Architectural board approves chicken coop at 421 Sixth Avenue pending landscape screening plan

On Feb. 13, 2025, the Decatur Architectural Review Board approved a certificate of appropriateness (COA) allowing a movable chicken coop at 421 Sixth Avenue owned by Austin Duper, provided the applicant submits and obtains approval for a landscape screening plan.

The board voted to approve the structure’s location in the narrow side yard — visible from Sixth Avenue — after discussion about the lot’s unusually small rear yard and how the coop would be sited against a detached building and near the alley. Austin Duper described possible screening and roof-material changes, saying he could “also do screening” and could change the roof material if that was an issue. Board members said they would accept a screening plan that staff and the commission could review rather than requiring the applicant to return to a future meeting for final COA issuance.

The coop submitted in the packet is 17 feet long, 8 feet 7 inches high and 7 feet 10 inches deep. Staff noted the house sits close to the property line and that the board’s guidelines (for movable outbuildings and new outbuildings) generally favor locating such structures to the rear or set back from side elevations when possible. Because the house lacks a conventional rear yard, the board discussed whether additional screening — a short fence with plantings or continuous planting bed — would sufficiently block public view from the street. Members recommended a screening full height range of roughly 3 to 6 feet as guidance for the applicant’s plan.

Jacob Woods, Board Chair, said the board needed “something to go on” in the COA document so staff and the chair could review the submitted plan. The board’s motion approved the coop on the condition that Austin Duper submit a landscape/screening plan acceptable to the board and staff; the motion was seconded and carried on an affirmative voice vote.

The board also discussed practical details raised by the applicant, including existing planters and a gate to access the side yard. Staff and members noted that plants grow and that the COA should specify a minimum and an expected mature range so the screening will meet visibility expectations. The COA will be issued after staff confirms the submitted landscape plan meets the screening requirements agreed on by the commission.

Votes at the meeting indicated unanimous approval with the board present; the COA will be recorded and mailed to the property owner and the building department as the board’s standard process requires.

The board’s COA process and appeal rights (municipal ordinance sections 18-25 and 18-92) were summarized at the start of the meeting; staff reminded applicants a COA must be issued before a building permit can be obtained.