general public, leaving the public vulnerable; chickens pose a threat to public safety because
they can also attract unwanted pests, bring predators, and are noisy; allowing chickens on any
residential property would take Brevard County backwards, instead of moving forward; and
after all, it is the Space Coast not the farm coast. He noted the current regulations safeguard
residents, including those in the general population by imposing a minimum property size
requirement of a half-acre or more and restricting residents to zoned agricultural areas with
domestic livestock in unincorporated areas of the County; the current law protects Brevard
County residents living in HOAs, currently 1,634 associations and growing, with smaller lots
known as zero lot line, which are five to 10-feet between each home; these residents would be
vulnerable to untrained neighbors with domestic livestock next door; he asked what impact this
would have on neighbors with compromised immune systems; he advised the most common
complaint an HOA has about a resident is they do not pick up after their pets; regular pets like
dogs and cats are licensed and vaccinated against diseases; and chickens, on the other hand,
are not. He stated a resident of their community built a coop right alongside the right fence line
in violation of city and County Ordinances; that person claims they removed their chickens and
rooster because of West Melbourne’s code enforcement; the proposed change would force
cities to alter their laws; in his opinion, as the law stands, it does not need to be changed; if the
Board feels compelled to change, exclude HOAs and residential properties; and as far as
people doing it for the price of eggs, they are down to $3.64 per dozen at Publix and keep
dropping.
Commissioner Delaney stated she is not sure which report Mr. Siegel was listening to, but
these changes only have to do with North Brevard, not HOAs, and not cities, so only
unincorporated land in North Brevard. She pointed out this will not affect Mr. Siegel.
Mr. Siegel stated they reported all of Brevard County, because they had code enforcement of
West Melbourne who looked up their rules and the County’s rules, and then they were able to
explain to the homeowner that one cannot do this; they did not say anything that it was there;
even for unincorporated, he does not know if there are any HOAs there, just saying one can
have a chicken on any residential lot, he asked who would want to live next door to a neighbor
with .2 or less acre piece of property; and what they did say is that it still had to go to the
County Commission, and back to them again at the next regular meeting; and then because
they only voted by a 3:2 margin, that basically they would have to re-examine any input from
the Board, and then go forward from there.
Chairman Feltner advised Mr. Siegel’s HOA with its deed restrictions, the County would not
supersede that anyway; and then again, to Commissioner Delaney’s point, that would only be in
unincorporated areas. He pointed out the County Commission cannot tell the City of West
Melbourne how many chickens their residents can have.
Mr. Siegel asked so what the Commission is saying is that the proposed law change of
Ordinance 2012-36 is only for North Florida, he means North Brevard.
Chairman Feltner explained the Board has not taken a vote on that yet, that was just to
advertise a legislative intent; and it is still an item to debate.
Mr. Siegel stated that is why they said he should come speak to the Commission.
Chairman Feltner stated perhaps, but he thinks a future Commission meeting would probably
be better, the Board does not take that up tonight; and he asked Mr. Siegel to leave his
information with Paul, and the County will make sure he gets any kind of update.
H.1. NDW Consultants LLC are requesting a change of zoning classification from AU
to RR-1. (25Z00008) (Tax Accounts 2004246 & 2004248) (District 1) The Planning
& Zoning Board continued this item to the August 18, 2025, Planning and Zoning
