Quick answer
Most cities that require a chicken permit want a simple site plan: your lot lines, your house, the coop and run, and the distances from the coop to the lot lines and the neighbors’ houses. Many also ask for your flock size, coop size, and sometimes neighbor consent or a short class.
- Draw it to scale with a north arrow and the street name.
- Mark every distance the code mentions.
- The free Coop Ready planner makes this site plan from a satellite map.
Print this page and tick things off as you go. Every city is different, so check your city’s page on Coop Ready for its exact permit rule and the code it comes from.
1. The site plan drawing
2. About the flock and the coop
3. Paperwork some cities ask for
4. Before you build
Make the site plan for free
The Coop Ready planner checks which city limits your home is in, lets you draw your lot, house and neighbor’s house on a satellite map, and drops in a coop and run at their real size. Press “Free permit site plan” and it prints a one-page plan with the distances marked, a north arrow, a scale bar, your city’s rules and a signature line. Need a drawing of the coop itself too? Use the free coop floor plan maker.
Not sure how far the coop has to be from the lot line? Read our guide to coop setback rules.
This checklist covers what cities commonly ask for; your city may ask for less or more. Coop Ready is a free planning aid, not legal advice. Satellite sketches are not surveys, so use a surveyed plot plan if your city requires one.
