Neighbors settle peacefully in chicken permission petition

Franklyn Chaffee of 28 Palmer St. appeared in front of Waltham’s Zoning Board of Appeals this week to request a special permit to raise chickens in his yard.

Article 3.6 of Waltham’s zoning code, which sets out criteria for special land use cases in the city, defines special permitting procedures for livestock farms. It allows “livestock farms under five acres in size, including … the raising or keeping of poultry, pigeons, and furbearing animals, except dogs,” if granted a special permit by the ZBA after considering “the effects upon the neighborhood and the City at large.”

Chaffee, the owner of the property, is a longtime Waltham resident. Now retired, he owns the property and lives in the second-floor apartment. 

Chaffee is proposing to keep chickens in a secure 4-feet-by-10-feet enclosure, which he has been building for four months. The enclosure, positioned away from the road, has already been examined by City Building Inspector Brian Bower for compliance.

In the special permit request Chaffee wrote that he has more than 18 years experience keeping chickens residentially and proposed to keep food in secure metal containers to keep away rats. He added that the tenants of the property’s first-floor apartment also have experience raising poultry and are willing to help him care for the birds. He said he will keep only hens.

Chaffee appeared in front of the ZBA for the first time last month on June 24, with letters of support from three neighbors, Julissa Osorio and Christopher and Deirdre Curtin. 

In advance of the hearing, two anonymous neighbors also wrote messages of dissent, citing concerns about rats and about compliance with section 3.83 of the zoning code, which places additional restrictions on keeping livestock on farms smaller than 5 acres. 

At the June meeting where Chaffee’s permit request was first discussed, board members said they would not be able to factor anonymous letters into their decision. 

At the same meeting, however, one neighbor — Matthew Burke of 29 Palmer St. — raised concerns to the ZBA about noise and pest control. The ZBA requested the neighbors sort out the issue before appearing again in front of the board earlier this week.

This week Chaffee told the board that when he approached Burke to talk in more detail, Burke told him he had changed his mind and did not want to oppose the chicken coop. Chaffee brought the board a signed letter from Burke withdrawing his opposition.

Chaffee added that he has talked to multiple neighbors and passers-by about his proposal and has received general support. 

The board praised Chaffee for his research and preparation. “Based on the evidence produced in the first aid hearing, the petitioner is about the most qualified person in the city [for this permit],” said ZBA Vice-Chair Mark Hickernell.

The board voted unanimously to grant Chaffee a permit to keep chickens on his lot.

Other business at the July 15 meeting:

• The board heard extensive arguments on an appeal of a series of cease and desist letters about the zoning definition of “lodging houses” in the city’s zoning code. The applicant, neighbors, residents from across Waltham and the city solicitor weighed in on details and legal implications of the case.
• ZBA member Stephen Taranto moved to authorize the city’s Law Department to file “safe harbor” defenses with the board against future applications for comprehensive building permits through Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40B.
  These permits allow housing developers to bypass some zoning requirements in exchange for providing sufficient levels of affordable housing in communities that do not meet the state’s affordable housing benchmarks.
  If a community does meet those benchmarks — that is, if 10% of its housing stock is deemed affordable, or if affordable housing accounts for over 1.5% of the total land area of the city zoned for residential use — it counts as a regulatory safe harbor and can deny any such permits as inconsistent with local needs.
• After a short discussion the ZBA unanimously approved a modification of a January decision for Nicholas F. and Jennifer M. Freehling that changed the size of previously approved setbacks for a first-floor addition to their private residence.