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9-Year-Old Marin County Girl Loses Vote To Have Pet Chickens In Backyard

KENTFIELD (KCBS) —A 9-year-old Kentfield girl who has pet chickens in her backyard has lost a referendum involving Kent Woodlands Property Owners Association members to change neighborhood rules to keep the birds.

The Marin Independent Journal reported that Raine Matthes and her family were not able to get more than half of her neighbors to vote in favor of adding cooped chickens as acceptable pets.

According to the newspaper, 188 of the 309 ballots submitted (61 percent) were in support of the chickens. But the homeowners said a majority of the 481 members, or 242 votes, are needed to make changes to covenants, conditions, and restrictions.

A spokesman for the homeowner's association, Barry Evergetti, said the chickens and the coop itself violates the Marin County community's codes.

Homeowners Association Votes Against 9-Year-Old Girl Having Pet Chickens In Marin County Community

Evergetti had previously said this week that "farm animals" aren't allowed in Kent Woodlands and that another concern of theirs is that the fowl would attract predators. "We have quite a few coyotes that come down through the area and take a lot of pets; chickens are just another attractant," he said.

The newspaper said the girl's family plans to contest the decision in court sometime in July.

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