Nine years after Racheal Hrydziuszko first asked the Beverly Hills Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance to keep her backyard chickens, the village is rewriting its ordinances.

ZBA members were puzzled, believing she didn’t need to ask for a variance, Hrydziuszko said.

Frustrated by the lack of clarity on the issue, Hrydziuszko ran for a seat on the Village Council and began serving in 2018.

Later, Hrydziuszko said, there was a change in enforcement philosophy in the village administration, and she and her husband, Damon, received a violation notice. The Hrydziuszkos filed an appeal in Oakland County Circuit Court.

At the time, a village ordinance specifically allowed 11 animals, such as cats, dogs, gerbils, hamsters and others that are “similar” and “commonly kept as pets.” The ordi

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