Changing laws? Anyone tried?

[mrsengeseth]

There are a few horses, lovely btw, down the street. They are friendly, kids pass by giving them the occassional carrot or apple on their way to school. They are well cared for, appear as healthy as can be and are loved by the neighborhood. Hooved animals are not allowed in our city. These horses have been there longer than me. I want to get a goat or two. How do I go about changing the law to allow for hooven animals? I know the minute I get one the police will crash down on me. I have that kind of luck, so having a secret hidden goat isn't an option.

 

[cmjust0]

So...if no hooved animals are allowed, what are the horses doing there?

 

[lupinfarm]

They would have been grandfathered in. In the middle of downtown Toronto there is a horse in a field by the train tracks, nevermind that the people are surrounded by high density housing and that hooven animals are illegal, but that horse has been there so long that it was grandfathered into the laws.

 

[mrsengeseth]

I am pretty sure it's grandfathered in. I don't know that for sure though. My point with mentioning that is to express that the neighborhood is open to the goats as they are with the horses. But code enforcement has been my nemisis for a few years now. The have come with a ruler and fined me for my grass being over eight inches. no kidding. So i want to be within the law when I get the goats, hense needing to know where to start with getting them legalised in my area.

 

[lilhill]

A while back I read that in California (I think), they recategorized mini goats from livestock to pets so they are now legal in the cities.

 

[cmjust0]

...code enforcement has been my nemisis for a few years now. The have come with a ruler and fined me for my grass being over eight inches. no kidding.

I used to live in a neighborhood with covenants like...if you don't mow your lawn when we think you should mow your lawn, we'll get someone to mow it for you and send you the bill. We couldn't have a garden of any kind, whatsoever.. No outbuildings with "barn roofs," whatever that means. Fences had to be wood, 6' in height, 18" from all property lines, and could not extend past the front of your house into your front yard.. There was something about parking your own car in your own driveway, but I can't remember what that was.. Blah, blah, blah...

I hated that place. It was considered to be a decent neighborhood and I understand fully that those rules and regs were in place to keep it that way...and that they helped me when it came time to sell, as I didn't have to worry about rough looking properties on the block.....but still....I fricken hated it.

I just DID NOT fit in there. My lawn was always weedier than everyone else's..I didn't care.. We planted veggies.. I turned my garage into a workshop, and it wasn't uncommon for me to be found running a tablesaw at 10pm. I parked a bassboat in my driveway, covered with a tarp.. I'm sure the neighbors hated me, but I was just being ME, ya know?!?

Anyway...best of luck to you. I have no idea where you could start toward changing the laws in your area....I found it easier and better for all involved to change addresses instead.

 

[mrsengeseth]

what's funny is there are no covenants and no HOA in our entire zip code. But someone just has it out for me and complains about every little weed. So I just need to figure out how to make my goats-to-be legal and then I won'thave to worry about the grass being too tall. between them and the chickens i should be fine.

For what it's worth someone tried to say I had roosters. Code enforcement came...again...to see my roosters and i didn't get a ticket because he was pretty sure roosters don't lay eggs.

 

[ksalvagno]

I would think you would first need buy in from all the neighbors. If you have one that is always calling the authorities on you, it may be very difficult. Goats can be noisy and even the best of neighbors may get tired of it.

I hate to discourage you but it just doesn't sound like a neighborhood where you would end up being able to get goats.

 

[kimmyh]

In Oregon or Washington they city council changed the regs to allow small goats. You might check the Oregonion Newspaper, they probably had at least a mention about the whole issue.

 

[Rockytopsis]

You can use you imagination and just know where I would tell them to place that ruler.