Where "Fowl" Art Thou? Chickens and Other Birds Might Live on Woodbridge Residences

Prince William County Planning Commission will hold its first September meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the McCoart Administration Building. Items that will be discussed at the public hearing include another cell phone company "collocation" on a water tower, an amendment to a zoning rule for fowl on private residences and a building height modification for Harvest Life Changers church.

Pending the result of Wednesday's meeting, Prince William County residents may be able to have a variety of fowl on their property if Article III of the Prince William County Zoning Ordinance is amended.

As it stands now, the article does not allow farm animals to be used in accessory with residential districts. Farm animals are defined as cows, pigs, hogs, goats, sheep, other livestock, horses, mules, other equine, chickens and related fowl. With this amendment, chicken and related fowl would be removed from the restriction.

Coops and runs, as defined by the article, must be placed in the rear yard on lots under five acres, at least 15 feet from the property's perimeter side or rear lot line. With the amendment, the minimum, required height of fencing surrounding proposed coops or runs was increased to four-feet-tall.

Specifically, the commission will hold a public hearing concerning permits to raise chickens, pigeons, ducks, turkeys, geese, pea fowl, emu and ostrich on any property with a minimum lot size of two acres.

This county-wide amendment is still under discussion after concerns were raised in an April 21 meeting. In a memo to planning commission members, issues were raised with the so-called chicken amendment: the need to include other types of fowl (in addition to chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys), a minimum acreage requirement and the maximum number and type of fowl allowed in certain bird categories.

And then the requirements get complicated.

A maximum number of 10 chickens, pigeons, doves and similar birds are allowed on two to five acre lots. Whereas five to nine acre lots are allowed 20 fowl. Similarly, two to five acre lots are permitted to have six ducks, four turkeys, geese, or pea fowl and two emus or ostriches. Lots larger than ten acres have no restriction on the maximum number of fowl permitted on property. 

However, a formula is in place for the number and type of fowl allowed on one property. According to Article III of Proposed Special Use Permit #PLN2010-00283:

"The maximum number of permitted combined types of domestic fowl shall not exceed 50 percent of the per-acre allowance for each type of fowl kept on the property, multiplied by the number of acres (for example, for a three acre parcel, a maximum combination would be 15 chickens, nine ducks, six turkeys and three ostriches). The permitted maximum number applies to fowl six months and older."

Additional specifications of the article define that roosters and guinea fowl must be confined in a cage on any property less than ten acres, such cage much be 150 feet from neighborhood dwellings with one rooster and two guinea fowl allowed per acre.

Fowl that live on properties less than five acres can only be used for egg production, but fowl on lots larger than five acres can be used for domestic purposes only.

County Board of Supervisors are slated to review the zoning text amendments in a public hearing on Sept. 14, 2010.