Community Corner
Speak Out: Should Backyard Chickens Be Legal in Arlington?
The county board will consider rewriting language so that it's easier for residents to keep chickens in the backyard.
Should chickens be legal in Arlington?
Legalize Chickens in Arlington thinks so.
The group has a Facebook page that includes forms for fans to send to Arlington County Board members encouraging them to rewrite laws that currently make it virtually impossible to own backyard chickens here.
Find out what's happening in Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslynwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
While hens are currently allowed in Arlington, the county's zoning ordinance states: "Poultry shall be kept in a building, structure or yard for the raising, housing or sale thereof which shall be located no less than 100 feet from any street or lot line."
This precludes virtually all residents in the densely-built county from keeping hens.
Find out what's happening in Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslynwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The county's urban agriculture task force is set to present recommendations to members of the Arlington County Board urging it to relax restrictions in a way that would allow residents to keep chickens in their backyards, according to WAMU.
"Hens are very quiet. They go to sleep at sundown, and they don't make any sound at night and they have a very soft clucking during the day that's very difficult to hear from fifteen or twenty feet away," Tom Carter of the Arlington Egg Project told WAMU.
What do you think? You don’t have to ask your neighbor if you can get a dog or cat... What about chickens?
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.