In clutch vote, board approves small West Roxbury chicken coop

The Zoning Board of Appeal today unanimously approved a West Roxbury resident's request to add a chicken coop behind his garage.

In response to a question from board Chairwoman Christine Araujo, Francesco Peri of Mountclair Avenue said the new 4x6 structure would be home only to hens, no roosters.

The BPDA seemed to have requested the right to conduct "design review" of the new coop, but a BPDA official told the board that was a mistake, the BPDA does not need to comb over a chicken coop's relationship with existing buildings. Board member Mark Erlich, who reviews proposals for basic design issues, declared the plans "adequate," after he managed to stop laughing, but when the design issue briefly came up, suggested "Queen Anne."

In addition to the coop itself, Peri proposed a 4x10 enclosed "run" to keep the chickens from crossing the road.

The mayor's office and City Councilor Matt O'Malley supported the proposal.

One resident did submit an e-mail of concern over bird flu.

That the coop was before a board that normally deals with larger projects because it would be attached to Peri's garage, which means that for zoning purposes it would become part of the garage and so would make the garage larger than it normally should be for the area's zoning.