I noted this for the first time in 2009, when the City of Charlottesville codified their allowance of chickens. The street on which the subject of the above story lives has some wooded lots ranging from .3 to .5 acres – probably plenty of room for a couple chickens to peacefully coexist with the neighbors.
I haven’t been around chickens consistently since I was a child enough to know whether they smell … do they?
From a real estate perspective, I’d say about 10% of my clients ask about keeping chickens in their backyards … a notable increase over the past several years.
A twist for homeowners’ associations: I’d wager that most of the HOAs in the Charlottesville area have similar language to this, copied from the HOA docs of a local neighborhood:
“No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred, or kept on any portion of … except that dogs, cats, or other usual and common household pets, may be permitted in a Lot.”
Good luck finding a newer home in a neighborhood in Charlottesville that lacks an HOA. (Some HOAs grant right to trespass and tell you to clean up your yard )