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Commission declines to recommend approval for reduced chicken‑coop setback at 201 Fairfield Drive
Summary
Staff recommended denial of a special‑use permit to allow a chicken coop and runs within 0–1 foot of the western property line at 201 Fairfield Drive; the Planning Committee did not recommend approval and left the issue to proceed without a favorable recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
Planning staff recommended denial on March 12 of a special‑use permit request to authorize a reduced setback (0–1 foot) for a backyard chicken enclosure at 201 Fairfield Drive in Piney Point Estates. Staff said the zoning ordinance requires a minimum 10‑foot setback for pens, coops, or cages and that the applicant’s enclosure, comprised of a prefabricated shed, a sheltered run, and an unsheltered run attached to the shared fence, does not meet that standard.
Staff told the commission the parcel is 0.7 acres and that portions of the yard are inside the Chesapeake Bay RPA buffer. Staff evaluated relocation options and said visual assessment and county records show several alternative locations on the property where a coop could be moved to meet the 10‑foot setback and remain outside the RPA. For those reasons staff concluded the applicant’s preferences or inconvenience do not meet the ordinance’s test for a reduced setback and recommended denial.
Applicants Daniel and Bridget Carver told the commission they have kept chickens for two years and described the new prefabricated shed as installed in the same location as an older shed. Daniel Carver said the coop is “up off the ground… watertight and airtight” and described sand used in the covered run for drainage; Bridget Carver said the run and fence provide a barrier that contains waste. They submitted 17 letters of support from 11 homes in the community.
Adjacent property owners Robert and Tanya O’Connell opposed the request. Robert O’Connell said, “we were never approached” and said the shed and attached run sit on the shared fence line and have caused soggy conditions on his lot. Tanya O’Connell added that the installed shed “hangs over our property” and that the rain runoff has made their land soggy.
Commissioners noted the ordinance is intended to prevent spillover effects such as noise, odors, runoff, flies or rodents, and several commissioners said the proper remedy was compliance with the code or relocation to meet the 10‑foot setback. A motion to adopt PC25‑06 to recommend approval of the reduced setback was made but failed; the commission therefore did not forward a recommendation of approval. Staff’s recommendation of denial remains the formal staff position for transmittal to the Board of Supervisors.
