Plymouth BZA denies variance for backyard chickens on Meadow Drive

Members of the Plymouth Board of Zoning Appeals rejected the request to keep backyard chickens at 12515 Meadow Drive, a 3.3-acre parcel of land.

The chickens currently on the property will need to be removed. 

Gary and Heather Johnson asked the BZA for a variance of use that would permit them to keep eight chickens they have on their property.  The Johnsons said they lived in the county and were unaware that the city had control in the two-mile zoning district.  They also said there are cows about a quarter mile down the road, so he thought the chickens would be allowed. 

The parcel sits at the very end of Meadow Drive and is not included in the platted Oak Crest Addition and Webster’s Hillside Manor Subdivisions.  

The Johnsons told the BZA their chickens are for personal use and that they won’t be selling the eggs or chickens. They also serve as educational purposes for their children.  The Johnsons are committed to proper waste management, odor control, and noise abatement, ensuring the chickens are not a nuisance.

The city planning staff recommended approval of backyard chickens, but up to only six hens with conditions.  The chickens must be in a coop or run that meets the city’s standards and keeps the chickens in and predators out.  The chickens are only permitted in the backyard. Manure storage must maintain adequate covering and will not be less than double the setback of the zoning requirements.  Finally, the confinements must be open to periodic inspections by the City of Plymouth Zoning Administrator or designee.  

Two neighbors, Kevin Birchmeier and Dan Weidner spoke against the variance, citing concerns of manure disposal, noise and odor control, and causing an increase in predators.

The city attorney read four emails from neighbors who were against the request, with some saying the Johnsons don’t take care of their property and have only mowed five times this year. Another neighbor said chickens are farm animals and don’t have a place in subdivisions.  She also said the chickens will hurt property values.

With only three of the five members present for the meeting, President Art Jacobs asked the city attorney if they needed all three votes for the variance to pass, or was it a majority of the board present and only two votes would approve it.

Houin said he wasn’t sure, but he believed it was the majority of the board present.  Members Paul Wendel and Linda Secor voted against, and Jacobs voted in favor. 

The chickens must go.