Yorktown ZBA grants one-year, three-chicken permit to Daisy Lazo after neighbor objections

The Yorktown Zoning Board of Appeals on June 25 approved a variance and a one-year special use permit allowing Daisy Lazo to keep up to three hens at 2870 Foxh Hall Road, despite objections from nearby residents.

Neighbors raised concerns that the coop would change the character of the block and attract predators and rodents. “It’s going to attract coyotes, bobcats, field rats, mice,” said neighbor Anthony (Howard) Buck, who told the board several residents opposed the permit on those grounds. Multiple emailed comments in the record similarly warned of vermin and property‑value impacts.

Lazo and family members told the board the birds are pets for the household’s children and described measures to limit nuisance and health risks. Lazo’s husband, identified in the record as Jose, described a waste‑management approach that uses the deep‑litter method inside the hen house, three‑bin composting to remove litter, and high‑density plastic feed storage and rodent‑resistant feeders to discourage wildlife and pests. The building inspector, Steve Frietta, reported the previously larger structure had been removed and that a smaller, professionally made coop now houses three hens; Frietta told the board he found no apparent violations during his inspection.

Board members discussed the town’s zoning requirement that normally limits coops to lots of 40,000 square feet. The ZBA has statutory authority to grant area variances, and members said they were guided by five variance factors: neighborhood character, feasibility of alternatives, substantiality of the variance, environmental impact, and whether the condition was self‑created. The board noted prior similar variances granted in nearby blocks and that the lot is screened from neighbors by existing landscaping and a white fence. The board also heard that one nearby neighbor — who had previously objected — withdrew his objection after the applicant replaced a larger coop with a smaller one.

Chair John Meister moved to grant the variance to permit a coop on the 19,851‑square‑foot lot and to issue a one‑year special permit for a maximum of three chickens at 2870 Foxh Hall Road (the transcript also includes a variant spelling, “Foxhole Street,” in some filings). The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The permit is limited to one year so the board can assess whether the screening, storage and waste‑management measures effectively prevent adverse impacts on surrounding properties; the applicants must return for renewal and further review. The board instructed the applicant to maintain the waste‑management plan and rodent‑resistant food storage described at the hearing.