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Commission recommends modified chicken rule for R‑15 lots, delays effective date 60 days to allow HOA notification
Summary
Planning staff proposed allowing backyard chickens in R‑15 residential lots using rules similar to rural districts; after public comment and commissioner amendments the board recommended limiting four birds up to one acre, adding +5 birds per half-acre thereafter but capping at 20, and asked for a 60‑day delay so HOAs can consider covenant changes.
Bryan County planning staff presented a draft text amendment to allow backyard chickens in R‑15 residential areas, proposing to mirror existing rural-residential (RR) rules that scale bird allowances with lot size. After substantial public input about neighborhood character, HOA authority and enforcement capacity, the commission approved a modified recommendation and asked the Board of Commissioners to delay the ordinance’s effective date for 60 days so homeowner associations can review covenants.
Under the commission’s recommendation, properties under one acre in R‑15 would be allowed four chickens. Properties larger than one acre would gain an incremental allowance of five additional chickens per half-acre beyond the first acre, but the total would be capped at 20 birds. Roosters remain limited to larger agricultural or RR zones under existing rules. Staff emphasized that HOA covenants supersede county allowances and that enforcement of private covenants is the HOA’s responsibility.
Commissioners cited two operational concerns: the county’s limited code-enforcement staff and the potential for rapid change in neighborhood character if large numbers of birds appear on many lots. Commissioners asked staff to include a 60-day delay between final county adoption and ordinance effective date to give HOAs time to consider covenant changes and notify residents.
The Planning & Zoning Commission will forward its recommended amendment and the 60-day effective-date request to the Bryan County Board of Commissioners for review.
