- Boone County officials are reconsidering whether to relax zoning restrictions on backyard chickens, rabbits, and bees.
- The proposal would apply only to unincorporated areas, not cities like Florence, Walton, or Union.
- Supporters say the change reflects shifting views toward keeping small animals as pets and for household use.
Boone County leaders are once again weighing whether to loosen zoning rules that restrict residents in unincorporated areas from keeping backyard chickens, rabbits and bees.
Boone County Commissioner Chet Hand first broached the topic at a June 17 fiscal court meeting when he asked the planning commission to research and explore changes to the zoning rules surrounding backyard chickens, rabbits and bees.
Fast forward to Oct. 23, the Boone County Fiscal Court hosted a caucus meeting where the commission and members of the public continued the discussion of whether the county should relax zoning restrictions on backyard chickens, rabbits and bees.
Hand believes that perceptions of backyard chickens have shifted recently, with more people seeing them as pets rather than just farm animals, and as a result, the zoning code should be updated to allow residents more freedom to keep chickens in specific zoning districts.
During the June 17 meeting, he also mentioned the hobby of raising chickens, rabbits and bees, as well as the ability of chickens to produce eggs, as additional reasons for supporting a change to the zoning code.
The Boone County Fiscal Court and Planning Commission have authority over all unincorporated land in the county—basically, anywhere in the county that is not within the boundaries of Florence, Walton or Union. As such, these legislative bodies have the power to amend the county’s zoning code.
Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore emphasized that any official amendments to the county’s zoning code would not impact or override ordinances passed by Florence, Walton or Union.
“If this fiscal court did take some kind of an action on the topic at hand, it is for the unincorporated areas,” Moore said. “It does not pertain to the city of Florence, Union or Walton.”
Currently, Boone County doesn’t allow residents to keep chickens, rabbits or bees in certain residential zoning areas. The Boone County Zoning Code states that chickens are generally allowed in rural and agricultural zoning districts, in addition to Rural Suburban Estates and Rural Suburban zones.
Boone County’s zoning code includes two agricultural districts: A-1 Agricultural, designated for crop production, livestock, forestry, and other traditional farming uses; and A-2 Agriculture, which acts as a buffer zone between farmland and suburban neighborhoods. Both districts limit development to safeguard agricultural activities.
Chickens, rabbits and bees are barred from higher-density residential zoning districts, such as Suburban Residential 2, Suburban Residential 3, Urban Residential 1, Urban Residential 2, and Urban Residential 3. Chickens are generally permitted as pets in Suburban Residential 1 zones, but they cannot be used for commercial purposes.
The main sticking point in the zoning code is that chickens, rabbits, and bees are not allowed under the current Household Agriculture definition. This definition permits residents to keep chickens and similar animals on a small scale, provided they are kept on their property, not used commercially, and do not cause a nuisance.
The county’s zoning rules generally allow chickens, rabbits and bees in Rural Suburban Estates because livestock farming is considered a primary use, and keeping animals is permitted as a secondary activity. Although poultry is not explicitly listed as a primary use in Rural Suburban zones, chickens may be kept as non-commercial pets under the “pets and animals” category.
Animals that fall under the Household Agriculture definition are only allowed within the county’s agricultural zones and its lowest-density residential districts: RS and RSE. Kentucky state law exempts most zoning restrictions on agricultural uses taking place on five or more acres.
At the meeting, Hand acknowledged that homeowner associations in unincorporated Boone County would still be able to restrict or prohibit backyard chickens.
“Even if we were to update our ordinances to allow this, it would not stop neighborhoods from using their HOA, HOAs, or even forming HOAs–not that I’m a fan of that–but I’m just saying if they truly want to protect their neighborhood, there are still vehicles to do that, and this ordinance, or whatever we do, wouldn’t supersede the HOA requirements.”
Several county residents spoke out in favor of allowing backyard chickens, while others expressed some trepidation.
Resident Jasper Stevenson argued in favor of permitting chickens, emphasizing that responsible property owners should have the right to keep chickens on their land.
“Rather, we place appropriate checks on these activities to create this balance so an individual or family that can maintain their property responsibly without causing harm or nuisance to others, should be allowed to make practical use of their land in ways that help to support their household, but also to own pets.”
Conversely, Bill Simpson stated that he has no problem with people owning hens but opposes allowing roosters due to the potential nuisance of their crowing.
“I’m not a chicken hater, I am a rooster hater,” he said. “I don’t particularly care to be woken up at 4:30 in the morning, having a rooster crow for four hours.”
Regarding bees, Greg Schnieder of the Northern Kentucky Beekeepers Association spoke in favor of allowing backyard bees, saying that in his experience, beekeeping is a positive asset to local communities.
“We love our bees,” he said. “It’s really fun for our citizens, so it’s a good asset to the citizens. The honey is amazing, and we all know the story about how they take care of 30% of our food source by pollination.”
Ultimately, there was no legislative action taken during the meeting. More action is expected in the coming months.
