The following definitions shall apply to the words and phrases
used in this article:
APPLICANT
A person who has applied for a residential chicken permit.
Each such person must be a resident and/or property owner within the
Borough of Pleasant Hills.
APPLICATION
The form approved by the Borough Manager and/or the Zoning
Officer of the Borough of Pleasant Hills for the erection or construction
of a permit for the keeping of chickens and/or the application for
a residential chicken permit.
CHICKEN
Poultry or fowl of the species Gallus domesticus/G.gallus
domesticus. The species includes many different breeds of chicken.
CHICKEN COOP
A structure for sheltering of female (pullets or hens) chickens.
An existing shed or garage may be used for this purpose, provided
that it meets the standards for chicken coops set forth in this article.
A chicken coop shall be considered an accessory structure, which may
require a separate permit(s). Such permits shall only be used to house
female chickens and not roosters, as the early morning noise a rooster
makes is recognized to be a nuisance.
CHICKEN PEN
An enclosure that is connected to or surrounding a chicken
coop for the purpose of allowing chickens to leave the coop while
remaining in an enclosed predator-safe environment. The purpose of
the pen shall be to allow the chickens to move about in a controlled
environment.
CO-PERMITTEE
A lessee or tenant of a residential dwelling who has received
a residential chicken permit in conjunction with the property owner
for the keeping of chickens.
DWELLING
A house, apartment building or other structure designed or
used primarily for human habitation. The word "dwelling" shall not
include boardinghouses or rooming houses, hotels, motels, tents, trailers,
or any structure designed or used for transient business.
PERMITTEE
A residential property owner who has received a residential
chicken permit for the keeping of chickens.
RESIDENTIAL CHICKEN PERMIT
A permit issued under the provisions of this article for
the keeping of chickens as accessory to the primary residential use
of a property.
After the effective date of this article, those property owners who have previously obtained a permit for a chicken coop and who currently have chickens may continue to house up to six chickens on their property. The ability to house up to six chickens shall only apply to those property owners who lawfully obtained a permit for the construction of a chicken coop on their property and obtain a residential chicken permit as described in §
150-32 of this article. Therefore, any resident who desires to continue to keep up to six chickens must obtain these permits prior to the effective date of this article. If the permits are not obtained by that time, no chickens shall be housed at any residential property within the Borough of Pleasant Hills, and it is hereby recognized that chickens are farm animals and prohibited in residential neighborhoods except as described herein.
For the purposes of this article, only female (pullets or hens)
chickens are permitted. Roosters are expressly prohibited from being
kept in the Borough of Pleasant Hills as the early morning noises
roosters make are hereby recognized to be a nuisance.
The keeping of chickens, in accordance with the standards of
this article, shall only be permitted at a property on which a residential
dwelling is the primary use, and the keeping of chickens shall be
considered a use accessory to the residential use. Chickens shall
not be housed or kept in any zoning district except where the permits
described herein were first lawfully obtained. If the necessary permits
are not obtained by the date of enactment of this article, it shall
be illegal to house any chickens in the Borough of Pleasant Hills.
The following items generated by or kept as a result of the
keeping of chickens shall not be offered for sale or sold within the
Borough of Pleasant Hills:
A. Eggs, chicks or chickens;
B. Chicken manure or compost containing chicken manure; and
C. Produce which has been grown in an accessory garden fertilized with
chicken manure or compost. The sale of eggs or other farm products
from a residential home is expressly prohibited and a violation of
this article.
A person engaged in the keeping of chickens on his/her property
shall comply with all of the following:
A. Such person shall have been issued the residential chicken permit
required under this article.
B. Such person shall keep no more than six female chickens.
C. The principal use of the property must remain as a residential dwelling.
D. No person shall keep a rooster(s).
E. The chickens shall at all times be provided a chicken coop and chicken
pen in accordance with this article.
F. A person shall not keep chickens in any location on the property
other than the rear yard. For the purpose of this article, "rear yard"
means that portion of a lot enclosed by the property's rear lot
line and the side lot lines to the points where the side lot lines
intersect with an imaginary line established by the rear of the single-family
structure and extending to the side lot lines.
G. Notwithstanding the applicable residential accessory setbacks, the
chicken coop and chicken pen shall be located no closer than 30 feet
to any residential structure on an adjacent property. For the purposes
of this section, "adjacent property" means all parcels of property
that the applicant's property comes into contact with at one
or more points, except for parcels that are legally adjacent to, but
are in fact separated from, the applicant's property by a public
or private street.
H. All feed and other items associated with the keeping of chickens
that are likely to attract or to become infested with or infected
by rats, mice, or other rodents shall be protected so as to prevent
rats, mice, or other rodents from gaining access to or coming into
contact with them.
I. If the above requirements or any other requirements of this article
are not complied with, the Code Enforcement Officer and/or Zoning
Officer may revoke any permit granted under this article and/or initiate
appropriate actions at law or equity to abate or restrain the violation.
J. A person who has been issued a residential chicken permit shall make
such permit available for examination upon demand by any police officer,
the Code Enforcement Officer, the Zoning Officer, the Borough Manager
or any other employees of the Borough of Pleasant Hills.
K. Permittees and co-permittees shall be jointly and severally liable
for compliance with the provisions of this Code.
If the applicant obtained the residential chicken permit through
misrepresentation, fraud, or forgery, the permit shall automatically
become null and void. Such a determination shall be made by the Zoning
Officer, and the determination of the Zoning Officer shall be considered
final.
The permitted keeping of chickens shall be conducted in a manner that does not disturb the use or enjoyment of adjacent properties. Odor generated by the chickens shall not be perceptible at the property boundaries, and noise generated by the chickens shall not disturb people of reasonable sensitivity at the property boundaries. A permittee or co-permittee shall not, under any circumstance, keep chickens in a manner which constitutes a public nuisance or results in a violation of Chapter
247 or
248 of the Borough Code of the Borough of Pleasant Hills or any other ordinance or law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
If any applicant, permittee, co-permittee, or landowner adjacent
to a permitted chicken coop or chicken pen is aggrieved by the determination
of the Zoning Officer or his/her designee or the Code Enforcement
Officer, such aggrieved person may appeal the determination to the
Borough Council of the Borough of Pleasant Hills. The appeal shall
be in writing and must be received at the Borough office no later
than 20 days from the date of the determination of which such person(s)
are aggrieved. A timely appeal shall stay any order to remove chickens
until the determination of the appeal, unless the order specifies
that it was issued due to the keeping of chickens causing an immediate
public health or safety hazard. The written appeal must describe in
detail the reason for appeal. The Borough Council may then notify
the aggrieved person of when the matter will be considered by Council
at a public meeting. Any decision of Council shall be final and binding.
The provisions of this article shall become effective 30 days
from the date of enactment by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Pleasant Hills. Property owners who wish to house chickens must apply
for the residential chicken permit and/or obtain approval for the
chicken coop as described herein to lawfully continue to house chickens
after the effective date of this article. Following the effective
date of this article, no new permits shall be issued, and only those
property owners who obtained the necessary permits by the effective
date of this article shall thereafter be permitted to house chickens
in the Borough of Pleasant Hills.