Backyard Chicken Regulations
Active
16 meetings ·
2024-12-05 to 2026-07-28
Zoning amendments regulating residential fowl keeping — number of chickens, setback distances, coop requirements.
Timeline (16 meetings)
Dec 5, 2024
Board of Education
two one action good evening everyone I'd like to call to order the December 5th 2024 business meeting of the pro har Union School District flag the United States of America the stands Nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all born and unbor…
Jan 28, 2026
Board of Trustees Work Session
So, the sub the sub substantive changes that are included in this local law, in section two, there are a number of definitions in our code that were either outdated or, were sufficiently vague that they left some interpretation, right, which is not u…
a certain number per size of your lot, I think, is very helpful. Yeah. So currently, you can have 25 whether you're RA five, RA 60, anything in between, you can have 25 chickens. So what we've proposed is, allowing it proportionally based on the size…
Feb 4, 2026
Waterfront Advisory Committee
Engineering Department
Boarder Permit §230-48.5 $250.00
Resolution #16-2026
On motion of TRUSTEE SIMON, seconded by TRUSTEE NICHOLSON, the following
resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cr…
Feb 18, 2026
Waterfront Advisory Committee
WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
Wedesday, February 18, 2026 4:30 p.m. APPROVED
Small Conference Room
PRESENT Len Simon, Chairperson
Stuart Greenbaum (Absent)
Steve Krisky
Stacey Nachtaler (Absent)
Leo Wiegman
ALSO PRESENT: Vincent Salanitro, P.…
Chairman
LEN SIMON
Members
STUART GREENBAUM
STEVE KRISKY
Village of Croton-on-Hudson STACEY NACHTALER
LEO WIEGMAN
2 Village Engineer
Waterfront Advisory Committee VINCENT SALANITRO, PE. Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building Secretary
One Van Wyck…
Feb 24, 2026
Planning Board
Alright. Then moving on. Alright. So number four, where we talk about keeping a fowl, this mainly refers to chickens, I'm guessing. We added a table that states the maximum number of fowl is permitted and is based on lot size. So the bigger the lot s…
the 15 feet? I guess so that there weren't chickens right on the proper line being penned, making noise, I guess.
Well, and there's fecal matter associated with chickens, and you probably don't want that right on your property line if you share border with a neighbor. A little smelly.
Acting Chairperson Geoff Haynes declared that this matter is adjourned to our next public
meeting, assuming the applicants are ready.
b) Referral from the Village Board of Trustees to review draft Local Law Introductory
No. 3 of 2026, the EAF and C…
Mar 11, 2026
Board Of Trustees
Resolution #47-2026
On motion of TRUSTEE SIMON, seconded by TRUSTEE NICHOLSON, the following
resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson,
New York with a 5-0 vote.
WHEREAS Local Law Introductory No. 3 of 2026 …
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Board of Trustees hereby
schedules a Public Hearing to be held on March 25, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the
Georgianna Grant Meeting Room of the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building to
consider the adoption …
Mar 25, 2026
Board Of Trustees
Hello. My name is Matthew Rubenstein. I live on Truesdale Drive. I'm focusing on, the part of the code that's being revised. It's section three article four district use regulations section two thirty dash 9.1. So if you wanna look at the code or not…
So I'm I'm happy to see that change, but, it now is changing where foul pens can be located, which under the current code before these changes, is no closer than 50 feet from a property line. And it is, in this revision, being set to 15 feet from the…
So it's you have 10 foul versus 25 foul within 50 feet. So it had to get to that numerical threshold before it would apply, and that's why I think the ambiguity was. Yeah. And it's it was it also had to do with the commas. Right? Which is Yeah. Right…
A motion to open a Public Hearing on Local Law Introductory No. 3 of 2026
to amend Chapter 230, Zoning, of the Village Code to address various
inconsistencies, update definitions and amend the number of fowl
permitted on resid…
Matthew Rubenstein, 105 Truesdale Drive, Croton on Hudson, addressed the
section of the code dealing with fowl, and stated that allowing ten fowls on
properties of .3 acres is way too many. Mr. Rubenstein also addressed the
ch…
To view the Planning Board’s memo, you may log onto the following link:
https://play.champds.com/ATT/crotononhudsonny/2026-
03/197b7a982b2cebd140b2b4742ab264900eba4304.pdf
Village Manager Healy explained that the Village does not hav…
Apr 8, 2026
Board Of Trustees
Resolution #73-2026
On motion of TRUSTEE SIMON, seconded by TRUSTEE NICHOLSON, the following
resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson,
New York with a 5-0 vote.
WHEREAS Local Law Introductory No. 3 of 2026 …
WHEREAS the Village Board held a public hearing to consider Local Law Introductory
No. 3 of 2026, which was opened and closed on March 25, 2026, and
WHEREAS based on the feedback received during and after the public hearing, the
Village Board has de…
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Village Board of Trustees hereby issues and adopts
the EAF Parts 2 and 3 Determination of Significance attached hereto and adopts a
Negative Declaration in connection with this action, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that …
May 27, 2026
Board of Trustees Work Session
On a motion by TRUSTEE SLIPPEN, seconded by TRUSTEE SIMON, the Village Board voted
unanimously to suspend the regulations of the Board and Committee Guidelines for 30 days,
specifically in regards to the HEART Committee and allowing an individual t…
Jun 16, 2026
Zoning Board of Appeals
that not more than three dogs over six months old and not more than 25 fowl
And no animals except dogs or cats or fowl shall be penned or housed
would mention that it it's what's clear to me in terms of the questions. The the the main question of or the first question of whether foul are allowed within 50 feet of a lot line. I think that is pretty clear. I mean, even where there's sort of som…
but it says no animals, and then there's some other stuff. Or fowl shall be penned or housed within 50 feet of any lot line, and I I think that that's pretty clear. I do think that it is interesting, if there is a definition of foul, although I also …
especially given the current allowance of 25 fowl.
I guess the next thing we talk we talk about is what's a fowl.
my inclination is to interpret fowl
we're interpreting cat in the lay use of the term. And I, in my lived experience, have seen fowl usually referred to as a bird of any kind.
It's there is I agree with Jim that there's common usage of foul, geese and ducks and chickens and, you know, poultry,
keeping or harboring of any animal, fowl, or bird.
You go all the way back to old English? All the way closer to old English. Acknowledging your point though, there I know there was a section in our code that says bird or fowl.
okay. So so fowl shall not be permitted
no animals except dogs and cats or fowl shall be penned or housed within 50 feet of a lot line. So if it is so any so no fowl. So if we're saying
all birds are fowl, then no birds can be within 50 feet of the lot line.
differently, Doug. I I read it that the only exception is dogs and cats. And no animals except dogs or cats. It's like animals are fowl. And I think Ethan And no animals fowl. Well, I'm gonna be in the Doug camp on this one because animals
or fowl. Mhmm. Although I see why the the lack of a second comma makes it But but the
unclear. The comma would be after fowl then. I think this is, they don't want Right. That's what I would have been I would have wanted to see dogs, cats, and fowl without any comments. Except dogs, cats, and fowl, except all three of those. But I loo…
He said no animals except dogs or cats, and then or fowl shall be penned within 50 feet. So I think Yeah. I tend to agree with you, Bill. If if if they meant dogs, cats, or fowl, it would have been dogs or cats or or fowl, comma, after after fowl. Ye…
there's plenty of people that have chicken coops.
I I I interpret this to be you can have a penned dog, cat, fowl less than 50 feet,
agree with agree I with wanna see dogs, cats, and fowl in one in one parenthetical.
And then the or fowl really is should have been connected to the animals.
that talks about bird or fowl. We can find that provision, but it's
Since this is saying no animals except dogs or cats or fowl shall be penned or housed within 50 feet, I interpret that to mean that you you're allowed to have chickens a coop that aren't 50 feet away from the lot line. And a lot of people
I mean, not a lot, but I know some people that have chicken coops that Mhmm. Are not
I I look at except dogs and cats as the only parenthetical there, and that the fowl
think that fowl should be that it's animals or fowl.
That no animals or fowl should be penned or housed within 50 feet of lot line. I mean, the second definition on Miriam Webster is a cocker hen of the domestic chicken, especially an adult hen of any of several domesticated or wild, galenacious birds.…
in the code as a definition of fowl or
And I see that since it's animals and then except dogs, cats, or fowl,
that any other animal than dog, cats, or fowl would be exclude that have to be outside the 50 feet lot line, like a pig or a sheep.
Jun 16, 2026
Conservation Advisory Council
The Committee suggests that David Daly of
Trails ought to ask the Chair of the committee for its money or resources such as
chickenwire to address this issue by raising protective barriers for the plants in question. DARK SKIES
● Jason Mencher bro…
Jun 16, 2026
Planning Board
The Committee suggests that David Daly of
Trails ought to ask the Chair of the committee for its money or resources such as
chickenwire to address this issue by raising protective barriers for the plants in question. DARK SKIES
● Jason Mencher bro…
Jun 17, 2026
Board Of Trustees
I know there was a question around, can we have more two hundred and fiftieth flags around the village? And I know we talked with the manager today and more will be coming, you know, to dial up the presence of our country's two fiftieth birthday, esp…
it was great to be there, I guess, a week ago, Saturday. On on June 12, as been alluded to earlier, Trustee Slippen and I and manager and the superintendent met with some of the Gottwald Circle residents. And I wanted to thank pastor Justin Johnson f…
Summerfest was a huge success and thanked everyone who
worked on it, happy that more flags will be placed around the Village in
celebration of our 250th, happy to report that the IDEA Committee had posted
their agenda for t…
Trustee Simon advised that he and Trustee Nicholson attended a work session
with the School Board and talked about them getting involved in our
composting program, on May 25th a wonderful Memorial Day ceremony was
held at t…
Jun 24, 2026
Board of Trustees Work Session
a discussion of the village code as it relates to animals and fowls. Manager, you've prepared a memo. Would you like to summarize for Sure. So there's a there's a bunch of stuff here, actually. So
You know, they recommend that coops be secured and that all areas where fowl can roam be properly penned and fenced.
And then the Centers for Disease Control also addresses the disease risk from backyard poultry, which would include chickens and ducks.
there's still a few remaining questions about the edits this section that the code needs to address before we can sorry, that the board needs to address before we can conclude this work. They are as follows. We would like the village board to confirm…
hens and ducks, chickens and ducks, and there are also villages like
Ducks and other waterfowl may require additional water resources,
language, chickens and ducks must be kept in an enclosure or fenced area at all times, which is But it doesn't mean a fenced area doesn't necessarily mean it has a roof. What what is an enclosure then?
So you would go chickens only. But Hens. Particularly
right. Yeah. No. Roo I mean, roosters are not part of the equation. Right. Because when I think when we say chickens, we mean hens, really. Yeah. Yeah. They're fine. Right. That was exactly What the right way is to to
what yeah. Lean toward chickens only in the smaller
into a chicken coop, you're gonna have to move your utility utility shed. Okay. Absolutely.
For chicken. And I just I just wanna say reason. That,
the mallard or the ducks or the chickens keep escaping and roaming onto my land and causing problems.
you know, animals. And it says the keeping or harboring of any animal, fowl or bird, which might may by causing frequent or long continued noise
from Well inside of it. Yeah. But, I mean, the the thing is that they could be they could potentially be out in the yard too. Right? I mean, the chickens aren't gonna be in the coop twenty four seven. I thought that's what it said. No. It says pens f…
keep just to keep the chickens. Yeah. Yeah. It's the housing So of so, I mean, if they're not building the coop, they could just have a chicken in their yard and that's fine?
I mean, if they wanted to keep the chicken in their house with them, I guess they could. Well, yeah, but then they're just turning the house in their their house into an aviary kind of. And, like, that's I mean, the only way to live. Are there are pl…
necessarily for the community. So no harm, no foul. Pardon the pun. But if it's if it's I was waiting all night for that one. If it's if it's safe, I mean, it is. If there if if, like, it could just it could just live in your yard, I mean, more or le…
figure out here. Not like if somebody has one or two chickens that are just like wobbling around the yard. Like that's not that's not what we're trying to because I mean we have that now. Right? Right. And that's not what we're trying to we don't wan…
You can do it. Just wanna point that out. One duck, one goose, one Okay. I don't was under the impression that you had to buy six, but maybe that's bad info. Maybe when you order them, like I don't know. I don't have I don't have chickens. Maybe when…
But anyway, so can we just not like, let's stop using that word because that's the confusion. I haven't I been using it. I've been saying chicken and ducks. And the mayor just used it, like, you know, another usage
But I but if it's causing a delay Yeah. But I just wanna I just wanna clear on what on what the so she's saying chickens and ducks. Yes. She was saying chickens and ducks and all And I was saying
chickens Right. In in the smaller lot sizes because Not the ducks.
They tend to be more flight of birds. I don't wanna make a decision that makes it so we have to come like, when we make this decision, I don't ever wanna talk about chickens, ducks, or fowl ever again. I think that however live draft and begin the pr…
how do we have any idea how many people this is impacting in the village? Like, many people have chicken coops? We don't know? We we don't really know because,
it autumn it triggers it so you have to come in and you have to announce to your neighbors and you have to go to the zoning board to get a variance in order to put the chicken coop up?
No. I'm saying in in some some of the municipalities, like the village of Ardsley, and there was one other one that I forget who it was. I think it might have been Rye Brook. They required that if you wanted to keep chickens, you needed to get a spec…
But I don't know that having people come in with placards that say, you know, down with chickens is really gonna help
a chicken coop. So And and that and what we're doing right now is going to make those inappropriate properties inhospitable or in,
language, it's the keeping of farm animals is prohibited except for the keeping of chickens or ducks. That's what it is. It's already in here. So should we specify that that should not include
roost is it It says the keeping of chickens and or ducks, excluding roosters. Okay. Yeah. That's what it's specifically said. Do we we know if anyone in Croton has a farm animal, like
Well, they're already illegal. That's part of the challenge. Well, I mean, the thing is that They allow chicken wings. Ducks and geese. Let me just pull this up. Sorry.
During the work session, the Village Manager also presented an update from Valerie Monastra on
grant opportunities available under the Consolidated Funding Application, the Board continued
discussion on changes to the Village Code related to fowl and…
Jul 1, 2026
Board Of Trustees
we had talked about and you had suggested a date certain for this to become applicable and right now you're looking at 01/01/2027 as being the date that this becomes effective. That seemed to be a consensus in providing people with the opportunity to…
Jul 18, 2026
Croton History
EVIDENCE PACKET — When every Croton yard kept chickens: livestock, henhouses and the village's farming past
STORY BRIEF: This is a HISTORY feature — original research set in Croton's past. Tell the story of chickens/poultry/livestock in the historica…
Farm women and ranch women, however busy, do find time for handling some
poultry, and numbers of them regularly have
an income from "the national bird" at
Thanksgiving time, and another at Christmas time.
Morrill county, according to assessment
…
Morrill county, according to assessment
rolls, has about twenty thousand domestic
fowls, the number of chickens being vastly
predominate.
Horses
[S1] History of Westchester County, New York, Vol. II — Scharf, J. Thomas, ed. History of Westchester County, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II. Philadelphia: L.E. Preston …
Nearly every farm has as much pasture
land as cultivated land, and most farms have
more. In the region occupied by the Pierre
clay, and in the area lying south of the Dawes
Table, nearly all of the land is used for
grazing.
The value of poultry…
[S2] Whats Cookin At The Mikado — crotonhistory.org (archive: /history/document/38722)
recommend the house specialty, Chicken or Beef Sukiyaki , “seasoned with Soyu Sauce served in a chafing dish with rice.” Many thanks to the eBay seller who gave us…
[S4] Interview with Palmer, Mrs. — Macdonald, John. Interview with Palmer, Mrs.; (1844-11-01). Experiencing the Neutral Ground of the American Revolution: The McDonald Interviews, WCHS item 341. Transcription courtesy of the Westchester County Histor…
Mrs Palmer. Novr. 1st. Mrs. Palmer:
My husband was one of twelve se-
-lected from his regiment to form Wayne's
forlorn hope at Stoney Point. The day
before the assault, a spy was sent in
to scan the weak points of the fort
&c. in the disguise of a c…
[S6] What's Cookin' at the Mikado? — crotonhistory.org — https://crotonhistory.org/2014/02/17/whats-cookin-at-the-mikado/ (archive: /history/document/6687)
What's Cookin' at the Mikado?
What's Cookin' at the Mikado?
A vintage menu from the Mikado I…
The menu features "Chicken or Beef Sukiyaki, seasoned with Soyu Sauce served in a chafing dish with rice" as the house specialty. This dish represents an interesting culinary intersection of Japanese cuisine offered in the Hudson Valley region
Date:…
[S9] McDonald Interviews — Croton-Area Eyewitness Accounts (1844-1851, WCHS digitized 2025) — Westchester County Historical Society / John M. McDonald Interviews — Digital Collection April 2025 (archive: /history/document/6287)
Item 1418: Interview w…
Archivist summary:
Jesse Fowler (1761-1851) recounts the route of the British force under Robert Abercrombie that raided Crompond on June 3, 1779. During this raid, British soldiers took livestock belonging to Fowler’s father. He also describes the r…
animals, but for the most part, as we are informed, unknown to the Christians. Of tho Land birds. The country is in no wise deprived of its share of birds, for there are found
great numbers of birds of prey, such as: two varieties of Eagles, some th…
But no kitchen utensil
was more unique than the wooden bowls which the
Indians fashioned from the knots of the maple tree
and sold to the house-keepers. Scoured to immaculate
whiteness, they had their place in every family and
were highly prized…
(archive: /history/document/139973)
The greater number of
those who had held places of honor and emolument,
in the Colonial Government, notwithstanding it was
politic to keep quiet, was also, more or less '' disaf-
" fected;" and the multitude, w…
(archive: /history/document/149729)
The greater number of
those who had held places of honor and emolument,
in the Colonial Government, notwithstanding it was
politic to keep quiet, was also, more or less '' disaf-
"fected;" and the multitude, wh…
way. They collected cattle together, or
allowed others to do so, and then shut their
eyes and allowed the Cowboys to take them
to New York. The Cowboys somehow
always found out where there was a lot
of good fat, cattle collected. I used often to go b…
(archive: /history/document/150120)
On the left of the Marylanders, was posted the Delaware Regiment, proud
of its name of " The Blue Hen's Chickens," whom
Colonel Haslet commanded : the remainder of General McDougal's Brigade, composed of the Firs…
(archive: /history/document/140368)
On the left of the Marylanders, was posted the Delaware Regiment, proud
of its name of " The Blue Hen's Chickens," whom
Colonel Haslet commanded : the remainder of General McDougal's Brigade, composed of the Firs…
Not
an exception was made, no matter what reason there
might have been for such an exception ; and everything which had a gun-lock on it, whether useful or
useless for military purposes -- whether a young man's
fowling-piece, with which he was wo…
'Tis by the paternal care, the j)enetrating
" eye, and the mighty arm of his mother country ; who
" like a hen, when the hawk is near, hovers round her
" chickens, takes them under her wings, and preserves
"them from the enemy. I think I have acc…
Heath-hens, also Cranes, Herons, Bitterns, multitudes of Pigeons closely
resembling wood pigeons, but a little smaller ; likewise, Quails, Merlins,
Thrushes, Sand-pipers, but differing in some repects from the Dutch species. There are also other sm…
From them he received assur-
-ances of kind usage. They staid until
- Hufeland Index Page 991 -
a comfortable room had been assigned
for his use, and when they left told him
he would soon be exchanged on parole. An excellent breakfast of coffee and…
But, notwithstanding the evident intentions of those
among whom the thought of creating such a Committee had originated ; notwithstanding the purposes
for which it had been created included no such purpose ; and notwithstanding a separation of the …
a comfortable room had been assigned
for his use, and when they left told him
he would soon be exchanged on parole. An excellent breakfast of coffee and
chickens was then brought in, after
partaking of which his spirits were
resorted, and he felt rea…