The East Side chicken and rabbit keeper has been told to remove or move both a coop and hutch because they are too close to neighboring dwellings.

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With the economy falling, chickens and rabbits in the backyard might be an option for some families. But for right now there are limitations, and one East Side home has been found in violation of the city code regulating animals.

A home in the 5900 block of East Fairmount Street, near North Wilmot Road and East Speedway, has been put on notice for the location of a chicken coop and a rabbit hutch.

The animals have "created a terrible stench! The constant noise from the many fowl has become unbearable," neighbor Mark Tucci wrote in an e-mail.

A Nov. 18 inspection of the property found a chicken coop and a rabbit hutch too close to dwellings, a city violation, according to Teresa Williams, code enforcement administrator for the city's Community Services Department.

The inspector ordered the property owner to remove both enclosures or move them. A rabbit hutch must be 20 feet away from any dwelling and a chicken coop 50 feet. The inspector also ordered the owner to remove any accumulation of animal waste, Williams wrote in an e-mail.

The owner has until Feb. 1 to comply.

Williams wrote that the city has no limit on the number of rabbits and allows up to 24 fowl on the property. But no male fowl are allowed.

However, a neighbor said there is a rooster on the property. Moreover, the owner, who has lived on the property for 35 years, said he sells rabbits.

City code does not permit animal production — "keeping, grazing, feeding, and breeding of animals by the property owner or occupant for commercial gain" — on the property, Williams wrote.

She added, "It has not been determined that this is occurring at this property, therefore we are only enforcing the placement of the structures at this time."

— Ernesto Portillo Jr.