[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Altamont as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-10-1970]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any owner of or any person harboring any dog in the Village of Altamont to permit or allow such dog to:
(1) 
Run at large unless said dog is restrained by a leash or unless accompanied by its owner or a responsible person able to control the animal.
(2) 
Engage in habitual loud howling or barking or to conduct itself in such manner so as to habitually annoy any person other than the owner or person harboring such dog.
(3) 
Cause damage or destruction to property or commit a nuisance upon the premises of a person other than the owner or person harboring such a dog.
(4) 
Chase or otherwise harass any person in such a manner as reasonably to cause intimidation or to put such person in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or injury.
(5) 
Chase or bark at motor vehicles.
[Amended 7-11-1972]
(6) 
Deposit any fecal matter on any Village of Altamont public roadway, gutter, sidewalk, public park or other public area, or private property without the consent of the landowner.
[Added 7-6-1993 by L.L. No. 2-1993]
(a) 
"Fecal matter," under this subsection, is defined as all feces, excrement, manure, dung or solid waste matter discharged by a dog.
(b) 
It shall be the duty of each dog owner or person having possession, custody or control of a dog to remove said fecal matter from the above-described areas by gathering said fecal matter in a suitable container and disposing of it in a safe and sanitary manner.
(c) 
The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a guide dog, hearing dog or service dog accompanying any person with a disability, as defined in Subdivision 21, § 292 of the Executive Law of the State of New York.
B. 
For the purpose of this article, a dog or dogs hunting in company with a hunter or hunters shall be considered as accompanied by its owner.
It shall be unlawful for a person harboring a female dog in any area of the Village of Altamont to permit such dog to run at large when in heat, and such dog shall be confined to the premises of such person during such period.
[Amended 7-11-1972]
Any person who observes a dog causing damage or destruction to property of a person other than its owner or committing a nuisance upon the premises of a person other than its owner or otherwise violating any of the provisions of this article may file a signed complaint, under oath, with a Village Justice of the Village of Altamont specifying the objectionable conduct of the dog, the date thereof, the damage caused, a description of the dog and name and residence, if known, of the owner or other person harboring said dog.
[Amended 7-11-1972]
A. 
Upon receipt by the Village Justice of any complaint against the conduct of any particular dog, the Village Justice shall summon the alleged owner or other person harboring said dog to appear in person before him/her; if the summons is disregarded, the Justice shall permit the filing of information and issue a warrant for the arrest of such person.
B. 
Any peace officer of the State of New York who observes a dog violating any section of this article may issue a summons to the alleged owner or other person harboring said dog requiring him/her to appear in person before the Village Justice.
[Amended 7-11-1972; 7-6-1993 by L.L. No. 2-1993]
Any person who violates this article or knowingly permits the violation of this article or of any of the provisions thereof shall be deemed to have committed an offense against this article, and any person convicted of any such violation shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $25 for the first violation and a fine not to exceed $100 for a second and each subsequent violation.
[Adopted 10-19-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
This article is adopted pursuant to § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
This article is intended to permit the raising of chickens within the Village of Altamont under specific conditions. Chicken hens shall be kept for personal, noncommercial use only. Breeding of chickens, and the sale of other chicken products, and the production of fertilizer are prohibited.
A. 
Permit required; fee. The keeping and raising of chickens within the Village shall be authorized only upon obtaining a permit from the Village Building Department. Said permit shall be made upon an application form authorized by the Village Board of Trustees and upon satisfactory inspection(s) by the Village Code Enforcement Officer to verify compliance with the requirements of this article. The permit shall be valid for one year only, and an annual permit fee, to be set by the Village Board of Trustees, shall be assessed and paid by each successful applicant. Renewal permit fees should be paid by the last day of the month in October each year. No chickens shall be kept, and no yard or pen for the keeping of chickens shall be constructed or maintained, without such a permit.
B. 
Zoning exclusion.
(1) 
The minimum lot size for the raising of chickens is 10,000 square feet.
(2) 
Only applicants residing in a single-family, owner-occupied dwelling within the Village shall be authorized to apply for a permit to keep and raise chickens. The keeping and raising of chickens in a multifamily apartment setting shall be expressly prohibited.
C. 
Structure design and area requirements.
(1) 
A henhouse and chicken run shall be required for the housing of chickens. Only one henhouse and enclosure shall be permitted on any property. The henhouse or enclosure must be located at least 10 feet from the side and rear property lines of a property and at least 50 feet from any neighboring residence. No pen or enclosure shall be permitted in any front or side yard. On a corner lot, the applicant must locate the pen to the rear of the rear wall of the applicant's home.
(2) 
The location and design of the henhouse and enclosure must be approved by the Code Enforcement Officer before the applicant shall be permitted to keep chickens on the premises. If the applicant's lot is insufficient in area or layout to meet the setback requirements of this article, the applicant shall not be entitled to keep chickens on the premises.
D. 
Minimum standards; condition of henhouse and enclosure (run).
(1) 
It shall be unlawful to cause, permit or allow chickens to be kept in such a manner as to constitute a nuisance or to create a hazard to public health or in any manner which disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of the public. A chicken henhouse and enclosure/run shall be provided and adequately screened from view from neighboring properties.
(2) 
No more than six chickens may be housed or kept on any property at any time. No roosters shall be permitted. The henhouse and pen/enclosure must be regularly cleaned and serviced so as to keep it sanitary, clean, dry and odor free at all times. Chickens shall be provided with access to feed and clean water at all times. All feed of chickens must be kept within a secure, metal, rodentproof container and may not be stored outside. Hens shall be fed from a trough or container.
(3) 
The henhouse shall:
(a) 
Provide a minimum of four square feet per chicken hen.
(b) 
Not exceed eight feet in height.
(c) 
Be enclosed on all sides and have a roof and doors.
(d) 
Provide sun, shade, ventilation, and be weatherized for colder temperatures.
(e) 
Be impermeable to rodents and predators.
(f) 
Provide one nesting box for every four birds
(g) 
Provide eight to 10 inches of roosting space per chicken.
(h) 
Have access doors that will be shut and secured at night. Windows and vents shall be covered with predator- and bird-proof wire with less than one-inch openings.
(i) 
Be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent odors and attraction of rodents and pests.
(4) 
The chicken enclosure /run shall:
(a) 
Provide a minimum area of 10 square feet per chicken hen. Height of structure may not exceed seven feet.
(b) 
Consist of wire fencing and shall be covered with wire fencing or solid predator-proof roofing.
(c) 
Cleaning of enclosure/run must be done on a regular basis to prevent offensive odors and attraction of rodents and pests.
A. 
Storage of any chicken manure is discouraged, unless such waste is properly and sanitarily composted. No chicken manure shall be permitted closer than 25 feet from any property line and must be located to the rear wall of the applicant's dwelling. If the presence of chicken manure shall lead to unsanitary conditions such as the attraction of pests, insects or rodents, such condition must be rectified to the reasonable satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer or the permit to keep chickens may be revoked.
B. 
The total area of all henhouses and enclosures shall not exceed 150 square feet for up to six hens.
C. 
Chickens shall be kept in an enclosure at all times. During daylight hours, chickens may be allowed outside their enclosure in a secure fenced-in area not beyond the property boundaries. During nondaylight hours, chickens shall be secured in their henhouse.
D. 
Only fully shielded lighting shall be used to light the exterior of the henhouse. Lighting must conform to § 355-18 of Village Zoning Regulations.
E. 
Slaughtering of chickens on the property is prohibited.
F. 
Upon discontinuance of the accessory use of raising chicken hens, the permit holder shall notify the enforcement official, whereupon the enforcement official shall inspect the property and the permit shall be terminated.
All applicants for a permit to authorize the keeping of chickens within the Village shall agree, as an incident of the application process, to allow the Village Code Enforcement Officer to enter upon the premises of the applicant at any reasonable time during daylight hours to inspect the pen or enclosure and verify compliance with the requirements of this article. It is specifically understood, and a condition of the application, that the applicant shall allow such inspection without the necessity of prior notice.
A. 
Enforcement. Upon receipt of a complaint of a violation(s) of this article or a permit, the Code Enforcement Officer shall inspect, investigate and verify such violation. Should a violation be found:
(1) 
The Code Enforcement Officer will issue an order to remedy; permit holders shall have five days to remedy the violation.
(2) 
A second notice shall be issued to the permit holder should the violation(s) not be addressed. This order will include an order to revoke the permit should the violation not be remedied within the time line issued by the Code Enforcement Officer.
(3) 
If a permit holder has failed to remediate the violation, the permit shall be revoked upon five days' written notice to the permit holder.
B. 
A permit to keep chickens shall be revoked by the Code Enforcement Officer, upon five days' written notice to the permit holder, in the event that two substantiated violations of this article shall occur.
C. 
Revocation of a permit to raise or keep chickens, for any cause, shall result in disallowance of new or renewal permit by that party for at least one year.
D. 
In the event that a permit holder does not comply once a permit is revoked, the Code Enforcement Officer or Village Attorney may issue an appearance ticket to the Village of Altamont Justice Court. Any person found guilty of violating this article is punishable by a fine of not more than $250 for each offense calculating from the first order. Each day's continuation of the offense shall be considered a separate offense.
In the event that any conflicting state or county law, regulation or similar legislation shall address the keeping of chickens in a Village setting, the requirements of this article shall supersede such legislation unless such legislation is more restrictive, in which case the state or county law or regulation shall apply.
Should any section or provision of this article be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this article as a whole, or any part thereof, other than the part so explicitly declared to be invalid.
This article shall take effect immediately upon its filing in the Office of the New York State Secretary of State in accordance with § 27 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.