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Senate committee approves bill limiting HOA bans on home gardens, backyard chickens
Summary
The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a committee substitute for SB 805 that would bar future homeowners association deed restrictions that unreasonably prohibit home gardens or the ownership of chickens, while preserving existing covenants and allowing reasonable HOA rules on coops and setbacks.
At a meeting of the West Virginia Senate Agriculture Committee, members agreed to a committee substitute for Senate Bill 805, a measure that would make prospective homeowners association (HOA) covenants that "unreasonably restrict" home gardens or backyard chickens unenforceable.
The measure, as explained by committee counsel, sets a state public policy promoting "personal agriculture," defined as using residential property to grow edible crops or keep animals for a homeowner’s personal use. Counsel said the substitute is prospective only and "you cannot affect existing contracts," meaning current deed restrictions in place before the bill’s effective date would remain enforceable. The substitute further allows reasonable HOA restrictions tied to historical preservation, architectural significance, or religious or cultural importance and does not prevent HOAs from adopting rules for chicken coops, setbacks or free-ranging prohibitions.
The bill’s author (identified in the meeting as the senator from Jefferson) said the measure was prompted by constituents who want to grow food or keep a few chickens in subdivisions. "I have chickens myself," the senator from Jefferson said, describing them as low-maintenance and "a happy noise." Several members voiced concern about the state intervening in private contracts; counsel responded that the bill creates a declared public policy to justify limiting future contract terms and reiterated that the change is prospective only.
During committee consideration, the senator from Jefferson offered a cleanup amendment replacing language that would have "effectively prohibit[ed] or" with "unreasonably restricts" and adding the phrase "on property owned and maintained by the homeowner" to clarify that the restriction targets an individual property owner’s use of their property. Committee counsel said the committee substitute already contained similar clarifying language and that the amendment harmonized duplicate references. The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. The committee then agreed to the committee substitute as amended by voice vote.
The vice chair moved that the committee substitute for SB 805 be reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass as amended, and that, under the bill’s double-reference, it first be referred to the Committee on Government Organization. The motion carried by voice vote; the committee declared the committee substitute adopted and ordered it reported.
The committee record notes the bill’s effective date is 90 days after enactment and that the substitute reorganizes definitions and makes technical changes. The substitute also includes a subsection clarifying it does not "specifically authorize" free-ranging chickens and thus leaves such provisions to HOA rules.
The committee’s action moves the measure to the Senate floor and to the Government Organization Committee for its second reference.
