Here’s a sample letter you can personalize to send to a homeowners’ association to advocate for a policy change in favor of chicken keeping in your neighborhood.
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing today to urge you to change the regulations about keeping chickens within our neighborhood. Urban and suburban chickens have many positive benefits for families and communities. I am aware that chickens carry a connotation of having potential negative impacts on a neighborhood, but by employing good practices, chicken keepers around the country routinely engage in this rewarding hobby while coexisting harmoniously with their neighbors. In fact, towns and neighborhoods in our area, including [do a little research and name one or two nearby locales that have chicken-favorable laws here], allow homeowners to keep flocks of hens in environments similar to ours.
Responsible adults are easily capable of keeping two or three hens in urban and suburban environments without imposing negative impacts on their neighbors. A perception exists that chickens are noisy, but only roosters crow, and they are not allowed within the [research to make sure this is true for your locality, and then insert your city name here] limits anyway, and we would not be keeping roosters in our yards. Cared for in the usual manner, a small flock of hens will produce no odor, are rarely heard beyond 20 to 30 feet from the coop, and produce zero visual impact when kept within the backyard or behind fencing.
I have found that the regulations imposed by [neighboring city/county] to be fair to all parties, and I humbly suggest their adoption by our HOA, with assignment of oversight to a member or committee to review their effectiveness periodically.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly.
Warm Regards,
[Your name and contact information]