Backyard chickens - are they coming soon to Arlington?

There is a movement in Arlington right now to loosen up the zoning laws to allow people to have backyard hens.  No roosters.   Currently only 1.5 acre lots are allowed to have them, and there are virtually no lots that big in Arlington.

The idea is allowing residents to have a couple of hens will give people access to organic, range free eggs anytime they want.   Reduce grocery bills, use the droppings for fertilizer, reduce carbon footprint from shipping eggs, etc.   Sounds pretty good and apparently other cities have done it.  I won't go into all the benefits the Arlington Egg Project claims, but you can read the details here.

It's divided the community, as you can see on this thread on WJLA's piece on backyard chickens here, as a few people already have hens illegally, and neighbors complain about noise, rodents and smells.  My neighborhood has gotten a lot of action the local list serv between people complaining about the ones that exist already and advocates debating the benefits.

Most lots in Arlington are 6000 square feet to 8000 square feet.  I live in a cluster of 6K lots and can tell you when dogs bark and kids play there's an echo effect.  The Arlington Egg Project claims that hens are no louder than a person having a conversation, but if everyone has hens, it seem to me like it would be akin to everyone having 3-4 people talking in their backyard all the time.  That would be disruptive.  The Arlington Egg Project also claims that the smell from droppings won't be bad if people clean up the coops, but we all know how people tend to not pick up after their dogs, same kind of people probably won't clean up after their hens.

I almost sold a house to some people last year whose neighboring house had hens in their attached garage which was very close to the property line.   It was quite off putting to say the least, because the hens were hopping in and out of the window of the garage and the home my clients were considering was close to $2M.  Yes Arlington is an eclectic urban community, but the juxtaposition was a bit much.

I hate paying $5 a dozen for organic cage free eggs as much as anyone else, and do like the idea of being more sustainable, but am not sure Arlington is the right community for backyard hens.  

I emailed the Arlington Egg Project to ask what kind of lot minimums they suggest and they don't have one in mind.  They said this:  "Urban communities that embrace backyard hens typically regulate how and where they may be kept, and how many may be kept. Space requirements are often part of this.  All of this helps ensure that the hens live in health and happiness -- and are good neighbors. Some examples of these regulations are attached. We should take a look at what these other urban communities do, have a community discussion here in Arlington, and then decide what's best for Arlington.  The Arlington Egg Project wants to promote such a community conversation. "

The document he attached was a breakdown of other cities' chicken zoning laws such as Baltimore and Seattle.  They vary from city to city.

It will be very interesting to see how the county board and citizens continue to respond to this movement.