The CAI Heartland Chapter and the CAI Missouri Legislative Action Committee filed a lawsuit in August challenging a sweeping omnibus bill that includes a “chicken law” provision prohibiting Missouri community associations from banning homeowners who want to own and raise chickens.
In Four Seasons Lakesites Property Owners Association v. State of Missouri, the chapter and legislative action committee argue the new “chicken law” infringes on the rights of community associations in the state. Signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in July, the law overrules community association covenants and restrictions that prohibit backyard chickens. The chapter had unsuccessfully called on Parson to veto the bill.
“Community associations are created and governed by contractual agreements,” says Elia Ellis, an attorney and the chair of the CAI Missouri Legislative Action Committee. “The legislature shouldn’t infringe on those contractual agreements.
“We’re not opposed to raising chickens, but it’s the localized decision of the association” to allow it, he adds. “The state legislature shouldn’t mandate it.”
Aside from the governance issues presented by the new “chicken law,” Ellis says the provision violates the Missouri constitution. Originally a separate bill that didn’t get any traction in the legislature, it was tacked on under the radar to the larger omnibus bill at the end of the session. Such action violates the state constitution, he says.
Ellis emphasized community associations are flexible and can amend documents to allow for homeowners to raise chickens if there is adequate support. He says the suit seeks to assert the rights of homeowners associations in Missouri and “teach the legislature we are an industry that needs to be taken seriously and considered.”
