It will be more than a month before a Unity couple complete their quest for a township zoning variance allowing them to continue raising chickens in their backyard.

Jeff and Kristin Kuhns’ Tuesday evening appearance before the township zoning hearing board ended abruptly, after two hours of testimony, when township Solicitor Gary Falatovich was called away for a family emergency. About a half dozen witnesses remain to be called when the hearing continues on Oct. 27.

The couple, who live on a half-acre parcel in a residential neighborhood on Range Street, are appealing a zoning violation notice stemming from the 20 chickens they’re raising on less than the minimum 2 acres specified by township ordinance.

The couple said at previous township meetings that they treat their chickens as pets, and they’ve argued that the fowl shouldn’t be subject to the 2-acre requirement for farm animals.

Kristin Kuhns testified Tuesday that the family’s chickens have distinct personalities. “They’re excited to see me, just like a cat or a dog,” she said. “They are animals you do come to have feelings for.”

Pittsburgh attorney David Toal, who is representing the Kuhns, suggested his clients’ chickens could be considered a permitted accessory use, in accordance with township zoning. “We may not need a variance at all, depending on how you interpret this ordinance,” he said.

Falatovich cited a section of the ordinance that lists fowl and pigs among animals that are not permitted on less than 2 acres.

The testimony was complicated by the fact that Toal cited sections of the Unity zoning ordinance as they appear on the township website — where they are numbered differently than in the original ordinance. Toal said he would submit a written version of his arguments, using citations from the original ordinance.

Kristin Kuhns acknowledged she didn’t check with Unity officials concerning pertinent township regulations before purchasing her first 10 hens in the spring of 2019. She said she considered zoning information posted on the township website confusing but found nothing that led her to believe chickens wouldn’t be allowed on her family’s property.

Township zoning official Harry Hosack testified that the regulations for raising poultry have been on the township books since 1991.

The Kuhns submitted into evidence a letter from Kristin’s physician, indicating having the chickens helps her with a medical condition, and another from a counseling service, stating that the chickens provide her emotional support.

When asked by Falatovich, she declined to publicly identify the referenced medical condition. She said the chickens have been a comfort to her while coping with the covid-19 pandemic. “They’re a great stress reliever,” she said.

The township entered into evidence a letter from Darnell Biss, a neighbor who complained about the chickens at an Aug. 20 township forum on backyard chickens.

Biss didn’t have an opportunity to testify before Tuesday’s hearing was halted, but Unity resident and game warden J.R. Flowers addressed one of the concerns she’s expressed — that the chickens attract wild predators.

“If bears were an issue, the chickens would be gone,” Flowers said. He added that other, smaller predators were found in the area long before the chickens arrived.

Biss also complained about the crowing of roosters. Kristin Kuhns testified there were two roosters among 10 bantam chicks she purchased in May, but the gender of those smaller chickens isn’t apparent until they’ve grown for several months.

By that time, she said, she’d grown attached to the roosters and noted it would have been difficult to find new homes for them even if she’d wanted to give them up. She said the roosters are confined overnight in a shed under a black sheet to keep them from crowing, until 7:30 a.m. or later.

Another issue is whether the couple’s three chicken coops violate zoning language that doesn’t allow accessory farm buildings within 100 feet of a neighboring property.

While their zoning appeal proceeds, the Kuhns asked the township supervisors to consider changing the ordinance to ease restrictions on backyard chicken hobbyists.

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