Resident urges Town Council to rewrite poultry setback rule after neighbor complaint

Josh Rushing, a Fairview resident speaking on behalf of his father, told the Unionville Town Council on Jan. 20 that Land Use Ordinance Section 175's special setbacks for livestock and poultry are too restrictive.

"The ordinance calls for livestock or poultry to be no closer than 150 feet from an adjoining property line if it is not a bona fide farm," Rushing said. He added that the rule effectively requires a lot to be at least 300 feet wide for common small-scale activities such as keeping laying hens, and that his father, who owns a three-acre lot, was told by a neighbor complaint that he could not keep poultry.

The request was made during the public-comment portion of the Council's regular meeting. Rushing asked the Council to place Section 175 under review and to consider a text amendment to reduce setbacks or to rewrite the language to allow consideration of lot size instead of just lot width.

Town staff did not present a response at the meeting. The Council did not take immediate action on the ordinance change; the public comment was entered into the record for Council consideration at future meetings. Commissioner Andrew Benton and others took no formal vote on the request during the session.

Why this matters: The ordinance as written can prevent residents with narrow but sizeable acreage from keeping small-scale livestock, affecting longtime rural lifestyles and raising questions about consistency and enforcement. Any change would require a formal amendment to the Town's Land Use Ordinance and follow municipal adoption procedures.

Next steps: The comment was recorded for Council consideration; no ordinance amendment was proposed or scheduled at the Jan. 20 meeting.