it is a pet, not a farm animal banned by city ordinance.
Stephanie Stewart, 41, of Bluffton admitted she did not have permission from the city or from her homeowner's association when her family adopted Smartie the chicken, but she plans to argue in Bluffton Municipal Court that the foul is a family pet, not a banned livestock animal, The Hilton Head (S.C.) Island Packet reported Tuesday.
"Growing up in Indiana ... I think of cows and horses as livestock," Stewart said. "I am not looking to farm, and I'm not going to build an ugly coop in my yard. [Smartie] sleeps in a dog crate in the garage. She mostly stays in my flower beds underneath plants I have out there. She scratches around, and if it's getting dark, she will peck on the door to come in."Stewart said her family adopted Smartie in June and her 3-year-old daughter, Shaelyn, is particularly fond of the bird.
Town Manager Anthony Barrett said police cited Stewart Aug. 30 after receiving a complaint about the ordinance violation.
"I will assure you the police department was not just riding through the neighborhood and saw a chicken and issued a citation. A complaint was filed, and the police department responded," he said.
Well - these are likely 1/8 acre or less lots in a place that still had a few farms on the out-skirts, but this is really Silicon Valley in the early 80s I’m talking about. I also had a renter of one of my bedrooms and I owed him a quiet place.
Between that and the town ordinance - just a few phone calls took care of the problem. I believe in leaving people alone - a man’s home is his castle and all. Once your activities start impinging on your neighbors right to piece and quiet - that is where I draw a hard line. I would do the same for a loud party past 11pm too. I have tolerance - up to a point.
For years afterwards they kept the chicken coup without roosters. I was fine with that. Hens are that bad by themselves. Roosters waking me up.. Nope.
LOL! Cute. Reminds me of that penguin dancing to the tune “Cool Jerk” in some cartoon movie 20 or so years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_if97o0GY
As I wrote: you are supposed to eat the roosters. I admit that is hard to do, if you have children who are attached to them. After all, the roosters are the ones with the pretty feathers. But, such is life.
I have a rooster (and hens) in my backyard and live in an urban area on 0.5 acres. I’ve talked to my neighbors and told them that if he wakes them up to let me know and I’ll get rid of him. So far, no complaints. He crows every morning at about 7:00am. There are a lot of other birds in the area that are much louder.
I'd be pleased if our new neighbor would trade his yappy dawg in on a rooster. A rooster will at least shut up once in awhile.
My cousin is being vexed by a fascist home owner's association over a pet snake which she keeps in a glass terrarium in her condo and which never goes outdoors. We're not talking about a python or anything poisonous. Just a common brown desert snake which eats mice, moles and lizards. It loves to curl around her neck, but somebody complained so it is now up to her to prove a longtime pet is harmless.
Why can't the complainers be told to show real evidence that their complaint is grounded in fact or STFU?
HOA’s should be banned, and the petty little Hitlers that run them should be punched in the face.
Just imagine: If your neighbor had been of French extraction, that would have been a coupé!
Seriously: Having a coop is a dead give-away!
Regards,
I live in a rural area and would never want to live under the authority of an HOA.
But I do own a rented condominium which is under such restrictions. I read every word of the Declaration and Bylaws before I signed the purchase agreement. I served as President of the Association for two years and am a member of the Board through proxy today.
Our pet restriction, published in the original documents establishing the association, is that a tenant may have one small dog or one small cat. That's it. No snakes. No chickens.
Condominium living permits a person of lesser means to own a property of much better quality than they could otherwise due to the common ownership of the property, the common walls and roofs, etc. The price you pay to enjoy this increased standard of living is that you must agree to preserve the characteristics which constitute the increased standard of living of your co-owners.
There are plenty of alternative homes available to those who don't wish to surrender their freedom to an association. They are more expensive for a reason.
As for the "petty little Hitlers" that is a problem you can run into when dealing with a group of people who don't object to being regulated by an association. It's simply part of the trade-off. The "Hitlers" are always serving at the pleasure of the membership. A majority of the membership can always replace them.
You should not have that chicken in your yard. I’ll have to confiscate it.
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