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Zoning case hinges on definition of ‘pet’
hubbard
The case for the Wylie family chickens hinges on the definition of the word “pet” after the city zoning board denied the family a variance Thursday, saying keeping the animals is a zoning-law violation.
Jeff Wylie, who plead not guilty Thursday, was charged with the zoning violation because his 12-year-old daughter is raising 11 chickens at their Parkview Drive home as a 4-H Project for the Trumbull County Fair next year, according to a memorandum from the city’s Law Director, Jeff Adler, to Mayor Richard Keenan.
The city’s zoning ordinance under the Gardens and Pets clause states the list of pets shall not include “fowl and other domesticated animals.”
Wylie’s main argument is that the chickens are not pets.
The case has been forwarded to Girard Municipal Court but no trial date has been set.
Adler said the fine for keeping the chickens is up to $500 per day of violation. He said the fine could be backdated to the day the family first was notified of the violation, which was July 13.
“I sympathize with them,” Adler said.
Originally, the city tried filing the charges under a criminal ordinance that says keeping animals causing harm to public health is a criminal action. But Adler said the chickens were not harming public health. Instead, he said they were breaking the pet-zoning law.
Adler said if Girard Municipal Court rules against the city, it will not pursue the case any further.