Portsmouth board approves backyard chicken coop with conditions after neighbor objections

The Portsmouth Zoning Board of Review voted to approve a dimensional variance allowing Lauren Charbonneau to keep an existing chicken coop at 150 Rhode Island Boulevard under a set of conditions that the board said balance neighbor concerns with the applicant’s property rights.

The board approved the variance after public comment from nearby residents, including abutter Eileen Polina of 97 Islington Avenue, who said signatures from 10 neighbors opposing the coop were submitted and that the coop has coincided with “a significant increase in rat population” and causes runoff and noise. "Despite wire and other precautions mentioned, rats are keen, and they have their roots," Polina told the board.

Charbonneau, who said she keeps seven hens and no roosters and that eggs are for family use and a few neighbors, told the board the coop is maintained and that she had spoken to immediate neighbors before installing it. “It's first of all, it's a brand new coop, since June, so it's not falling apart,” she said.

Board members discussed relocation, limits on coop size and a time-limited experiment. Legal counsel advised the board that conditions should relate directly to the relief requested; members proposed conditions to reduce neighbor impacts while recognizing that Ms. Charbonneau’s lot could not meet the 50-foot setback required by ordinance.

The motion the board approved required that the coop be moved south to increase separation from the nearest property line (the board described a target of about 45 feet from the north property line), that the coop remain the same dimensions it has now, and that the number of birds be capped at seven. The motion was seconded and carried by the voting members present.

The board's decision leaves in place a requirement that the applicant comply with the specified conditions; the board noted that if the variance were denied the coop would have to be removed. The board also discussed enforcement mechanics and recording the coop dimensions as part of the approval to make future compliance easier to verify.

The acting chair said the board considered relocation and a trial period but ultimately focused on measurable conditions (distance, size and bird count) to limit future disputes. The matter concluded with a conditioned approval; the applicant was instructed to follow the conditions as written by the board.