Cluck cluck: Phoenix-area subdivision to allow chickens

A new Phoenix-area housing development is going to the birds.

Ripson Homes, a Scottsdale-based home builder, gave the OK for homebuyers to raise chickens at its Sonoran Acres subdivision under construction near Surprise.

Roosted on one-acre lots near U.S. 60, Loop 303 and Patton Road, the development already allows homeowners to have horses and RVs.

Opening the new development to chickens follows an increase in inquiries from prospective homeowners, according to Ripson Homes CEO Michael Ripson. He told the Phoenix Business Journal the inquiries are part of a growing interest in sustainability and urban farming.

Homeowners are allowed a maximum of five hens; no roosters allowed. Ripson said there would be no “cock-a-doodle-doing” in the mornings to disturb neighbors.

The development is already part of an area that is zoned for poultry, which could attract buyers whose municipalities currently prohibit the raising of backyard chickens.

Citing the constitutional right to raise fresh chickens and eggs last year, Arizona Sen. David Farnsworth (R-Apache Junction) introduced a bill to do away with city zoning laws that prevent residents from keeping chickens at single-family homes.

But the bill ran afowl of fellow lawmakers who voted it down, leaving it up to city councilmembers to decide the fate of chicken city slickers.

With prices starting at $249,000, Ripson plans to build 120 chicken-friendly homes at the development. The first phase will include 33 homes, 11 of which have already been sold.

The builder also made headlines last year offering a year of mortgage payments for up to 19 lots purchased at the same development before Christmas 2014.

Ripson said at the time he hoped the incentive would help get people off the fence about purchases.

Join Realtor Diane Brennan for That Real Estate Show Sundays at 8 a.m. on KTAR News 92.3 FM.