Board unanimously grants Lusby resident a special exception, variance to keep chickens with conditions

The Calvert County Board of Appeals unanimously granted an after-the-fact special exception and a related variance on Dec. 5 that allow Amelia (Amy) Yolanda Koski to keep poultry at her Lusby property, subject to several conditions.

Applicant Amelia Yolanda Koski, who said the chicken coop and run predated her 2016 purchase, told the board the birds are pets and part of a homestead that has helped her recover from family and financial hardships. "They're my babies," Koski said, describing how the coop is screened by a privacy fence and the birds are kept in an enclosed run.

Board members reviewed the special-exception criteria under the county zoning ordinance and heard that animal control visited the property after a complaint and found the facilities acceptable. Paul Koski, who testified in support, said rebuilding the house after storm damage cost about $200,000 and underscored the applicant’s need and longstanding care for animals.

The board placed conditions on the approval: a maximum of 14 chickens and four turkeys; no sales of animals or sale of manure/byproducts (composting for personal use and donation only); documentation of on-site waste-disposal/compost practices (to be reflected in the written order); maintenance of screened coops and runs; inspections allowed by staff; and a provision that the special exception and variance apply only to the current owner at that property and would not transfer with the title. The board also allowed the applicant to keep her current elderly rooster while it lives, but barred any future roosters.

After completing findings of fact that the coop was a preexisting structure, that granting the variance would cause no injury to the public interest, and that the requested relief was the minimal adjustment necessary, the board moved, seconded and voted unanimously to grant the variance as well.

All testimony and conditions will be included in the board’s written order. The board closed the record on the case and concluded its business for the day.

Key excerpts include the applicant’s testimony about the coop’s history and neighborhood use, animal-control confirmation that conditions were acceptable, and the board’s explicit conditions limiting numbers and commercial use.